Zebrafish oxytocin neurons drive nocifensive behavior via brainstem premotor targets.

Animals have evolved specialized neural circuits to defend themselves from pain- and injury-causing stimuli. Using a combination of optical, behavioral and genetic approaches in the larval zebrafish, we describe a novel role for hypothalamic oxytocin (OXT) neurons in the processing of noxious stimuli. In vivo imaging revealed that a large and distributed fraction of zebrafish OXT neurons respond strongly to noxious inputs, including the activation of damage-sensing TRPA1 receptors.

Motor Behavior Mediated by Continuously Generated Dopaminergic Neurons in the Zebrafish Hypothalamus Recovers after Cell Ablation.

Postembryonic neurogenesis has been observed in several regions of the vertebrate brain, including the dentate gyrus and rostral migratory stream in mammals, and is required for normal behavior [1-3]. Recently, the hypothalamus has also been shown to undergo continuous neurogenesis as a way to mediate energy balance [4-10]. As the hypothalamus regulates multiple functional outputs, it is likely that additional behaviors may be affected by postembryonic neurogenesis in this brain structure.

Elevated polar ejection forces stabilize kinetochore-microtubule attachments.

Chromosome biorientation promotes congression and generates tension that stabilizes kinetochore-microtubule (kt-MT) interactions. Forces produced by molecular motors also contribute to chromosome alignment, but their impact on kt-MT attachment stability is unclear. A critical force that acts on chromosomes is the kinesin-10-dependent polar ejection force (PEF).