Local elimination of acetylcholine synthesis in habenular neurons demonstrates a key role for vesicular synergy and neurotransmitter co-release in nicotine dependence.
Electron-donating nucleophilic compounds activate TRPA1 ion channels in fruit flies and mosquitoes, but not humans, making TRPA1 a promising target for insect repellants.
Two different classes of taste receptor neurons in the Drosophila melanogaster proboscis play distinct roles in yeast feeding and are both modulated by the fly's internal amino acid state in order to promote protein-specific appetite.
Michael A Gaffield, Matthew J M Rowan ... Jason M Christie
In behaving mice, inhibition from molecular layer interneurons attenuates excitation of Purkinje cells by parallel fibers and suppresses their ability to enhance climbing fiber-triggered dendritic Ca2+ responses.
A high axonal chloride concentration explains why activation of light-gated chloride channels causes neurotransmitter release, and a novel hybrid somatodendritic targeting motif ameliorates this phenomenon and improves their inhibitory function.
Oleg Tolstenkov, Petrus Van der Auwera ... Alexander Gottschalk
The 'missing' class of Caenorhabditis elegans excitatory motor neurons, AS, contribute to propagation and coordination of body waves, integrating information from, and feeding back to premotor interneurons byelectrical signaling.
Research into light-gated ion channels called channelrhodospins laid the foundations for the development of optogenetics, a technique that has gone on to revolutionize neuroscience.
Kira M Düsterwald, Christopher B Currin ... Joseph V Raimondo
Mathematical models with experimental validation show that chloride transporters in the cell membrane, and not negatively charged impermeant molecules, generate the driving force used by GABA receptors to silence neurons.
The atomic structure of GtACR1 provides new insight into the chemical mechanism of natural light-gated anion membrane conductance, and enables its optimization for optogenetic photoinhibition of neuron firing.
Functional identification of GABAergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area as a important neuronal subpopulation regulating non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep in mice.
