Topic: hippocampal synaptic plasticity

Hedonic or valence-based learning by valence is inherent to cognition. From a neuroethological perspective, value-assignment requires emotional or volitional characteristics that improve the representation of the environment. Such processing is especially relevant in functions involving episodic memory such as spatial learning, in which navigation may be enhanced by associating states with hedonic values – e.g., the poisonous plant near the river is aversive, and the prey inside a cave is attractive. In this context, dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) have been studied in their encoding of op

MicroRNAs, small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally, have been shown to be deregulated in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the major cause of dementia in the elderly. Nowadays implies a large health, social and economic burden with no effective disease-modifying therapy available. A deeper understanding of the events involved in early synaptic dysfunction in AD would provide the necessary insight to eventually identify new targets and develop novel therapeutic strategies.Transcriptomic analyses revealed that a factor involved in these deficits is t

Despite clinical data stretching over millennia, the neurobiological basis of the effectiveness of acupuncture in central nervous system disorders has remained elusive. In this study, using an established model of acupuncture treatment in Parkinson’s disease (PD) mice, we show that peripheral acupuncture stimulation activates hypothalamic melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons via nerve conduction. Moreover, we identify two distinct neural pathways originating from anatomically and electrophysiologically distinct MCH neuronal subpopulations, projecting to the substantia nigra and hippocam

Beta-adrenergic receptors (B-ARs) regulate hippocampal synaptic plasticity associated with spatial memory in rodents (doi: 10.1002/hipo.22168). Synaptic plasticity supports the refinement and stabilisation of neuronal ensembles. This study aimed to examine the effect of noradrenergic regulation of dorsal hippocampal neuronal activity during spatial learning. For this, we used wide-field calcium imaging as a method to study B-AR modulation of the activity of visualised hippocampal CA1 neurons during item-place learning that is known to trigger hippocampal long-term depression (LTD) (doi: 10.109

Several therapeutic targets have been identified to counteract the cognitive decline of Alzheimer's disease (AD). One of the recent approaches, which takes account the multifactorial origin of AD, is pleiotropic drugs. Multi-targeted directed ligands are designed to target different molecular causes involved in the pathogenesis of AD. A novel compound, acting as a prodrug and able of both selectively inhibiting butyrylcholinesterase and secondarily interacting with serotonin subtype 4 receptor, has therefore been developed. The first step of the project was to assess pharmacological screening

Type I interferons are most commonly associated with their essential role in the innate immune response. However, the actions of the type I interferon receptor are not limited to the scenario of infection. Previous work from our group revealed that type I interferon receptor signaling, specifically in a subtype of glia cells (astrocytes), critically modulates hippocampal synaptic plasticity and cognitive function in adult mice under physiological conditions. Since cytokines such as type I interferons are implicated in modulation of neurogenesis and brain development, in this work we started to