Neurons

This meeting examines how interactions among glial cells and neurons influence nervous-system development, function and disease. Genomic and functional studies address microglia, astrocytes and myelinating cells, including diversity within each class and their contributions to circuits, behaviour and neurodegeneration. Programme themes cover neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, ageing, human glia, glia-focused technologies, and interactions with immune cells and other glia. Talks, posters and extended discussion support exchange among established researchers and trainees. Applicants n

Build scalable computational pipelines for biophysical models of neurons and neural populations. Apply machine learning and statistical inference to neural recordings, construct biologically realistic networks and help shape research directions at an early-stage company working at the intersection of neuroscience and computation. On-site engagement is preferred and international candidates may apply. The advertised salary range is USD 132,000–259,000; no fixed closing date is stated.

Timothy O'Leary discusses how neurons preserve functional identity despite molecular turnover and how related processes may contribute to changing representations.

…Astrocytes and neurons, for instance, diverge dramatically in their reliance on glycolysis versus oxidative phosphorylation, underscoring that metabolic fuel efficiency is not uniform across cell types. A key factor shaping this divergence is the structural organization of the mitochondrial respiratory chain into supercomplexes. Specifically, complexes I (CI) and III (CIII) form a CI–CIII supercomplex, but the degree of this assembly varies by cell type. In neurons, CI is predominant

n the neurosciences the need for some 'overarching' theory is sometimes expressed, but it is not always obvious what is meant by this. One can perhaps agree that in modern science observation and experimentation is normally complemented by 'theory', i.e. the development of theoretical concepts that help guiding and evaluating experiments and measurements. A deeper discussion of 'brain theory' will require the clarification of some further distictions, in particular: theory vs. model and brain research (and its theory) vs. neuroscience. Other questions are: Does a theory require mathematics? Or

…could contribute to future studies of neurons.

…causal measurements of how neurons signal to one another in response to stimulation in the nematode C. elegans. I will compare this signal propagation atlas to the worm's known connectome to address fundamental questions of structure and function in the brain.

…Here, we analyzed astrocytes and neurons in the neocortical access tissue of younger (22 - 50 years) and older (51 - 72 years) human who underwent resection of glioma or other cancer metastases to the brain. Aging decreased the amount of reduced mitochondrial cytochromes in astrocytes but not neurons. The protein-to-lipid ratio was decreased in astrocytes and increased in neurons. Aged astrocytes showed morphological dystrophy quantified by the decreased length of branches, decreased volume fraction of leaflets, and shri

…Using calcium imaging of neurons and astrocytes in the APP/PS1 double transgenic Alzheimer’s disease mouse model, we investigated behavioural and cellular responses to repetitive visual stimuli, in comparison with littermate wild type (WT) mice.We collected data from 32 female

Astrocytes interact with neurons at a cellular and molecular level, modulating the synaptic formation, maturation, and function. Their unique morphology allows them to contact synaptic structures to sense, process, and respond to incoming signals. Astrocyte activation leads to intracellular calcium-dependent processes that ultimately modulate circuit function and animal behavior. The IP3 receptor type 2 knockout (IP3R2 KO) mouse model lacks calcium elevations upon astrocytic activation and, therefore, is a good model for studying the roles of intracellular calcium signaling in circuit function

Astrocytes communicate bidirectionally with neurons by forming close contacts to synapses called tripartite synapses. Hundreds of thousands of synapses are embedded in a territory of single astrocytes, however, how astrocytes are functionally built into the neuronal circuits remains undetermined. To address this, we adopted the rabies virus (RV) for retrograde tracing of neuron-to-astrocyte connections in the mouse cerebral cortex. To sparsely and specifically transduce astrocytes with RV, a transposon vector expressing TVA, RV glycoprotein, and tdTomato under an astrocyte-specific promoter Gf

Aims: Autophagy is an evolutionary conserved process, that is very important in neurons. Neurons are post-mitotic cells which require a strict quality control mechanism to prevent accumulation of cellular debris and ensure nutrient and energy balance. Also synapses are key elements for healthy brain functioning. The synapses of neurons are highly dynamic, especially during early period of lifetimeand. Their rate increased during embryogenesis but subsequently unnecessary synapses are eliminated through a process called pruning modulated by autophagy. Many studies have shown that autophagy is a

