Buffalo’s leading scorer did not return for the third period of the 7-5 loss to Montreal

That brings the number of states with approved plans to 44, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Still awaiting the OK: California, Florida, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Utah

Nearly 17 million children lack high-speed internet at home that's considered crucial to their ability to participate in remote learning during the pandemic, according to a new study.

Teachers in seven districts are striking for higher pay—and Seattle may be next.

Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman talks about what the Wildcats did during the open week ahead of their home game against Arizona State.

Kansas State football actually benefitted from an open week in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

Georgia football tumbled nine spots in the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday and fell out of the 12-team bracket. What committee chair said

The GHSA football playoffs kick off Friday night with several area teams competing, while the GIAA playoffs move to the state semifinal round, where two local schools look to secure a spot in the championship game. Friday night’s matchups: Luella (5-5) at No. 6 Westover (9-1) Luella travels to Albany after finishing 4-2 in Region 5, capping their regular season with a 35-25 win over ...

As Oklahoma teachers prepare for day four of their statewide walkout, here's a guide to the larger picture of teacher protests.

David Schuler, the superintendent of Township High School District 214 in Arlington Heights, Ill., has been named 2018 National Superintendent of the Year.

UConn women’s basketball freshman Sarah Strong earned the first Big East Freshman of the Week honors of her career on Monday after a pair of impressive performances in the Huskies’ Week 1 wins. Strong was the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2024 and lived up to her elite billing with a game-high 17 points in her college debut against Boston University on Thursday. She also led the team with six ...

Some big games on the horizon as Notre Dame women's basketball is at No. 5 in latest Coaches Poll

LSU women's basketball bucked a bit of a slow start to blowout Charleston Southern Tuesday morning.

Laura Medlock
Apr 13, 2022; 42:3133-3149
Systems/Circuits

Hannah Grotzinger
May 29, 2024; 44:e1856232024-e1856232024
BehavioralSystemsCognitive

William W. Seeley
Dec 11, 2019; 39:9878-9882
Progressions

Elle M. Murata
Sep 18, 2024; 44:e0573242024-e0573242024
BehavioralSystemsCognitive

Neural responses are naturally variable from one moment to the next, even when the stimulus is held constant. What factors might underlie this variability in neural population activity? We hypothesized that spontaneous fluctuations in cortical stimulus representations are created by changes in arousal state. We tested the hypothesis using a combination of fMRI, probabilistic decoding methods, and pupillometry. Human participants (20 female, 12 male) were presented with gratings of random orientation. Shortly after viewing the grating, participants reported its orientation and gave their level of confidence in this judgment. Using a probabilistic fMRI decoding technique, we quantified the precision of the stimulus representation in the visual cortex on a trial-by-trial basis. Pupil size was recorded and analyzed to index the observer's arousal state. We found that the precision of the cortical stimulus representation, reported confidence, and variability in the behavioral orientation judgments varied from trial to trial. Interestingly, these trial-by-trial changes in cortical and behavioral precision and confidence were linked to pupil size and its temporal rate of change. Specifically, when the cortical stimulus representation was more precise, the pupil dilated more strongly prior to stimulus onset and remained larger during stimulus presentation. Similarly, stronger pupil dilation during stimulus presentation was associated with higher levels of subjective confidence, a secondary measure of sensory precision, as well as improved behavioral performance. Taken together, our findings support the hypothesis that spontaneous fluctuations in arousal state modulate the fidelity of the stimulus representation in the human visual cortex, with clear consequences for behavior.

We used virus-mediated anterograde and retrograde tracing, optogenetic modulation, immunostaining, in situ hybridization, and patch-clamp recordings in acute brain slices to study the release mechanism and μ-opioid modulation of the dual glutamatergic/GABAergic inputs from the ventral tegmental area and supramammillary nucleus to the granule cells of the dorsal hippocampus of male and female mice. In keeping with previous reports showing that the two transmitters are released by separate active zones within the same terminals, we found that the short-term plasticity and pharmacological modulation of the glutamatergic and GABAergic currents are indistinguishable. We further found that glutamate and GABA release at these synapses are both virtually completely mediated by N- and P/Q-type calcium channels. We then investigated μ-opioid modulation of these synapses and found that activation of μ-opioid receptors (MORs) strongly inhibits the glutamate and GABA release, mostly through inhibition of presynaptic N-type channels. However, the modulation by MORs of these dual synapses is complex, as it likely includes also a disinhibition due to downmodulation of local GABAergic interneurons which make direct axo-axonic contacts with the dual glutamatergic/GABAergic terminals. We discuss how this opioid modulation may enhance LTP at the perforant path inputs, potentially contributing to reinforce memories of drug-associated contexts.

A new study from Smithsonian scientists analyzes ant and fungus species, and uncovers the origins of their close partnership

A paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London chronicles the age of the famous and fascinating massive reptiles

FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) will continue to work closely on nutrition, food safety and antimicrobial resistance issues, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and WHO Director Margaret [...]

Tens of thousands of farmers are bringing in their first rice harvest just six months after one of the worst typhoons to ever hit the Philippines left their fields in [...]

Prince Laurent of Belgium was today appointed FAO Special Ambassador for Forests and the Environment.

The announcement was made by FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva at the Organization’s Committee on [...]

Bagdad/Rome - FAO is scaling-up critical food and agriculture assistance to highly vulnerable rural households in Iraq thanks to a generous $14.7 million grant from Saudi Arabia. The donation is [...]

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today appointed Jacques Diouf as Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Sahel.

In his new role, the former Director-General Jacques Diouf will [...]

With rapid soil degradation, fast depletion of groundwater, excessive use of pesticides-fertilizers and extreme weather events all collectively putting stress on farming and forestry, it is time to recognise the [...]

Mr Chairman,

I wish to convey, through you, to the Committee on Fisheries, the considered views of the FAO Secretariat on the item on the proposed Fisheries University.  

So far, the [...]

FAO was the international guest of honour at the 2017 Salon Goûts et Terroirs, a Swiss cultural and gastronomic exhibition that took place from 29 November - 3 December.

Q: Ambassador, how did the Programme Committee in its recent session judge FAO's contribution to the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition?

Ambassador Hoogeveen: [...]

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the event will highlight the key role of the agricultural sectors in supporting the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement, [...]

Understanding and managing disaster risks in global agriculture: Better data for ambitious action