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Cellular level neuroscience for everyone.
TheCellularScale
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- February 2, 2012
- 09:17 AM
- 710 views
You can't trust your receptors: Smell
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Food smells better when you're hungry, right? This is a common phenomenon that everyone I've ever talked to on the subject has experienced. For a long time, I assumed that the entire process underlying this phenomenon is in the brain proper, and not in the olfactory epithelium (that is, the smell receptors themselves). However, a study on the adorable (and totally weird) salamander known as the 'Axolotl' suggests that the brain proper can actually modulate how sensitive thos........ Read more »
Mousley A, Polese G, Marks NJ, & Eisthen HL. (2006) Terminal nerve-derived neuropeptide y modulates physiological responses in the olfactory epithelium of hungry axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum). The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 26(29), 7707-17. PMID: 16855098
- February 19, 2012
- 07:39 PM
- 688 views
Neurosexism and Delusions of Gender
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
On the cellular scale, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to tell the brains of men and women apart. That is, if you zoom in on a part of the brain (like the hippocampus, cortex or striatum) and look at the morphology of a single neuron or the electrical characteristics of that neuron, you would be hard pressed to tell if the neuron you are looking at belongs to a male or a female. This is not very surprising since it is also difficult to tell if the neuron you are looking ........ Read more »
Di Liberto V, Mäkelä J, Korhonen L, Olivieri M, Tselykh T, Mälkiä A, Do Thi H, Belluardo N, Lindholm D, & Mudò G. (2012) Involvement of estrogen receptors in the resveratrol-mediated increase in dopamine transporter in human dopaminergic neurons and in striatum of female mice. Neuropharmacology, 62(2), 1011-8. PMID: 22041555
- January 23, 2012
- 09:52 AM
- 678 views
The cells that make us eat: Part 2
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
In the last post, we discussed the finding that stimulating the AgRP neurons in the hypothalamus directly causes mice to eat. You can see the video of the mouse eating with the light stimulation here.Today we will look at a follow up paper by the same group. This paper looks at the mechanisms that might naturally stimulate these neurons. As the authors mention in the discussion, the origin of the pathways that naturally cause these neurons to fire is not known. (........ Read more »
Yang Y, Atasoy D, Su HH, & Sternson SM. (2011) Hunger states switch a flip-flop memory circuit via a synaptic AMPK-dependent positive feedback loop. Cell, 146(6), 992-1003. PMID: 21925320
- March 14, 2012
- 10:58 AM
- 666 views
Plant Neurons? Sensation and action in the Venus Flytrap
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Plants are more electric than you might think. (Venus Fly Trap by Nick Ford at nickpix2012)While they don't have neurons in the proper sense, they have sensory receptors, ion channels, action potentials, and can process information. One of the most remarkable feats of plant information processing occurs in the venus flytrap. The venus fly trap is remarkable among plants because it has very fast and very specific information processing capabilities. It can ........ Read more »
Benolken RM, & Jacobson SL. (1970) Response properties of a sensory hair excised from Venus's flytrap. The Journal of general physiology, 56(1), 64-82. PMID: 5514161
Volkov AG, Adesina T, & Jovanov E. (2007) Closing of venus flytrap by electrical stimulation of motor cells. Plant signaling , 2(3), 139-45. PMID: 19516982
Forterre Y, Skotheim JM, Dumais J, & Mahadevan L. (2005) How the Venus flytrap snaps. Nature, 433(7024), 421-5. PMID: 15674293
- March 27, 2012
- 10:29 PM
- 666 views
Seeing Cells: Nissl and Golgi together at last
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Seeing through a glass darkly (source)The quest to visualize cells is a long and continuously evolving one. We have previously discussed how neuroscientists use calcium to watch cells in action, but a surprising amount of information can be gleaned from simply staining fixed (inactive) cells. There are so many ways to stain fixed cells that I have to write this in parts. First we'll discuss two of the oldest techniques still commonly used, the Nissl stain and........ Read more »
Pilati N, Barker M, Panteleimonitis S, Donga R, & Hamann M. (2008) A rapid method combining Golgi and Nissl staining to study neuronal morphology and cytoarchitecture. The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society, 56(6), 539-50. PMID: 18285350
- April 17, 2012
- 11:23 PM
- 663 views
Why I type in Dvorak and you should too
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
The Dvorak keyboard is an alternative to the traditional Qwerty layout. Proponents (like me) claim that it is faster and easier to use. Dvorak himself claimed in a 1943 National Business Education Quarterly paper "There is a better typewriter keyboard" that experts could type 35% faster in the Dvorak layout than in the Qwerty layout. (value cited in this paper, I could not locate original)I started using Dvorak during my freshman year of college because some guy told me it was cool. ........ Read more »
Anderson AM, Mirka GA, Joines SM, & Kaber DB. (2009) Analysis of alternative keyboards using learning curves. Human factors, 51(1), 35-45. PMID: 19634307
- June 3, 2012
- 12:01 PM
- 660 views
A Tale of Two Huxleys
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Andrew Huxley is one of the founders of both modern electrophysiology and computational neuroscience, and is consequently a personal hero of mine. His recent (May 30, 2012) death inspired me to learn more about his life.Andrew Huxley (1917-2012)Andrew Huxley along with Alan Hodgkin discovered the mechanisms which governed the action potential in nerve cells. They inserted micro-electrodes into the squid giant axon and recorded the sodium and potassium currents which generated ........ Read more »
HODGKIN AL, & HUXLEY AF. (1952) A quantitative description of membrane current and its application to conduction and excitation in nerve. The Journal of physiology, 117(4), 500-44. PMID: 12991237
- March 21, 2012
- 10:00 AM
- 647 views
How animals, Shrek, and Yoda stimulate your neurons.
