Presynaptic ionotropic receptors in the cerebellar cortex: Just the tip of the iceberg?

The presence of ionotropic receptors to neurotransmitters in presynaptic structures is well documented in many synapses of the mammalian brain. However, due to technical limitations, the actual prevalence of presynaptic ionotropic receptors, as well as their potential functional roles, have remained largely uncertain. The relatively simple and regular organization of neurites in the cerebellar cortex has offered a unique opportunity to bridge this gap of knowledge, by systematically probing the presence and role of presynaptic ionotropic receptors at various synapses.

The spinal cord facilitates cerebellar upper limb motor learning and control; inputs from neuromusculoskeletal simulation.

Complex interactions between brain regions and the spinal cord (SC) govern body motion, which is ultimately driven by muscle activation. Motor planning or learning are mainly conducted at higher brain regions, whilst the SC acts as a brain-muscle gateway and as a motor control centre providing fast reflexes and muscle activity regulation. Thus, higher brain areas need to cope with the SC as an inherent and evolutionary older part of the body dynamics.

Walking naturally after spinal cord injury using a brain-spine interface.

A spinal cord injury interrupts the communication between the brain and the region of the spinal cord that produces walking, leading to paralysis. Here, we restored this communication with a digital bridge between the brain and spinal cord that enabled an individual with chronic tetraplegia to stand and walk naturally in community settings. This brain-spine interface (BSI) consists of fully implanted recording and stimulation systems that establish a direct link between cortical signals and the analogue modulation of epidural electrical stimulation targeting the spinal cord regions involved in the production of walking.

Depolarization-induced bursts of miniature synaptic currents in individual synapses of developing cerebellum.

In central synapses, spontaneous transmitter release observed in the absence of action potential firing is often considered as a random process lacking time or space specificity. However, when studying miniature glutamatergic currents at cerebellar synapses between parallel fibers and molecular layer interneurons, we found that these currents were sometimes organized in bursts of events occurring at high frequency (about 30 Hz). Bursts displayed homogeneous quantal size amplitudes.

Five-Hour Detection of Intestinal Colonization with Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Producing Using the β-Lacta Phenotypic Test: the BLESSED Study.

Extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing (ESBL-PE) intestinal colonization is of particular concern as it negatively impacts morbidity and is the main source of external cross-contamination in hospitalized patients. Contact isolation strategies may be caught out due to the turnaround time needed by laboratories to report intestinal colonization, during which patients may be inappropriately isolated or not isolated. Here, we developed a protocol combining enrichment by a rapid selective subculture of rectal swab medium and realization of a β-Lacta test on the obtained bacterial pellet (named the BLESSED protocol).