The nematode worm C. elegans consumes familiar bacterial species more rapidly than it does novel ones, and this preference for familiarity is mediated by a pair of serotonergic neurons.
Optogenetics has revealed that synaptic vesicles can be recycled extremely rapidly in nematodes, indicating that existing models for how synapses 'reload' may need to be revised.
Ana I Domingos, Aylesse Sordillo ... Jeffrey M Friedman
Natural sugars are preferred over artificial sweeteners because of their nutritional content, which is sensed by MCH neurons in the lateral hypothalamus.
Alexander M Herman, Longwen Huang ... Benjamin R Arenkiel
Optogenetic techniques, whereby light is used to activate neuronal cells, are quickly becoming widely used in neuroscience; but excessive exposure to light can actually silence certain types of neuronal cells.
Negative feedback signals within the substantia nigra regulate the output of the basal ganglia, with implications for disorders such as Parkinson's disease.
In nematode worms, the length of the male refractory period–the time between matings–is regulated by multiple transmitters including dopamine, which both promotes ejaculation and reduces the activity of males post-copulation.
The ability of mice to encode new memories or retrieve existing ones can be selectively manipulated by using optogenetics to inhibit hippocampal activity at specific phases of the theta cycle.
Analysis of neurons that lack the two neuronal dynamins, dynamin 1 and 3, demonstrates a pathway of synaptic vesicle reformation that does not require these two dynamins or clathrin-dependent budding.
