The mouse trigeminal system is an extremely well-characterized and accessible model for neuronal development, sensorimotor integration, and active sensation. Rodent whiskers are tactile sensors that can detect subtle differences in amplitude, velocity, orientation, and duration of a tactile stimulus. Several subtypes of mechanosensory neurons innervate each whisker follicle and the neurons representing a single follicle […]
RNA Alternative Splicing and Abundance: Using HITS-CLIP to Study the Function of RNA-Binding Proteins
posted by UCSDNeuro
Paraneoplastic neurologic disorders (PNDs) represent a rare class of neurodegenerative diseases that arise in the presence of cancer. The disorders are believed to stem from an immune response against certain tumor and neuronal antigens (onconeural antigens). The generation of onconeural antigens is a double-edged sword—while acting as an effective antitumor response, the antigens also generate […]
How mice decide: Stimulation of striatal D1 and D2 neurons bias choice in opposite ways
posted by Matt Boisvert
“It is our choices, Harry, that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” –Dumbledore “We are our choices.” –Jean-Paul Sartre The question of how animals make decisions based upon prior experiences has plagued neuroscience since the field’s inception. An animal wants to make a decision in such a manner that it […]
Noise vs song, how are naturalistic stimuli processed in the brain?
posted by UCSDNeuro
One problem encountered in researching sensory systems is that classical stimuli used to probe a sensory system are often not representative of what that system might encounter in the real world. Furthermore it has been difficult to explain the response of neurons to such naturalistic stimuli (such as natural scenes, faces, or speech) based solely […]
Joaquín Fuster: Working Memory, Cognits, and the Perception-Action Cycle
posted by kkiritah
In the 1920s, Jakob von Uexküll (the theorist responsible for the notion of umwelt) described the sensory-motor cycle through which an animal modifies the environment, thereby modifying its own perception of the environment, which leads to further action upon the environment, and so forth, until a particular goal is achieved (Fig. 1a). In the primitive animal, […]
Forming Functional Synapses
posted by Ashley Juavinett
Since the discovery of long-term potentiation by Lomo and Bliss in 1973, neuroscientists have been searching for additional evidence of neuronal change based on experience. The concept of synaptic plasticity – the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of incoming information – is not new to the neuroscience field. But now, with […]
June
02
When Marmosets Call
posted by Ashley Juavinett
Inhabiting a complex and noisy environment in the Brazilian forest, the common marmoset faces a continuous challenge to successful vocal communication. Much like having a conversation in Grand Central Station at rush hour, the marmoset has to strategically monitor its acoustic context and structure its calls accordingly. Understanding how these animals use various cortical systems […]
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