The balance between factors leading to proliferation and differentiation of cortical neural precursors (CNPs) determines the correct cortical development. In this work, we show that GDNF and its receptor GFRα1 are expressed in the neocortex during the period of cortical neurogenesis. We show that the GDNF/GFRα1 complex inhibits the self-renewal capacity of mouse CNP cells induced by fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), promoting neuronal differentiation. While GDNF leads to decreased proliferation of cultured cortical precursor cells, ablation of GFRα1 in glutamatergic cortical precursors enhances its proliferation. We show that GDNF treatment of CNPs promoted morphological differentiation even in the presence of the self-renewal-promoting factor, FGF2. Analysis of GFRα1-deficient mice shows an increase in the number of cycling cells during cortical development and a reduction in dendrite development of cortical GFRα1-expressing neurons. Together, these results indicate that GDNF/GFRα1 signaling plays an essential role in regulating the proliferative condition and the differentiation of cortical progenitors.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2018.01.019 | DOI Listing |
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
February 2025
Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218.
The hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) is thought to orthogonalize inputs from the entorhinal cortex (pattern separation) and relay this information to the CA3 region. In turn, attractor dynamics in CA3 perform a pattern completion or error correction operation before sending its output to CA1. In a mouse model of congenital hypoplasia of the DG, a deficiency in the (Wls) gene, specifically in cells expressing , which targets neuronal progenitors, led to an almost total absence of dentate granule cells and modestly impaired performance in spatial tasks.
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January 2025
Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
Before the hippocampus goes down memory lane, it takes a detour.
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January 2025
Department of Neuroscience, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
The mechanisms by which the brain replays neural activity sequences remain unknown. Recording from large ensembles of hippocampal place cells in freely behaving rats, we observed that replay content is strictly organized over multiple timescales and governed by self-avoidance. After movement cessation, replays avoided the animal's previous path for 3 seconds.
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January 2025
Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Social animals live in groups and interact volitionally in complex ways. However, little is known about neural responses under such natural conditions. Here, we investigated hippocampal CA1 neurons in a mixed-sex group of five to 10 freely behaving wild Egyptian fruit bats that lived continuously in a laboratory-based cave and formed a stable social network.
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January 2025
Human Neuroscience Group and Centre for Neuroscience and Neuromodulation, Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
Associative memory (AM) plays a crucial role in our ability to link disparate elements of our experiences, yet it is especially vulnerable to age-related decline and pathological conditions. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), particularly transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), has been investigated as a potential intervention to enhance cognitive functions, including AM. Previous tDCS studies yielded inconsistent results, often due to variations in stimulation sites and protocols.
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