Chronic adolescent stress (CAS) has previously been shown to prime the hippocampal inflammatory response in adult male rats; however, the underlying mechanism and origin are undefined. Here we tested the hypothesis that CAS exaggerates induction of the ...

Whisker-evoked tactile sensation is a prime modality for rodents to appraise their environment. Afferent facial tactile inputs are first distributed and processed through brainstem trigeminal circuits, before being further integrated at higher levels. W...

BACE1 is the β-secretase enzyme that initiates production of the toxic Aβ peptide that accumulates in Alzheimer’s disease brain. As such, BACE1 is a prime therapeutic target and several BACE1 inhibitor drugs are currently being tested in clinical trials...

BACE1 is the β-secretase enzyme that initiates Aβ production and is a prime therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Drugs that inhibit BACE1 enzyme activity are in clinical trials for AD, but early termination of a recent trial raises concerns ...

Neurons of macaque inferotemporal cortex (ITC) exhibit repetition suppression. When an image is presented twice in succession, first as prime and then as probe, the probe elicits a relatively weak response. Previous studies have shown that suppression d...

Cortical NMDAR hypofunction has been used to model the symptoms of schizophrenia. The parvalbumin (PV) expressing fast-spiking (FS) GABAergic interneurons are a prime target in this model. These cells provide perisomatic inhibition and mediate synchrono...

In the developing and adult brain the exact cellular proliferation, migration, and differentiation mechanisms of neural stem cells (NSCs) are of prime importance. Ionizing radiation (IR) affects neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, whic...

Professor reflects on the value of large scientific meetings

Epilepsy–aphasia syndrome (EAS) is a spectrum of childhood disorders that exhibit complex comorbidities that include epilepsy and the emergence of cognitive and language disorders. CNKSR2 is an X-linked gene in which mutations are linked to EAS. We previously demonstrated Cnksr2 knock-out (KO) mice model key phenotypes of EAS analogous to those present in clinical patients with mutations in the gene. Cnksr2 KO mice have increased seizures, impaired learning and memory, increased levels of anxiety, and loss of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). The intricate interplay between these diverse phenotypes at the brain regional and cell-type level remains unknown. Here, we leverage conditional deletion of the X-linked Cnksr2 in a neuronal cell-type manner in male mice to demonstrate that anxiety and impaired USVs track with its loss from excitatory neurons. Finally, we further narrow the essential role of Cnksr2 loss in USV deficits to excitatory neurons of the ACC, a region in mice recently implicated in USV produ...

This study examined the relationship between aspects of navigational ability and behavioral traits associated with various mental disorders. We propose that navigational ability may utilize the same brain circuitry that has dysfunction in certain mental...