The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is the largest U.S.-based neuroimaging initiative of adolescent brain maturation. Diffusion MRI (dMRI) provides unique insights into white matter organization, yet applying advanced processing pipelines and managing technical variability across scanning environments remains challenging at scale. To address these issues, we present ABCD-BIDS Community Collection (ABCC) release 3.1.0, […]
Gradient-specified optimization based on muscle surface mesh and moment arm as an effect-oriented approach of automated musculotendon path modeling
There is more to musculotendon path modeling than aligning a cable to reflect the geometric features of a muscle-tendon unit. From the perspective of simulation accuracy, the key is to replicate the length- and moment arm-joint angle relations of the target muscle. In this study, we propose an effect-oriented approach of automated path modeling, via […]
Frontal Brain Injury Reduces Sensitivity to Reward-Predictive Cues and Remodels the Nucleus Accumbens
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are more than mere lesions and generate a persistent secondary pathology. This, combined with functional reorganization of circuits post-injury, may explain the increased risk for psychiatric disorders in patients with TBI. In the current studies, we demonstrate that frontal TBI changed the Pavlovian behavioral response to reinforcer-predicting cues and reduced the […]
Highly replicable multisite patterns of adolescent white matter maturation
The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is the largest U.S.-based neuroimaging initiative of adolescent brain maturation. Diffusion MRI (dMRI) provides unique insights into white matter organization, yet applying advanced processing pipelines and managing technical variability across scanning environments remains challenging at scale. To address these issues, we present ABCD-BIDS Community Collection (ABCC) release 3.1.0, […]
Systemic injection of metabotropic glutamate 2/3 receptor antagonist LY341495 disrupts reward-related behaviors in mice.
Metabotropic glutamate 2/3 receptors (mGluR2/3) have been implicated in depression, anxiety, learning, and memory. However, their causal role in reward-related behaviors remains unclear. Here, we examined the effects of intraperitoneal administration of LY341495, a selective mGluR2/3 antagonist, on reward-related behaviors in mice. In a head-fixed temporal conditioning task, mice received a 10% sucrose solution every […]
Astrocytes mediate the pro-cognitive value of α7nAChRs and of α7nAChR-targeting therapeutics
The 7nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (7nAChR) has driven extensive research over the past three decades for its pro-cognitive potential. It is the leading druggable target for the cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia and has motivated major pharmaceutical and clinical efforts to ameliorate similar impairments in other neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Yet, a systematic […]
A collicular-hypothalamic pathway for social visual awareness
Awareness of other individuals is a foundational element of social behavior. Here we examined how specific neural systems detect and signal the visual presence of conspecifics related to social arousal and motivation. We found that visual exposure to videos of other mice can activate hypothalamic oxytocin neurons and promote onset of pup retrieval behavior in […]
Chemical Genetic Screen Identifies PSD3 as a Direct Substrate of NUAK1 that Regulates Dendritic Spine Maturation
Novel (nua) Kinase 1 (NUAK1) encodes a serine-threonine protein kinase, mutations in which are associated with neurodevelopmental disorder. Direct phosphorylation targets of NUAK1 have been elusive hindering mechanistic understanding of its role in brain development. Here, we characterize autism-associated NUAK1 variants and shows their differential impact on catalytic activity and subcellular distribution. Next, we employed […]
Hippocampal representations differentiate reactive and anticipatory responses during foraging under threat
Adaptive behavior under threat requires balancing reward pursuit against the risk of harm. During approach-avoidance conflict, animals often pause at decision points, but whether these pauses reflect a unified process or distinct decision states remains unclear. Here, we replicate and extend findings from Calvin et al.1 by analyzing hippocampal activity in rats performing a predator-based […]
Drought disrupts volatile-mediated predator foraging and oviposition, weakening trait-mediated top-down control
1. Drought is a major abiotic stressor that can restructure trophic interactions by limiting herbivore success and disrupting chemical signaling between plants and natural enemies. In tritrophic systems, plant volatiles guide natural enemy foraging and reproductive investment, often scaling with herbivore density; however, it is unclear whether drought alters this relationship and weakens top-down control. […]
Can coastal plantation forests substitute for natural coastal forests as bird and plant habitat? A test across coastal zonation
Natural forests are increasingly being replaced by plantation forests, highlighting an urgent need to reconcile forest use and biodiversity conservation. Coastal forests serve as refugia for species of conservation concern, but they have been globally replaced by plantations, and conversion remains ongoing. As natural coastal forests become increasingly scarce, opportunities for direct biodiversity comparisons with […]
DOME Copilot: Making transparency and reproducibility for artificial intelligence methods simple
Unprecedented breakthroughs are being made in life science research through the application of artificial intelligence (AI). However, adherence to method reporting guidelines is necessary to support their reusability and reproducibility. The DOME Copilot solution extracts structured reports of AI methods using a large language model to help interpret manuscripts. It is a fast and efficient […]