Here are summaries of a selection of the papers published by Duke Neurobiology in August and September 2019:
Motor Learning:
The Yang lab discovered a molecule that limits the sensitivity of Drosophila taste neurons, showing that sensitivity for sweet neurons is actively limited and identifying a key regulator responsible for such control. Read more
Jake Heffley and Court Hull found distinct climbing fiber responses in three lateral cerebellar regions that can each signal reward prediction, suggesting a broad role for the lateral cerebellum in reward-based learning. Read more
The Mooney lab combined behavioral and optogenetic methods in singing birds to distinguish neural pathways that evaluate song performance from downstream premotor circuits that are guided by these evaluations to learn new vocal behaviors. Read more
Neural Cell Biology:
Findings from the McNamara lab suggest a novel strategy for limiting progression or potentially ameliorating severity of temporal lobe epilepsy by modulating TrkB‐PLCγ1 signaling. Read more
Chay Kuo and collaborators uncover critical roles for nuclear factor I-A (NFIA) in reactive astrocytes and illustrate how region- and injury-specific factors dictate the spectrum of reactive astrocyte responses. Read more