haploinsufficiency causes desynchronized growth of brain areas involved in sensory processing.

How changes in brain scaling relate to altered behavior is an important question in neurodevelopmental disorder research. Mice with germline haploinsufficiency ( ) closely mirror the abnormal brain scaling and behavioral deficits seen in humans with macrocephaly/autism syndrome, which is caused by mutations. We explored whether deviation from normal patterns of growth can predict behavioral abnormalities.

Leptin receptor-expressing pericytes mediate access of hypothalamic feeding centers to circulating leptin.

Knowledge of how leptin receptor (LepR) neurons of the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) access circulating leptin is still rudimentary. Employing intravital microscopy, we found that almost half of the blood-vessel-enwrapping pericytes in the MBH express LepR. Selective disruption of pericytic LepR led to increased food intake, increased fat mass, and loss of leptin-dependent signaling in nearby LepR neurons.