Is phosphorylated tau unique to chronic traumatic encephalopathy? Phosphorylated tau in epileptic brain and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Repetitive traumatic brain injury (rTBI) is one of the major risk factors for the abnormal deposition of phosphorylated tau (PT) in the brain and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) affect the limbic system, but no comparative studies on PT distribution in TLE and CTE are available. It is also unclear whether PT pathology results from repeated head hits (rTBI).

Intentional Excellence in the Baldwin Wallace University Neuroscience Program.

The Society for Neuroscience recognized Baldwin Wallace University's (BWU) undergraduate Neuroscience program as their Program of the Year for 2012. This award acknowledged the "accomplishments of a neuroscience department or program for excellence in educating neuroscientists and providing innovative models to which other programs can aspire." The Neuroscience program grew out of students interested in studying the biological basis of behavior.

Decrease in levels of the evolutionarily conserved microRNA miR-124 affects oligodendrocyte numbers in Zebrafish, Danio rerio.

Oligodendrocytes produce multi-lamellar myelin membranes that surround axons in the central nervous system (CNS). Preservation and generation of myelin are potential therapeutic targets for dysmyelinating and demyelinating diseases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a vital role in oligodendrocyte differentiation and overall CNS development.

A disorganized innervation of the inner ear persists in the absence of ErbB2.

ErbB2 protein is essential for the development of Schwann cells and for the normal fiber growth and myelin formation of peripheral nerves. We have investigated the fate of the otocyst-derived inner ear sensory neurons in the absence of ErbB2 using ErbB2 null mutants. Afferent innervation of the ear sensory epithelia shows numerous fibers overshooting the organ of Corti, followed by a reduction of those fibers in near term embryos.

ErbB2 is required for ductal morphogenesis of the mammary gland.

The ERBB2/HER2/NEU receptor tyrosine kinase gene is amplified in up to 30% of human breast cancers. The frequent and specific selection of this receptor kinase gene for amplification in breast cancer implies that it has important normal functions in the mammary gland. To investigate the functions of ErbB2 during normal mouse mammary gland development, we transplanted mammary buds from genetically rescued ErbB2(-/-) embryos that express ErbB2 in the cardiac muscle.

The 36K protein of zebrafish CNS myelin is a short-chain dehydrogenase.

Previous studies identified homologues to mammalian myelin genes expressed in the teleost central nervous system (CNS), including myelin basic protein (MBP), protein zero (P0), and a member of the proteolipid protein family, DM20. In addition, an uncharacterized 36-kDa (36K) protein is a major component of teleost myelin, but is not a major component of myelin in other species. In the present study, we sought to better understand myelin proteins and myelination in one teleost, zebrafish, by molecular characterization of the zebrafish 36K protein.