Spatial organization of neocortical myelinated axons at the ultrastructural level
This paper examines the organization of myelinated axons, the long neuronal processes integral to long distance communication in the brain circuitry.
Neurobiology
Probing the nuclear role of Ube3a in the pathogenesis of Angelman syndrome
Angelman syndrome (AS) is a severe neurological disorder often involving epilepsy, autistic tendencies, mental retardation and ataxia. The genetic locus of the disorder has been identified as an inability to inherit a functional maternal copy of the gene UBE3A, which encodes for a ubiquitin ligase involved in proteasome-mediated degradation. Here, Zapf and Anderson characterizes the effect of Ube3a on tissue development.
Circulating hormone adrenomedullin and its binding protein protect neural cells from hypoxia-induced apoptosis
Stephanie M. Wang ‘13 and Weng-Lang Yang The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA Brain ischemia is the underlying cause of neuron death during stroke and brain trauma. In addition to necrosis, neural cells exposed to the condition of oxygen depletion during ischemia can also undergo apoptosis, which significantly contributes to brain injury. Adrenomedullin (AM), a multifunctional [...]
Analysis of the role of Bhlhb5 and Prdm8 in neural development
Stephanie I. Mok Harvard College ‘09, moksi@mail.nih.gov In neural development, Bhlhb5 and Prdm8 may have a cooperative role in the same regulatory processes underlying neuronal differentiation and maturation. Three potential models of interaction are proposed. The three models are: 1) Bhlhb5 and Prdm8 regulate the same target genes, but do not bind together in complex, 2) Bhlhb5 and Prdm8 interact [...]
Development of an automated head-fixed preparation to study the neuronal mechanisms of motor learning in rodents
Kate Xie ‘10 Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology The neuronal circuitry underlying motor sequences is poorly understood, in part due to the inability to record from and modify neuronal activity in awake, behaving animals. A head-restrained rat preparation will facilitate the application of optical and neural recording techniques to behaving animals, while also simplifying the presentation of [...]