Investigation of synapse development using a single neuron system illuminates how individual neurons specify connectivity with their postsynaptic partners and the central role of the synaptic organizer neurexin in this process.
Population output variability in a motor control system varies across levels (CPG, motor neurons, muscles) and can be ascribed to life history differences among animals and in some cases to differences between bilaterally homologous elements.
LRRK2 G2019S knock-in mice are a genetically faithful model that recapitulates the slow disease progression of familial PD, with initial alterations to behaviour and neurotransmission providing early pathophysiological targets for neuroprotective interventions.
Clarinet, a novel C. elegans active zone protein with homology to vertebrate Piccolo and Rim, uses its different isoforms for diverse functions, including synaptic vesicle clustering, vesicle release and synaptogenesis.
Mature axons lose the ability to regenerate because key growth molecules are excluded through changes in vesicle transport, and restoring transport can restore regeneration.
Synaptic defects previously attributed to loss of kinesin function are found to be mediated by the Wnd/DLK axonal injury signaling pathway, which restrains the total levels of presynaptic proteins in response to their accumulation.
Single-nociceptor tracing reveals a novel somatotopic organization for the mammalian pain system, and physiological recordings and peripheral optogenetic behavior assays suggest that it is a possible mechanism underlying region-specific pain sensation.
