Basolateral amygdala volume in affective disorders using 7T MRI .

Background: The basolateral complex of the amygdala is a crucial neurobiological site for Pavlovian conditioning. Investigations into volumetric alterations of the basolateral amygdala in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) have yielded conflicting results. These may be reconciled in an inverted U-shape allostatic growth trajectory.

Molecular protocol for genome-wide and cell-type-selective profiling of in vivo small noncoding RNA:target RNA interactions by CIMERA-seq.

Small noncoding RNAs (sncRNAs) can regulate gene expression by guiding the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) to targeted transcripts for translational repression and/or target destabilization. Here, we present a robust benchtop protocol, termed CIMERA-seq, for the unambiguous profiling of sncRNA:target RNA interactions in a genome-wide and cell-type-selective manner. We describe steps for in vivo crosslinking and harvesting tissue, immunoprecipitation and covalent ligation of sncRNAs to target RNAs within the RISC, and sequencing of the resulting chimeric sncRNA:target RNA interactions.

Highfield imaging of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex in uni- and bipolar depression.

Background: The subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex (sgACC), as a part of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex and the limbic system plays a crucial role in mood regulation. Previous structural and functional brain imaging studies of the sgACC have revealed alterations of Gray Matter (GM) volumes and Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent signals (BOLD) in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Bipolar Disorder (BD), suggesting potential biomarker traits for affective disorders.

Method: In this study we investigated the gray matter volume of the sgACC in 3 different patient groups: 40 MDD patients, of which 20 were medicated (MDDm) and 20 were unmedicated (MDDu), and 21 medicated BD patients, and compared them with 23 healthy volunteers.

Genome-wide and cell-type-selective profiling of in vivo small noncoding RNA:target RNA interactions by chimeric RNA sequencing.

Small noncoding RNAs (sncRNAs) regulate biological processes by impacting post-transcriptional gene expression through repressing the translation and levels of targeted transcripts. Despite the clear biological importance of sncRNAs, approaches to unambiguously define genome-wide sncRNA:target RNA interactions remain challenging and not widely adopted. We present CIMERA-seq, a robust strategy incorporating covalent ligation of sncRNAs to their target RNAs within the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) and direct detection of in vivo interactions by sequencing of the resulting chimeric RNAs.