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Molecular changes in blood that occur with ageing may be partly responsible for the decreased neurogenesis and cognitive deficits that are observed in aged mice.
Biomarkers for autism may reveal causes of the condition and could be used to improve diagnosis and enable earlier detection of autism spectrum disorders. Walsh and colleagues discuss the major scientific challenges in the search for autism biomarkers and consider a number of important social and ethical concerns arising from biomarker development and application.
The effects of prenatal stress on sex differences in brain gene expression and behaviour can be transmitted down the paternal lineage to male offspring.
The synaptic vesicle protein RAB3B seems to have a key role in endocannabinoid-dependent presynaptic long-term depression at hippocampal inhibitory synapses and also in spatial memory retention.
During the synaptic maturation and elimination phase of hippocampal development, microglia may engulf unwanted synapses, and thus contribute to correct circuit maturation.
A novel function for CaMKIIβ has been identified in the mammalian brain whereby it regulates dendritic patterning through phosphorylation of CDC20–APC/C at the centrosome.