Tennessee soccer earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the fourth straight season and will face No. 7 seed Virginia Tech in the first round Friday

Wen Grace Chen
Nov 9, 2022; 42:8498-8507
Symposium and Mini-Symposium

Christelle Anaclet
Dec 12, 2012; 32:17970-17976
BehavioralSystemsCognitive

Yasmin L. Hurd
Oct 16, 2019; 39:8250-8258
Symposium and Mini-Symposium

Krista L. Hyde
Mar 11, 2009; 29:3019-3025
Development Plasticity Repair

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

Emerging research in nonhuman animals implicates cerebellar projections to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in appetitive behaviors, but these circuits have not been characterized in humans. Here, we mapped cerebello-VTA white matter connectivity in a cohort of men and women using probabilistic tractography on diffusion imaging data from the Human Connectome Project. We uncovered the topographical organization of these connections by separately tracking from parcels of cerebellar lobule VI, crus I/II, vermis, paravermis, and cerebrocerebellum. Results revealed that connections between the cerebellum and VTA predominantly originate in the right cerebellar hemisphere, interposed nucleus, and paravermal cortex and terminate mostly ipsilaterally. Paravermal crus I sends the most connections to the VTA compared with other lobules. We discovered a mediolateral gradient of connectivity, such that the medial cerebellum has the highest connectivity with the VTA. Individual differences in microstructure were associated with measures of negative affect and social functioning. By splitting the tracts into quarters, we found that the socioaffective effects were driven by the third quarter of the tract, corresponding to the point at which the fibers leave the deep nuclei. Taken together, we produced detailed maps of cerebello-VTA structural connectivity for the first time in humans and established their relevance for trait differences in socioaffective regulation.

Neuronal cytotoxic edema is implicated in neuronal injury and death, yet mitigating brain edema with osmotic and surgical interventions yields poor clinical outcomes. Importantly, neuronal swelling and its downstream consequences during early brain development remain poorly investigated, and new treatment approaches are needed. We explored Ca²⁺-dependent downstream effects after neuronal cytotoxic edema caused by diverse injuries in mice of both sexes using multiphoton Ca²⁺ imaging in vivo [Postnatal Day (P)12–17] and in acute brain slices (P8–12). After different excitotoxic insults, cytosolic GCaMP6s translocated into the nucleus after a few minutes in a subpopulation of neurons, persisting for hours. We used an automated morphology-detection algorithm to detect neuronal soma and quantified the nuclear translocation of GCaMP6s as the nuclear to cytosolic intensity (N/C ratio). Elevated neuronal N/C ratios occurred concurrently with persistent elevation in Ca²⁺ loads and could also occur independently from neuronal swelling. Electron microscopy revealed that the nuclear translocation was associated with the increased nuclear pore size. The nuclear accumulation of GCaMP6s in neurons led to neocortical circuit dysfunction, mitochondrial pathology, and increased cell death. Inhibiting calpains, a family of Ca²⁺-activated proteases, prevented elevated N/C ratios and neuronal swelling. In summary, in the developing brain, we identified a calpain-dependent alteration of nuclear transport in a subpopulation of neurons after disease-relevant insults leading to long-term circuit dysfunction and cell death. The nuclear translocation of GCaMP6 and other cytosolic proteins after acute excitotoxicity can be an early biomarker of brain injury in the developing brain.

Human sleep exhibits multiple, recurrent temporal regularities, ranging from circadian rhythms to sleep stage cycles and neuronal oscillations during nonrapid eye movement sleep. Moreover, recent evidence revealed a functional role of aperiodic activity, which reliably discriminates different sleep stages. Aperiodic activity is commonly defined as the spectral slope of the 1/frequency (1/f) decay function of the electrophysiological power spectrum. However, several lines of inquiry now indicate that the aperiodic component of the power spectrum might be better characterized by a superposition of several decay processes with associated timescales. Here, we determined multiple timescales, which jointly shape aperiodic activity using human intracranial electroencephalography. Across three independent studies (47 participants, 23 female), our results reveal that aperiodic activity reliably dissociated sleep stage-dependent dynamics in a regionally specific manner. A principled approach to parametrize aperiodic activity delineated several, spatially and state-specific timescales. Lastly, we employed pharmacological modulation by means of propofol anesthesia to disentangle state-invariant timescales that may reflect physical properties of the underlying neural population from state-specific timescales that likely constitute functional interactions. Collectively, these results establish the presence of multiple intrinsic timescales that define the electrophysiological power spectrum during distinct brain states.

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.

