Identification of circuits involved in locomotion and object fixation in .

The family of transcription factors is necessary for operant self-learning, an evolutionary conserved form of motor learning. The expression pattern, molecular function and mechanisms of action of the orthologue remain to be elucidated. By editing the genomic locus of with CRISPR/Cas9, we find that the three different isoforms are expressed in neurons, but not in glia and that not all neurons express all isoforms.

High neural activity accelerates the decline of cognitive plasticity with age in .

The ability to learn progressively declines with age. Neural hyperactivity has been implicated in impairing cognitive plasticity with age, but the molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we show that chronic excitation of the O-sensing neurons during ageing causes a rapid decline of experience-dependent plasticity in response to environmental O concentration, whereas sustaining lower activity of O-sensing neurons retains plasticity with age.

Clusters of DCX+ cells "trapped" in the subcortical white matter of early postnatal Cetartiodactyla (Tursiops truncatus, Stenella coeruloalba and Ovis aries).

The cytoskeletal protein doublecortin (DCX) is a marker for neuronal cells retaining high potential for structural plasticity, originating from both embryonic and adult neurogenic processes. Some of these cells have been described in the subcortical white matter of neonatal and postnatal mammals. In mice and humans it has been shown they are young neurons migrating through the white matter after birth, reaching the cortex in a sort of protracted neurogenesis.

Non-Newly Generated, "Immature" Neurons in the Sheep Brain Are Not Restricted to Cerebral Cortex.

A newly proposed form of brain structural plasticity consists of non-newly generated, "immature" neurons of the adult cerebral cortex. Similar to newly generated neurons, these cells express the cytoskeletal protein Doublecortin (DCX), yet they are generated prenatally and then remain in a state of immaturity for long periods. In rodents, the immature neurons are restricted to the paleocortex, whereas in other mammals, they are also found in neocortex.