The superior colliculus (SC) is critical in detecting and responding to salient stimuli. However, it is unknown whether salience signals are inherited from external sources such as retina and cortex, or arise from the intrinsic circuitry within SC. We used in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging with adaptive optics to examine the activity of retinal ganglion […]

The brain’s ability to detect behaviorally relevant stimuli from sensory inputs is fundamental to cognition, yet the neural mechanisms linking synaptic processes to event-related potential (ERP) signatures remain unclear. Here, we develop a recurrent neural network (RNN) models of ERP responses demonstrating that short-term synaptic depression, a ubiquitous plasticity mechanism, provides a unified computational framework […]

Awake cortical processing exhibits characteristic signatures in electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and locomotor activity, reflecting coordinated neural network dynamics driven by action potentials and synaptic transmission across broad cortical areas. Although memory functions are commonly engaged during these states, the causal contribution of associative synaptic plasticity, such as dendritic-spine enlargement, to ongoing cortical processing and […]

Gulf War illness (GWI) is characterized by a range of neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms, including chronic pain, fatigue, mood problems, and cognitive issues. The pathophysiology is associated with war-related environmental chemical exposure and psychological stress, which are known to disrupt glutamatergic synaptic structure and function. The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy […]

The genome folds inside the cell nucleus into hierarchical architectural features, such as chromatin loops and domains. If and how this genome organization influences the regulation of gene expression remains only partially understood. The structure-function relationship of genomes has traditionally been probed by population-wide measurements after mutation of critical DNA elements or by perturbation of […]

The inhibitory analysis of intracellular signaling pathways is widely employed to gain insight into molecular mechanisms underlying diverse physiological processes. Unfortunately, the essential drawback of this basically effective methodology is that many, if not all, inhibitors, antagonists, modulators, and blockers can affect cellular functions not only acting through specified cellular targets, but also causing off-target […]

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by vascular remodeling driven in part by apoptosis-resistant pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). Na/H exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1) regulates intracellular pH and plasma membrane cytoskeleton anchoring, influencing PASMC migration and proliferation, but the role of NHE1 in apoptosis remains unclear. NHE activity and NHE1 surface expression were increased in […]

Ketamine is an NMDA-receptor antagonist, which alters the state of wakeful consciousness at high doses. At lower doses, it induces reversible psychotic-like symptoms and has been used as a pharmacological model of psychosis. In this study, we explore whether low doses of ketamine disrupt conscious access in relation with its psychotomimetic effects, and investigate the […]

Anisotropic biological tissues contain hierarchical complexity from the nano to macro length scales. While novel fabrication strategies have advanced the creation of biomimetic architectures, most rely on biologically derived polymers that possess inherent batch-to-batch variability. Here, we fabricate omnidirectional anisotropic nanofibrous hydrogels using synthetic, self-assembling MultiDomain Peptides (MDPs). Using support bath-assisted extrusion 3D printing, MDP […]

Parkinsons disease (PD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder that has been modeled extensively in animals, primarily rodents, but also in non-human primates and non-mammalian organisms. However, no single animal model fully recapitulates the hallmarks of PD pathology. Here, we extend this work by modeling PD for the first time in the spiny mouse (Acomys dimidiatus), […]