Sleep is known to drive the consolidation of motor memories. During nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, the close temporal proximity between slow oscillations (SOs) and spindles ("nesting" of SO-spindles) is known to be essential for consolidation, likely because it is closely associated with the reactivation of awake task activity. Interestingly, recent work has found that spindles can occur in temporal clusters or "trains." However, it remains unclear how spindle trains are related to the nesting phenomenon. Here, we hypothesized that spindle trains are more likely when SOs co-occur in the prefrontal and motor cortex. We conducted simultaneous neural recordings in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and primary motor cortex (M1) of male rats training on the reach-to-grasp motor task. We found that intracortically recorded M1 spindles are organized into distinct temporal clusters. Notably, the occurrence of temporally precise SOs between mPFC and M1 was a strong predictor of spindle trains. Moreover, reactivation of awake task patterns is much more persistent during spindle trains in comparison with that during isolated spindles. Together, our work suggests that the precise coupling of SOs across mPFC and M1 may be a potential driver of spindle trains and persistent reactivation of motor memory during NREM sleep.

Hyperbilirubinemia (HB) is a key risk factor for hearing loss in neonates, particularly premature infants. Here, we report that bilirubin (BIL)-dependent cell death in the auditory brainstem of neonatal mice of both sexes is significantly attenuated by ZD7288, a blocker for hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channel-mediated current (I_h), or by genetic deletion of HCN1. GABAergic inhibitory interneurons predominantly express HCN1, on which BIL selectively acts to increase their intrinsic excitability and mortality by enhancing HCN1 activity and Ca²⁺-dependent membrane targeting. Chronic BIL elevation in neonatal mice in vivo increases the fraction of spontaneously active interneurons and their firing frequency, I_h, and death, compromising audition at the young adult stage in HCN1^+/+, but not in HCN1^–/– genotype. We conclude that HB preferentially targets HCN1 to injure inhibitory interneurons, fueling a feedforward loop in which lessening inhibition cascades hyperexcitability, Ca²⁺ overload, neuronal death, and auditory impairments. These findings rationalize HCN1 as a potential target for managing HB encephalopathy.

Santiago, Chile- The declaration of the XXI Specialized Meeting on Family Farming of MERCOSUR (REAF, in Spanish) held last week in Argentina, acknowledged the advances promoted by FAO’s Director General, [...]

Marrakesh, 15 December 2014 – African Ministers of Agriculture recognized the facilitating role of FAO “under the new strategic framework established with the leadership of the [...]

Scala Mercalli hosted by Italian environmentalist Luca Mercalli begins filming in the Sheikh Zayed Centre in FAO this week! 

Episodes will be shot in front of a live audience every Thursday [...]

Team on ground regrouped; strengthened with surge personnel; Declaration of corporate scale-up response

by Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Information Note.

FAO’s responses to the crisis in Ukraine and its impacts on global food security: data analyses, policy recommendations, and actions on the ground.

From soil to soup (Smithsonian.com). Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/passion-for-tomatoes.html

Through painstaking work, photographer Drew Gardner transformed Elizabeth Jenkins-Sahlin into her ancestor, a famous women’s rights activist. (Credit: Drew Gardner)

The Liège-Guillemins railway station looks like it belongs far in the future: a vast curving monolith of glass, steel and concrete curves extending high above the train tracks. Just as astonishing as its design is the fact that it was built while the normal train schedules continued, with no disruption.

Scientists are researching how the rodent can become less susceptible to its feline foe.

Kenneth Morris is the great-great-great-grandson of the heralded abolitionist and helped compile an illustrated biography of his ancestor. (Credit: Drew Gardner)

Yacouba Sawadogo, a farmer from Burkina Faso, has become a pioneer in the fight against desertification – succeeding where many international agencies have failed

Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry. Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/ Video produced by Sierra Theobald. Special thanks to Drew Gardner Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA

Television reporter Shannon LaNier is a direct descendant of the third President of the United States. (Credit: Drew Gardner)

Timelapse of a British artist creating a site-specific piece for the Ulster Museum

Visitors to the National Portrait Gallery share their presidential thoughts on the eve of Election Day (Video by Ryan Reed / Edited by Ryan Reed and Jesse Rhodes / Interviews by Megan Gambino / Produced by Beth Py-Lieberman)

Read more about Thomas Jefferson: http://j.mp/w07Y8G At the turn of the 18th century, Americans learned what their leaders looked like through paintings and drawings, explains a historian at the National Portrait Gallery

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Arcimboldos-Feast-for-the-Eyes.html The Hapsburg Dynasty's court painter's unique style of portraiture, using fruits, vegetables and animals to compose his faces -- has fascinated artists and the general public for centuries.

