Adolescence is a developmental period marked by substantial refinement of reward and impulse control circuitry in the brain. It has been hypothesized that increases in risk-seeking behavior seen in adolescents are a product of behavioral exploration and...

Neurodegenerative disorders with Tau accumulation are a common cause of dementia in the aging population. Alternative splicing can generate two different major forms of Tau containing either 3 or 4 32 amino acid repeats. These 3R or 4R Tau species are d...

Editor's Note: In 2003, the Society for Neuroscience initiated the Science Educator Award to recognize an outstanding neuroscientist who has made significant contributions to the education of the public (<http://www.sfn.org/content/Programs/AwardsandPrizes/sea.html>). The first recipient was Eric

Theiler's virus infection of the CNS induces an immune-mediated demyelinating disease in susceptible mouse strains and serves as a relevant infection model for human multiple sclerosis (MS). Cannabinoids may act as immunosuppressive compounds that have shown therapeutic potential in chronic inflammatory disorders. Using the Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus model, we report here that treatment with the synthetic cannabinoids WIN 55,212–2, ACEA, and JWH-015 during established disease significantly improved the neurological deficits in a long-lasting way. At a histological level, cannabinoids reduced microglial activation, abrogated major histocompatibility complex class II antigen expression, and decreased the number of CD4+ infiltrating T cells in the spinal cord. Both recovery of motor function and diminution of inflammation paralleled extensive remyelination. Overall, the data presented may have potential therapeutic implications in demyelinating pathologies such as MS; in particular, the possible...

Endogenous lipids have been the focus of interest recently since they display some biological functions. Among these molecules are the satiety factor oleoylethanolamide (OEA) and the analgesic-inducing lipid palmitoylethanolamide (PEA). The synthesis of...

Sound encoding is mediated by Ca2+ influx-evoked release of glutamate at the ribbon synapse of inner hair cells. Here we studied the role of ATP in this process focusing on Ca2+ current through CaV1.3 channels and Ca2+ homeostasis in mouse inner hair cells. Patch-clamp recordings and Ca2+ imaging demonstrate that hydrolyzable ATP is essential to maintain synaptic Ca2+ influx in inner hair cells via fueling Ca2+-ATPases to avoid an increase in cytosolic [Ca2+] and subsequent Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent inactivation of CaV1.3 channels.

Obesity is a growing public health problem. Although convenient, the notion that obesity is simply a problem of will power is increasingly antiquated. It is becoming clear that complex interactions of environment, neurohormonal systems, and transgenerational effects directly contribute to obesity. This review highlights data presented at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in San Diego, California in 2013; and although not meant as an exhaustive review of the area, this reivew will explore seemingly disparate areas of research that, when taken as a whole, illuminate the complex topography of the causes and consequences of obesity. We discuss how disruption of the biological clock, a consequence of modern society, can lead to changes in the brain and periphery that lead to obesity. We explore how obesity can actually cause pathological changes within the hypothalamus of the brain (a key regulator of food intake and metabolic homeostasis). How reward circuitry, particularly the ventral tegmental area...

Adolescents and young adults of the 1960’s and 70’s, a time during which cannabis (CB) use expanded rapidly, are now entering their senior years when age-related cognitive decline may begin. There is growing evidence of the adverse effects of CB use on ...

Habituated animals retain a latent capacity for robust engagement with familiar stimuli. In most instances, the ability to override habituation is best explained by postulating that habituation arises from the potentiation of inhibitory inputs onto stimulus-encoding assemblies and that habituation override occurs through disinhibition. Previous work has shown that inhibitory plasticity contributes to specific forms of olfactory and gustatory habituation in Drosophila . Here, we analyze how exposure to a novel stimulus causes override of gustatory (proboscis extension reflex; PER) habituation. While brief sucrose contact with tarsal hairs causes naive Drosophila to extend their proboscis, persistent exposure reduces PER to subsequent sucrose stimuli. We show that in so habituated animals, either brief exposure of the proboscis to yeast or direct thermogenetic activation of sensory neurons restores PER response to tarsal sucrose stimulation. Similar override of PER habituation can also be induced by brief th...

Recent studies suggest that the endocannabinoid system modulates feeding. Despite the existence of central mechanisms for the regulation of food intake by endocannabinoids, evidence indicates that peripheral mechanisms may also exist. To test this hypothesis, we investigated (1) the effects of feeding on intestinal anandamide accumulation; (2) the effects of central (intracerebroventricular) and peripheral (intraperitoneal) administration of the endocannabinoid agonist anandamide, the synthetic cannabinoid agonist R -(+)-(2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-[(4-morpholinyl)methyl]pyrol[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl)(1-naphthalenyl) methanone monomethanesulfonate (WIN55,212-2), and the CB1-selective antagonist N -piperidino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methylpyrazole-3-carboxamide (SR141716A) on food intake in rats; and (3) the effects of sensory deafferentation on the modulation of feeding by cannabinoids. Food deprivation produced a sevenfold increase in anandamide content in the small intestine but not...