Myxopapillary Ependymoma Metastasis Mimicking Pulmonary Embolism: An Illustrative Case.

Myxopapillary ependymomas (MPEs) are rare spinal cord tumors with low rates of metastasis outside of the neuraxis. Gross total resection of MPEs can significantly improve progression-free survival; however, adjunctive treatment remains unstandardized. A 29-year-old female with a history of spina bifida occulta surgical correction and lower back pain presented with dyspnea and tachycardia.

Rapid Passive Gamma Mapping as an Adjunct to Electrical Stimulation Mapping for Functional Localization in Resection of Primary Brain Neoplasms.

Objective: We examined the utility of passive high gamma mapping (HGM) as an adjunct to conventional awake brain mapping during glioma resection. We compared functional and survival outcomes before and after implementing intraoperative HGM.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of 75 patients who underwent a first-time, awake craniotomy for glioma resection.

A diencephalic circuit in rats for opioid analgesia but not positive reinforcement.

Mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonists are potent analgesics, but also cause sedation, respiratory depression, and addiction risk. The epithalamic lateral habenula (LHb) signals aversive states including pain, and here we found that it is a potent site for MOR-agonist analgesia-like responses in rats. Importantly, LHb MOR activation is not reinforcing in the absence of noxious input.

Visual Experience Influences Dendritic Orientation but Is Not Required for Asymmetric Wiring of the Retinal Direction Selective Circuit.

Changes in dendritic morphology in response to activity have long been thought to be a critical component of how neural circuits develop to properly encode sensory information. Ventral-preferring direction-selective ganglion cells (vDSGCs) have asymmetric dendrites oriented along their preferred direction, and this has been hypothesized to play a critical role in their tuning. Here we report the surprising result that visual experience is critical for the alignment of vDSGC dendrites to their preferred direction.