This Week in Neuroscience

TWiN unpacks a striking paradox, that the very cell divisions that built the human brain's most advanced layers also put them at greatest risk, and how a dedicated DNA repair pathway saves them. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Expansion of outer cortical CUX2 ne...

TWiN explains the finding that vaginal microbiota transfer ameliorates cesarean-associated neurodevelopmental deficits in mice via synthesis of a sphingosine derivative on neonatal skin. .Hosts: Vincent Racaniello , Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Vaginal microbiota transfer ameliorates  ce...

TWiN explains the finding that activation of intracellular, not plasma membrane, serotonin 2A receptors is responsible for the plasticity-promoting and antidepressant-like properties of psychedelic compounds. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Psychedelics rewire t...

TWiN explains the role of a ubiquitin ligase component in regulating the sheathing of multiple axons by Schwann cells. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free):  Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Gut microbiome  promotes pain  in fibromyalgia (Neuron) Timestamps by  Jolene Ramsey . Thanks! Music is by  Ro...

TWiN explains a study which showed that transplanting gut microbiota from women with fibromyalgia into mice induces pain, as well as phenotypes commonly observed in patients, such as immune activation, metabolomic changes, and reduced skin innervation. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode Mi...

TWiN explores the use of speech brain-computer interfaces to restore communication to people with paralysis, and reveals strategies for protecting private inner speech. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Keeping  private inner speech  from brain-computer interfaces...

TWiN explores how theta phase shifts mediate contextual perception of facial expressions during everyday social interactions. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello , Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Neural computations underlying  contextual processing in humans  (Cell Rep) Previous experience  shapes p...

TWiN reviews the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of overeating and obesity, the role of the hypothalamus and reward systems in controlling food intake and energy balance, and how dysregulation in these systems leads to overeating. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord...

TWiN explains epidemiological data showing that exposure to air pollution was associated with an increased risk of developing Lewy body dementia, and nasal administration of air pollution in mice led to brain atrophy and impaired cognition and motor function. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this epi...

TWiN explains how visual neurons show functional flexibility by selectively responding to subsets of inputs representing attended objects while ignoring those conveying information about irrelevant objects. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Gamma-band synchronizat...

TWiN discusses research showing that Lactobacillus acidophilus promotes cognitive function recovery after cerebral ischemia, by regulating microglial peroxisomal function. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello , Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Arc is pdb  molecule of the month  (PDB) Probiotics  after...

TWiN explains research which identifies the regions of the brain that register a long-lasting aversion to potentially poisonous food even with meal to illness delays of several days. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server A neural mechanism for  post-ingestion feedback  (Nature) Timestam...

TWiN reveals that proteins travel from the blood to the brain where they are taken up by microglia, revealing a new mode of communication between the brain and the periphery. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Tim Cheung, and Vivianne Morrison Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Circulatory proteins taken up by  brain microglia  (bio...

TWiN discusses experiments which show that high-fidelity memories that lose their precision with time depends on reorganization of hippocampal circuitry. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello ,  Jason Shepherd , and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Loss of precision memory  and the hippocampus (Nature) Changes in hippocampi o...

Tim explains AI co-scientist, a tool released by Google, which it hopes to help scientists generate hypotheses and research proposals, and to accelerate the speed of scientific and biomedical discoveries. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Tim Cheung, and Vivianne Morrison Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server AI cracks  superbug probl...

TWiN explains a study showing that when a mouse is confronted with an unconscious conspecific, it engages in behavior including tongue-dragging to resuscitate the animal via a tongue-brain connection. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Tim Cheung, and Vivianne Morrison Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Tongue-dragging  in mice (Sci...

TWiN discusses a study showing that repetitive injury reactivates HSV-1 in a human brain tissue model and induces phenotypes associated with Alzheimer's disease. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello  and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Repetitive injury, herpes, and  Alzheimers  (Sci Signal) The tau of herpesvirus ( TWiV 1...

TWiN explains a study showing that while groups of neurons, form the basis for memory, astrocytes are key components of the adaptive reponse to learning experiences, and regulate the flow of information during circuit plasticity and memory recall. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Jason Shepherd , and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeT...

TWiN explains the identification of a brain circuit and periodic branch-specific neurotransmitter deployment that regulates organismal adaptation to photoperiod change. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Jason Shepherd , and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Brain circuit for  photoperiod adaptation  (Nature) Timestamps...

TWiN explores how pregnancy leads to modifications in brain structure and function that may prepare the mother for parenting. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Jason Shepherd , and Vivianne Morrison Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Pregnancy  transforms the brain (Nature) Hormone-mediated neural remodeling  during pregnancy (Sci...

Joseph Paton and Felipe Rodrigues join TWiN to explain how they used temperature manipulation to alter the speed of neuronal dynamics in the dorsal striatum of rats, a manipulation that selectively slowed down or sped up time perception, illuminating the mechanisms of time-based decisions. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Jason Shepherd ,  Timothy Cheung , and Vivianne Morrison Guest:  Joseph J. Pato...

Mauro Costa-Mattioli returns to TWiN to discuss the results of a placebo controlled, double blind clinical trial of a probiotic which improved social behavior but not autism severity in children with ASD. Hosts:  Jason Shepherd ,  Timothy Cheung , and Vivianne Morrison Guest:  Mauro Costa-Mattioli Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord S...

TWiN reviews altered somatosensory reactivity, which is frequently observed among individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and in mouse models the developmental timing of aberrant touch processing can predict the manifestation of ASD-associated behaviors in mouse models.  Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Jason Shepherd ,  Timothy Cheung , and Vivianne Morrison Subscribe (free): Apple Podcast...

TWiN reviews experiments which show that SARS-CoV-2 triggers the up-regulation of synaptic components and perturbs local electrical field potential in cerebral organoids, organotypic culture of human brain explants and post-mortem brain samples from individuals with COVID-19.  Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Jason Shepherd ,  Timothy Cheung , and Vivianne Morrison Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts , ...

TWiN welcomes mice to the elite club of 'self-aware' animals, with a study demonstrating a mirror-induced self-directed behavior in mice resembling visual self-recognition.  Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Timothy Cheung , and Vivianne Morrison Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  RSS Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Mice are  self-aware  (Neuron) Mirror  self-recogn...