In one fateful night, John Brown brought the country closer to Civil War (Video: Meredith Bragg). Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Day-of-Reckoning.html

Investigators discovered that the original print of "The Roaring Lion" had been sold to a buyer in Italy

A new study identified the tiny pollutants in the olfactory bulbs of eight cadavers, suggesting microplastics can travel through the nose to the brain

The brain diagram, called a connectome, could revolutionize researchers' understanding of the human brain, which has many parallels with a fruit fly's

A $1 million grant from the U.S. is the latest effort to support Ukraine's fight to preserve its rich past

Scientists used EEG headsets, MRI machines and eye trackers to study volunteers' responses to five paintings housed at the Mauritshuis museum in the Netherlands

Government corruption, loved ones becoming ill or dying, cyberterrorism and nuclear weapons topped the list of Chapman University's annual survey

Ai-Da creates art using A.I. algorithms, cameras and robotic arms. Her abstract painting will be the first-ever artwork made by a humanoid robot to be sold at Sotheby's

Once one of the world’s most dangerous border crossings, Berlin's symbol of death and division has been turned into a tangible way to experience history

You asked, we answered

Newfoundland filmmaker Justin Simms is releasing his latest film called Sons. It was prompted by the birth of his son and left him wondering how traditional masculine behaviour is learned.

A candidate for the Nova Scotia NDP has apologized and is no longer running for the party in the provincial election after her comments on Israel and the Holocaust drew concern from the Jewish organizations. 

Kate MacEachern is a Canadian veteran from Ballantynes Cove, N.S., but her service years are far from over. She has spent about two years living in Ukraine, delivering humanitarian aid to communities across the country.

Building highways isn't the only solution to the growing problem of traffic congestion in and around the Halifax Regional Municipality, says the head of an organization that advocates for rail-based public transit.

Genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) allow for the noninvasive evaluation of neuronal activity in vivo, and imaging GECIs in Drosophila has become commonplace for understanding neural functions and connectivity in this system. GECIs can also be used as read-outs for studying sleep in this model organism. Here, we describe a methodology for tracking the activity of neurons in the fly brain using a two-photon (2p) microscopy system. This method can be adapted to perform functional studies of neural activity in Drosophila under both spontaneous and evoked conditions, as well as during spontaneous or induced sleep. We first describe a tethering and surgical procedure that allows survival under the microscopy conditions required for long-term recordings. We then outline the steps and reagents required for optogenetic activation of sleep-promoting neurons while simultaneously recording neural activity from the fly brain. We also describe the procedure for recording from two different locations—namely, the top of the head (e.g., to record mushroom body calyx activity) or the back of the head (e.g., to record central complex activity). We also provide different strategies for recording from GECIs confined to the cell body versus the entire neuron. Finally, we describe the steps required for analyzing the multidimensional data that can be acquired. In all, this protocol shows how to perform calcium imaging experiments in tethered flies, with a focus on acquiring spontaneous and induced sleep data.

Sleep studies in Drosophila melanogaster rely mostly on behavioral read-outs to support molecular or circuit-level investigations in this model. Electrophysiology can provide an additional level of understanding in these studies to, for example, investigate changes in brain activity associated with sleep manipulations. In this protocol, we describe a procedure for performing multichannel local field potential (LFP) recordings in the fruit fly, with a flexible system that can be adapted to different experimental paradigms and situations. The approach uses electrodes containing multiple recording sites (16), allowing the acquisition of large amounts of neuronal activity data from a transect through the brain while flies are still able to sleep. The approach starts by tethering the fly, followed by positioning it on an air-supported ball. A multichannel silicon probe is then inserted laterally into the fly brain via one eye, allowing for recording of electrical signals from the retina through to the central brain. These recordings can be acquired under spontaneous conditions or in the presence of visual stimuli, and the minimal surgery promotes long-term recordings (e.g., overnight). Sleep and wake can be tracked using infrared cameras, which allow for the measurement of locomotive activity as well as microbehaviors such as proboscis extensions during sleep. The protocol has been optimized to promote subject survivability, which is an important factor when performing long-term (~16-h) recordings. The approach described here uses specific recording probes, data acquisition devices, and analysis tools. Although it is expected that some of these items might need to be adapted to the equipment available in different laboratories, the overall aim is to provide an overview on how to record electrical activity across the brain of behaving (and sleeping) flies using this kind of approach and technology.

A man who fled from police, drove onto a walking trail, triggered a shelter-in-place advisory for the Chateau Nova hotel in Yellowknife and subsequently broke into a home was on bail at the time and under house arrest, police say.

N.B. Power has won approval to keep charging rates that it increased on customers by an average of 9.25 on April 1, and to repeat the increase next April, with only minor modifications.