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Histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) is a nuclear enzyme involved in transcriptional repression. Here the authors report that HDAC1 mediates axonal damage by inhibiting mitochondrial transport. On the cover is a pseudo-colored composite micrograph of a mouse cerebellar slice culture stained for HDAC1 and for neurofilament medium and light chains.143180
Although institutional review boards are important ethical gatekeepers of human patient research, there is little data to evaluate their effectiveness. More coordination and a more transparent decision-making process is critical if review boards are to make appropriate and consistent decisions.
How does axonal loss, a hallmark of multiple sclerosis, occur? A study in this issue implicates histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), better known for regulating DNA transcription, in such axon degeneration. HDAC1 is exported from the nucleus and interacts with motor proteins, blocking axonal transport and leading to axon loss.
New work identifies a latent population of neuronal progenitor cells in neocortical layer 1 of adult rats. These cells proliferate in response to forebrain ischemia, then integrate into the cortical network as interneurons.
A study reveals that a largely ignored cell type in the dentate gyrus, semilunar granule cells, are persistently depolarized after a transient input and recruit interneurons to regulate the gating of information into the hippocampus.
By demonstrating that inactivation of gustatory cortex influences olfactory recognition, a new study finds that the interaction between taste and smell is bidirectional.
Many headaches are worsened by light exposure. A new study uses a combination of human and rat experiments to suggest that a previously unknown retinal input to the thalamus may be important in such photophobia.
The shell subregion of nucleus LMAN is an output for the basal ganglia in song birds. The authors report that lesions of the this region do not immediately disrupt vocal behavior but do prevent the development of stable vocal sequences and the ability to imitate vocal sounds.
Visual resolution is best at the center of the retina, where the cones are packed together most closely, and decreases outside of this area, where cones are farther apart. Combining adaptive optics imaging and psychophysical testing, the authors reveal that resolution actually falls off much more quickly than cone spacing would predict.
Accurate taste perception relies on a properly functioning olfactory system. The authors demonstrate a reciprocal connection between taste and olfaction by showing that inactivation of the taste cortex also affects olfactory perception.
Personality differences related to how equally people prefer to share rewards modulate amygdala activity, reports this fMRI study. This suggests that these personality differences are more likely to be due to automatic emotional processing.
Loss of function of the tuberous sclerosis complex, which leads to overactive mTOR signaling, disrupts EphA-dependent repulsive guidance of retinal axons. Growth cone collapse and repulsion by ephrin-A correlates with and requires the downregulation of mTOR signaling.
It remains controversial whether the neocortex harbors progenitors that are capable of neurogenesis in vivo. Here the authors show that there is a population of mitotic cells in cortical layer I that are activated after ischemia to proliferate and generate GABAergic neurons.
The authors detect cytosolic histone deacetylase-1 (HDAC1), a nuclear transcriptional repressor, in damaged axons in brains of humans with multiple sclerosis and of mice with cuprizone-induced demyelination. They show a cytotoxic mechanism in which the exported HDAC1 impairs mitochondrial transport, independent of its nuclear function.
The amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. The authors report that overproduction of axonal or dendritic Aβ in rat organotypic slices reduces spine density and plasticity at nearby dendrites. Aβ production is dependent on action potentials and nicotinic receptors, whereas the effects of Aβ are dependent on NMDA receptors.
Glutamate-induced kainate receptor activation can inhibit or facilitate inhibitory synaptic transmission. This study demonstrates that it is the concerted activity of presynaptic CB1 receptors and kainate receptors that together mediate short-term depression of inhibitory synaptic transmission.
The authors report that the frequency of in vitro gamma oscillations in mouse hippocampus is increased by the activation of specific NMDA receptors on interneurons. This increase is countered by GABAA receptor–mediated tonic inhibition of interneurons.
Recording from hippocampal slices, the authors find that brief stimulation triggers long-lasting synaptic barrages in mossy cells and hilar interneurons that arise from persistent firing in semilunar granule cells. Transient stimulation of different entorhinal cortex pathways activated distinct assemblies of hilar neurons, representing a previously unknown mechanism of short-term information storage that persisted for up to 10 seconds.
A single fear-inducing stimulus increased GluR2 abundance and promoted incorporation of GluR2-containing AMPA glutamate receptors in mouse cerebellar cells, making the receptors impermeable to calcium and altering the activity of this inhibitory neural network. This switch was mediated by noradrenaline and action potential prolongation.
During refinement of inhibitory inputs to the lateral superior olive (LSO), terminals in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body express VGLUT3 and co-release glutamate with glycine or GABA. Using mice lacking VGLUT3, the authors show impaired refinement of inhibitory inputs to the LSO and degraded tonotopic precision.
Light makes migraines worse. The authors show that this effect can be mediated by intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells projecting onto thalamic neurons that also receive nociceptive input from the dura mater.
Hägglund et al. have generated a transgenic mouse line that expresses channelrhodopsin2 selectively in cells expressing vesicular glutamate transporter 2. Using these mice, they find that activation of glutamatergic neurons in spinal cord is critical for initiating or maintaining locomotor-like activity.
The authors use chromophore-targeted laser photolysis to selectively kill pyramidal neurons that project from auditory cortex to the inferior colliculus. They find that this eliminates the experience-dependent recalibration of sound localization, while leaving normal sound localization intact, implicating this pathway in learning-induced plasticity.
Selecting relevant information to make perceptual judgements is usually thought to be a cortical function. By reversibly deactivating the superior colliculus in monkeys, this study demonstrates that activity in a subcortical structure can also inform perceptual judgements, even in the absence of orienting movements (a function previously attributed to the superior colliculus).