Tonic GABAergic control of mouse dentate granule cells during postnatal development.

The dentate gyrus is the main hippocampal input structure receiving strong excitatory cortical afferents via the perforant path. Therefore, inhibition at this 'hippocampal gate' is important, particularly during postnatal development, when the hippocampal network is prone to seizures. The present study describes the development of tonic GABAergic inhibition in mouse dentate gyrus.

Somatic sex reprogramming of adult ovaries to testes by FOXL2 ablation.

In mammals, the transcription factor SRY, encoded by the Y chromosome, is normally responsible for triggering the indifferent gonads to develop as testes rather than ovaries. However, testis differentiation can occur in its absence. Here we demonstrate in the mouse that a single factor, the forkhead transcriptional regulator FOXL2, is required to prevent transdifferentiation of an adult ovary to a testis.

Compensatory increase in P/Q-calcium current-mediated synaptic transmission following chronic block of N-type channels.

Synaptic transmission is triggered by presynaptic calcium influx through voltage-gated calcium channels. Axon terminals of central neurons express a diverse set of homologous calcium channels, giving rise to P/Q-, N-, and R-type calcium currents. The relative contribution of these components to presynaptic calcium signalling is heterogeneous and incompletely understood.

Functional maturation of developing interneurons in the molecular layer of mouse dentate gyrus.

The dentate gyrus is the main target for cortical inputs to the hippocampal formation and is particularly strongly controlled by synaptic inhibition. Many GABAergic interneurons migrate from the dentate molecular layer towards their final position in the hilus during the first two postnatal weeks. During this critical period of development we monitored the intrinsic and synaptic properties of developing interneurons in the molecular layer of mouse hippocampal slices.