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), a frequent form of inherited intellectual disability and a leading monogenic cause of autism, is caused by lack/reduction of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), an RNA-binding protein involved in several aspects of RNA metabolism. Abnormal expression of proteins at synapses underlies brain dysfunction in FXS. FMRP is also implicated in DNA damage response and is a component of stress granules (SGs), cytoplasmatic aggregates that form in response to stress and are protective against apoptosis. Evidence in the mouse model of FXS suggests an excess of oxidizing

In-silico simulations of neurons are crucial for understanding the complexinteractions and dynamics within neural networks, which underpin cognitivefunctions and behaviors in biological organisms. The Blue Brain Cellular Lab-oratory (BlueCelluLab) is a software package designed for detailed simulationand experimentation on individual and groups of neurons.Key features of BlueCelluLab include the ability to automate in-silico whole-cell patching experiments, offering a method for exploring neuron behavior in acontrolled, virtual setting. The software is effective in facilitating the validationo

Cytoplasmic FMR1-interacting protein family contains two members, CYFIP1 and CYFIP2, evolutionarily conserved multifunctional proteins. Despite their high sequence homology, varied evidence indicates that CYFIP1 and CYFIP2 have distinct functions in vivo and are linked to different brain disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown.We conducted reciprocal immunoprecipitation experiments to explore the underlying mechanisms using CYFIP1-2×Myc and CYFIP2-3×Flag knock-in mice. The results revealed that CYFIP1 and CYFIP2 are not significantly co-immunoprecipitated with each

…compartment for a hydrogel containing neurons and astrocytes to mimic cerebral parenchyma and a m

…there is a tight coupling between neurons and astrocytes. Thus, neuronal glutamatergic activity decreases astrocytic oxidative glucose metabolism in favor of glucose metabolism to lactate. Lactate released by astrocytes can be oxidatively metabolized by neurons. However, little is known about the interplay between neuronal activity and astrocytic metabolism concerning other energetic sources. Here, we made use

…is reversible or irreversible in the neurons of the affected area, and subsequent free radical damage can be exacerbated by reperfusion. Ciproxifan is used to study the involvement of histaminergic neurons in different phases such as wakefulness and cognition. We wanted to find out whether ciproxifan has a protective effect on the hippocampus of rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.A total of 32 adult male rats were used for the experiment. Four cages were formed with randomly selecte

…Lewy bodies within vulnerable neurons, including those of the hippocampus (HC). The strongest risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and recently demonstrated for DLB, is the ε4 allele of apolipoprotein (APOE4) that is a major lipoprotein in the central nervous system playing a leading role in maintaining lipid homeostasis. Our group recently demonstrated that the APOE4 aggravates cognitive deficits in a mouse model of prodromal DLB – corrob

The African naked mole rat (NMR) is an extremely long-lived species compared to its body size and can reach above 30 years of age. The NMR show unique adaptations to resist damage to the brain. They can survive up to 20 minutes of complete anoxia [1] and express high levels of amyloid-β without developing amyloid plaques [2]. Our aim is to understand if altered lipid metabolism through regulation of lipid droplets (LDs) in brain cells is one of the NMRs intrinsic adaptations, giving them their long-lived phenotype and resistance to neurological damage. Immunohistochemistry was performed on bra

…to compare intracellular Ca2+ level in neurons, astrocytes, and microglia following glucose dysregulation in combination with (or without) a nicotine stimulus and to investigate the effects of lavender on this process. Treatment wi

…In neurons, mRNA transport to dendrites and axons and local translation are crucial for development, repair, synaptic function and memory formation.3’ untranslated regions (3’UTRs) are known for regulation of RNA localization, stability and translation. Past research identified many of the molecular mechanisms and players involved, but we still lack a systematic understanding of how the regulatory information is encoded i

Neurons and astrocytes, key elements of the brain active milieu, differ in the metabolic profile and the electron transport chain (ETC) organization. We assessed the redox state of the ETC in two cell types with simultaneous analysis of blood oxygen saturation level (sO2) in awake mice with Raman microspectroscopy. For cell identification, green fluorescent protein (GFP) was expressed in astrocytes, and near-infrared protein (NirFP) was expressed in neurons following AAV injections in the somatosensory cortex (S1). To monitor H2O2, HyPer7 was expressed in the mitochondria of either astrocytes

…brain residential immune cells, and neurons is required for the maintenance of brain homeostasis and for the sculpting of neuronal connections during development. Indeed, defects in this bidirectional communication have been described in brain diseases, where altered microglia function, synaptic activity and plasticity may produce profound changes in nervous circuits and associated functions.The Triggering receptor expressed on myel