Chemogenetic control of GABAergic activity within the interpeduncular nucleus reveals dissociable behavioral components of the nicotine withdrawal phenotype.

Chronic exposure to nicotine results in the development of a dependent state such that a withdrawal syndrome is elicited upon cessation of nicotine. The habenulo-interpeduncular (Hb-IPN) circuit contains a high concentration of nAChRs and has been identified as a main circuit involved in nicotine withdrawal. Here we investigated the contribution of two distinct subpopulations of IPN GABAergic neurons to nicotine withdrawal behaviors.

Engineered Wnt7a ligands rescue blood-brain barrier and cognitive deficits in a COVID-19 mouse model.

Respiratory infection with SARS-CoV-2 causes systemic vascular inflammation and cognitive impairment. We sought to identify the underlying mechanisms mediating cerebrovascular dysfunction and inflammation following mild respiratory SARS-CoV-2 infection. To this end, we performed unbiased transcriptional analysis to identify brain endothelial cell signalling pathways dysregulated by mouse adapted SARS-CoV-2 MA10 in aged immunocompetent C57Bl/6 mice in vivo.