Measuring Heart Rate in Freely Moving Mice.

Measuring autonomic parameters like heart rate in behaving mice is not only a standard procedure in cardiovascular research but is applied in many other interdisciplinary research fields. With an electrocardiogram (ECG), the heart rate can be measured by deriving the electrical potential between subcutaneously implanted wires across the chest. This is an inexpensive and easy-to-implement technique and particularly suited for repeated recordings of up to eight weeks.

Deep learning-enabled segmentation of ambiguous bioimages with deepflash2.

Bioimages frequently exhibit low signal-to-noise ratios due to experimental conditions, specimen characteristics, and imaging trade-offs. Reliable segmentation of such ambiguous images is difficult and laborious. Here we introduce deepflash2, a deep learning-enabled segmentation tool for bioimage analysis.

Integrated cardio-behavioral responses to threat define defensive states.

Fear and anxiety are brain states that evolved to mediate defensive responses to threats. The defense reaction includes multiple interacting behavioral, autonomic and endocrine adjustments, but their integrative nature is poorly understood. In particular, although threat has been associated with various cardiac changes, there is no clear consensus regarding the relevance of these changes for the integrated defense reaction.

Induction of BDNF Expression in Layer II/III and Layer V Neurons of the Motor Cortex Is Essential for Motor Learning.

Motor learning depends on synaptic plasticity between corticostriatal projections and striatal medium spiny neurons. Retrograde tracing from the dorsolateral striatum reveals that both layer II/III and V neurons in the motor cortex express BDNF as a potential regulator of plasticity in corticostriatal projections in male and female mice. The number of these BDNF-expressing cortical neurons and levels of BDNF protein are highest in juvenile mice when adult motor patterns are shaped, while BDNF levels in the adult are low.