A joint publication of BMC, part of Springer Nature, and the Editorial Group of Molecular Brain since 2008.
Molecular Brain is affiliated with the Association for the Study of Neurons and Disease (AND).
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CNS axon regeneration inhibitors such as Nogo and CSPGs (Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans) are major extrinsic factors limiting outgrowth of severed nerve fibers. However, knowledge on intracellular signaling...
Two-pore domain K+ (K2P) channels have been shown to modulate neuronal excitability. However, physiological function of TWIK-1, the first identified member of the mammalian K2P channel family, in neuronal cells i...
The rodent barrel cortex has been established as an ideal model for studying the development and plasticity of a neuronal circuit. The barrel cortex consists of barrel and septa columns, which receive various ...
The basal ganglia (BG) are a complex network of subcortical nuclei involved in the coordination and integration of the motor activity. Although these independent anatomical structures are functionally related,...
Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5), which is activated by binding to p35 or p39, is involved in synaptic plasticity and affects learning and memory formation. In Cdk5 knockout (KO) mice and p35 KO mice, brain de...
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading form of dementia worldwide. The Aβ-peptide is believed to be the major pathogenic compound of the disease. Since several years it is hypothesized that Aβ impacts the Wnt...
Van Gogh-like (Vangl) 2 is a planar cell polarity (PCP) protein that regulates the induction of polarized cellular and tissue morphology during animal development. In the nervous system, the core PCP signaling...
Behavioral choices in habits and innate behaviors occur automatically in the absence of conscious selection. These behaviors are not easily modified by learning. Similar types of behaviors also occur in variou...
Previous studies have shown that a family of phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) plays pivotal roles in the brain; in particular, we previously reported that knockout of the β isoform of PI3K (PI3Kβ) in mice im...
Long-term potentiation (LTP) is the key cellular mechanism for physiological learning and pathological chronic pain. Postsynaptic accumulation of AMPA receptor (AMPAR) GluA1 plays an important role for injury-...
Inhibition from GABAergic interneurons in brain circuits is a critical component of cognitive function. This inhibition is regulated through a diverse network of neuromodulation. A number of recent studies sug...
The dysbindin-1 gene (DTNBP1: dystrobrevin binding protein 1) is a promising schizophrenia susceptibility gene, known to localize almost exclusively to neurons in the brain, and participates in the regulation of ...
Mutations of VPS35, a component of the retromer complex have been associated with late onset familial Parkinson's disease. The D620N mutation in VPS35 appears to be most prevalent, however, P316S was found in ...
Despite high prevalence of anxiety accompanying with chronic pain, the mechanisms underlying pain-related anxiety are largely unknown. With its well-documented role in pain and emotion processing, the amygdala...
Mutations in the human FOXP2 gene cause speech and language impairments. The FOXP2 protein is a transcription factor that regulates the expression of many downstream genes, which may have important roles in nervo...
Phosphodiesterase (PDE) 10A is selectively expressed in medium spiny neurons of the striatum. Nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a key region that mediates drug reward and addiction-related behaviors. To investigate t...
Genetic methods for inducibly and reversibly inhibiting neuronal activity of specific neurons are critical for exploring the functions of neuronal circuits. The engineered human glycine receptor, called iverme...
Alcohol is detrimental to early development. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) due to maternal alcohol abuse results in a series of developmental abnormalities including cranial facial dysmorphology, ocu...
Culturing primary cortical neurons is an essential neuroscience technique. However, most cultures are derived from rodent brains and standard protocols for human brain cultures are sparse. Herein, we describe ...
Profound synapse loss is one of the major pathological hallmarks associated with Alzheimer’s disease, which might underlie memory impairment. Our previous work demonstrates that magnesium ion is a critical fac...
Appropriate parental care by fathers greatly facilitates health in human family life. Much less is known from animal studies regarding the factors and neural circuitry that affect paternal behavior compared wi...
Microglia are the primary immune cells of the spinal cord that are activated in response to ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury and release various neurotrophic and/or neurotoxic factors to determine neuronal sur...
Whereas aberrant brain connectivity is likely the core pathology of autism-spectrum disorder (ASD), studies do not agree as to whether hypo- or hyper-connectivity is the main underlying problem. Recent functio...
Dominant mutations in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) cause degeneration of motor neurons in a subset of inherited amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The pathogenetic process mediated by misfolded and/or aggre...
