Publications by authors named "Randi K Oyama"
Article Synopsis
- Various genetic techniques help trace cell lineage during tissue development, with some focusing on spatial/temporal aspects and others linking gene expression to lineage.
- The G-TRACE system allows for quick visualization of GAL4 expression patterns, enabling genome-wide expression-based lineage studies conducted by UCLA students and high school scholars.
- Findings revealed new expression-based lineage patterns and were compiled into the G-TRACE Expression Database (GED), contributing to better student learning outcomes and retention in STEM fields.
Background: Steroids affect many tissues, including the brain. In the zebra finch, the estrogenic steroid estradiol (E2) is especially effective at promoting growth of the neural circuit specialized for song. In this species, only the males sing and they have a much larger and more interconnected song circuit than females.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain estrogens rapidly strengthen auditory encoding and guide song preference in a songbird.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
February 2010
Higher cognitive function depends on accurate detection and processing of subtle features of sensory stimuli. Such precise computations require neural circuits to be modulated over rapid timescales, yet this modulation is poorly understood. Brain-derived steroids (neurosteroids) can act as fast signaling molecules in the vertebrate central nervous system and could therefore modulate sensory processing and guide behavior, but there is no empirical evidence for this possibility.
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