Unlabelled: During infections with the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is utilized as a carbon source for parasite metabolism and also to facilitate parasite dissemination by stimulating dendritic-cell motility. The best-recognized function for GABA, however, is its role in the nervous system as an inhibitory neurotransmitter that regulates the flow and timing of excitatory neurotransmission. When this pathway is altered, seizures develop.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeural circuit formation demands precise timing of innervation by different classes of axons. However, the mechanisms underlying such activity remain largely unknown. In the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN), axons from the retina and visual cortex innervate thalamic relay neurons in a highly coordinated manner, with those from the cortex arriving well after those from retina.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDevelopment of visual system circuitry requires the formation of precise synaptic connections between neurons in the retina and brain. For example, axons from retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) form synapses onto neurons within subnuclei of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) [i.e.
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