Working memory is a process for short-term active maintenance of information. Behavioral neurophysiological studies in monkeys have demonstrated that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is a key cortica...
Current evidence suggests a central role for autophagy in many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Furthermore...
Recent studies have indicated that Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a pathogen-recognition receptor that triggers inflammatory signals in innate immune cells, is also expressed on sensory neurons, implicating its ...
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is motile within dendritic spines, but the mechanisms underlying its regulation are poorly understood. To address this issue, we have simultaneously imaged morphology and ER content ...
Animal aggressiveness is controlled by genetic and environmental factors. Among environmental factors, social experience plays an important role in modulating aggression in vertebrates and invertebrates. In Droso...
Dendrites of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) synapse with axon terminals of bipolar cells in the inner plexiform layer (IPL). Changes in RGC dendrites and synapses between bipolar cells in the inner retinal laye...
Histamine (HA) regulates the sleep-wake cycle, synaptic plasticity and memory in adult mammals. Dopaminergic specification in the embryonic ventral midbrain (VM) coincides with increased HA brain levels. To st...
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the major neurodegenerative disorders. Mitochondrial malfunction is implicated in PD pathogenesis. Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN)-induced puta...
Alzheimer s disease (AD) is characterized by cerebral deposition of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ). Aβ is produced by sequential cleavage of the Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) by β- and γ-secretases. Many studies hav...
Manipulation of gene expression via recombinant viral vectors and creation of transgenic knock-out/in animals has revolutionized our understanding of genes that play critical roles during neuronal development ...
TRPM4 channels are Ca2+-activated nonselective cation channels which are deeply involved in physiological and pathological conditions. However, their trafficking mechanism and binding partners are still elusive.
Many electrophysiological properties of neuron including firing rates and rhythmicaloscillation change in response to a temperature variation, but the mechanismunderlying these correlations remains unverified....
Serotonin receptors are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) involved in a variety of psychiatric disorders. G-proteins, heterotrimeric complexes that couple to multiple receptors, are activated when their rece...
Despite the importance of 5-HT1A as a major target for the action of several anxiolytics/antidepressant drugs, little is known about its regulation in central serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) neurons.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is characterized by recurrent abdominal discomfort, spontaneous pain, colorectal hypersensitivity and bowel dysfunction. Patients with IBS also suffer from emotional anxiety and ...
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited human retinal disorder that causes progressive photoreceptor cell loss, leading to severe vision impairment or blindness. However, no effective therapy has been establ...
Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a single causal mutation in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been implicated as epigenetic regulators of neuro...
Voltage-dependent block of the NMDA receptor by Mg2+ is thought to be central to the unique involvement of this receptor in higher brain functions. However, the in vivo role of the Mg2+ block in the mammalian bra...
Mutant mice have been used successfully as a tool for investigating the mechanisms of memory at multiple levels, from genes to behavior. In most cases, manipulating a gene expressed in the brain impairs cognit...
Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is a highly charged polyanion capable of interacting with a number of molecular targets. This signaling molecule is released into the extracellular matrix by central astrocytes ...
Schizophrenia, a severe psychiatric disorder, has a lifetime prevalence of 1%. The exact mechanisms underlying this disorder remain unknown, though theories abound. Recent studies suggest that particular cell ...
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology occurs in part as the result of excessive production of β-amyloid (Aβ). Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) is now considered a receptor for Aβ and consequently contri...
The gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA) system is a critical mediator of fear extinction process. GABA can induce “phasic” or “tonic” inhibition in neurons through synaptic or extrasynaptic GABAA receptors, respectiv...
Cerebral overexcitation needs inhibitory neurons be functionally upregulated to rebalance excitation vs. inhibition. For example, the intensive activities of GABAergic neurons induce spontaneous spikes, i.e., ...
HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) is characterized by development of cognitive, behavioral and motor abnormalities, and occurs in approximately 50% of HIV infected individuals. In the United States...
Low-voltage-activated (T-type) calcium channels play a crucial role in a number of physiological processes, including neuronal and cardiac pacemaker activity and nociception. Therefore, finding specific modula...
A joint publication of BMC, part of Springer Nature, and the Editorial Group of Molecular Brain since 2008.
Molecular Brain is affiliated with the Association for the Study of Neurons and Disease (AND).
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