Sensory neurons in the olfactory system develop from two different regions of the ectoderm, the olfactory placode and the cranial neural crest, whereas sensory neurons within the eye and ear develop from just one region.
The Notch signaling pathway has a central role in the development of the nervous system, and also in the establishment of networks of connections in the adult brain
A protein complex that enables cells to transport substances across their membranes, and that typically consists of four subunits, can also function as two hemicomplexes, each with two subunits.
Individual granule cells within the cerebellum-the region of the brain that coordinates movement and supports the learning of new motor skills-receive both sensory and motor input streams: an arrangement that may help the brain to use feedback to fine-tune movement.
Neurons in the hippocampus modulate the rates at which they fire, and the locations in which they fire, so as to encode the information that is central to forming memories about personal experiences.
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.
The HITS-CLIP sequencing method is used to demonstrate that cryptic exons can detect messenger RNA that contains nonsense mutations, and then cause this RNA to decay, which shows that these exons are involved in maintaining the electrical balance of neurons and, possibly, preventing epilepsy.