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Is CellularDog thinking 'yum'? or 'aww'? (I took this picture)(and, yes, sometimes I wear ugly Christmas pants)Recent studies have found that specific cells in the human brain respond to specific things. And I don't just mean those vision neurons that respond to lines or circles that you learned about in psychology 101. There are neurons in your brain that selectively respond to concepts (like celebrities, faces, and animals). Let's talk about animal cells...(that is ........ Read more »
Mormann F, Dubois J, Kornblith S, Milosavljevic M, Cerf M, Ison M, Tsuchiya N, Kraskov A, Quiroga RQ, Adolphs R.... (2011) A category-specific response to animals in the right human amygdala. Nature neuroscience, 14(10), 1247-9. PMID: 21874014
- July 1, 2012
- 04:14 PM
- 647 views
A little stress goes a long way
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
.... toward preventing PTSD symptoms.Post Traumatic Stress DisorderThis may surprise you as the S in PTSD stands for STRESS. How on earth could stress prevent it? But you heard correctly. A new paper by Rao et al., (2012) from Biological Psychiatry shows that a little stress in the form of glucocorticoids, prior to an acute stress event actually prevents PTSD-like symptoms in rats.First of all how do you tell if a rat has PTSD?This study uses two measures: one behavioral and one cellular.T........ Read more »
Rao RP, Anilkumar S, McEwen BS, & Chattarji S. (2012) Glucocorticoids Protect Against the Delayed Behavioral and Cellular Effects of Acute Stress on the Amygdala. Biological psychiatry. PMID: 22572034
Mitra R, Jadhav S, McEwen BS, Vyas A, & Chattarji S. (2005) Stress duration modulates the spatiotemporal patterns of spine formation in the basolateral amygdala. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(26), 9371-6. PMID: 15967994
- March 10, 2012
- 03:10 PM
- 635 views
Calcium: for more than just your bones
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
You have probably heard that calcium is good for your bones, but what you might not know is that your brain can't function without it. Broccoli is rich in calcium (source)We have previously discussed the electrical properties of neurons. Much like the sodium ion (Na+) and the potassium ion (K+), the calcium ion (Ca2+) can flow into and out of the cell to modulate its electrical activity. Grienberger and Konnerth 2012, Figure1Calcium has an even bigger role, however.&nb........ Read more »
Grienberger, C., & Konnerth, A. (2012) Imaging Calcium in Neurons. Neuron, 73(5), 862-885. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.02.011
- July 15, 2012
- 02:40 PM
- 619 views
A Pain in the Hippocampus
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Neuropathic Pain (source)Pain is usually a helpful sign that something is wrong with a part of your body. Heat-pain will cause you to pull your hand back from something hot before it burns you. The pain of a cut will draw your attention to it, so you can clean it. However damage to the central or peripheral nervous system can result in chronic neuropathic pain, which is not helpful form of pain. Neuropathic pain is basically some mis-firing or mis-connected pain neurons sendi........ Read more »
Mutso AA, Radzicki D, Baliki MN, Huang L, Banisadr G, Centeno MV, Radulovic J, Martina M, Miller RJ, & Apkarian AV. (2012) Abnormalities in hippocampal functioning with persistent pain. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 32(17), 5747-56. PMID: 22539837
- January 20, 2012
- 09:39 PM
- 606 views
The cells that make us eat: Part 1
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
It is always exciting when a specific behavior can be directly linked to particular neurons. In this case, eating. In March 2011, a paper came out from the Sternson lab at Janelia Farm explaining that when certain neurons (AgRP) in the mouse hypothalamus were stimulated with light, the mouse would spontaneously start eating. The mouse would pretty much keep eating (except for water breaks) until the stimulation stopped. What's even more interesting is ........ Read more »
Aponte Y, Atasoy D, & Sternson SM. (2011) AGRP neurons are sufficient to orchestrate feeding behavior rapidly and without training. Nature neuroscience, 14(3), 351-5. PMID: 21209617
- April 3, 2012
- 10:22 PM
- 592 views
Brain Glue: Synapses on and around Glia
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Astrocytes, a form of glial cell (source)Glial cells are non-neurons that populate the nervous system. The name 'glia' comes from the Greek word for glue, and these cells were originally thought to be 'filler' cells or brain glue (not this kind). In a sense these cells are 'filler'. When the brain is damaged, it is glia not new neurons which grow into the void. (This can sometimes turn cancerous and lead to glioma)A recent review paper poetically summarizes the traditional........ Read more »
Lalo U, Pankratov Y, Parpura V, & Verkhratsky A. (2011) Ionotropic receptors in neuronal-astroglial signalling: what is the role of "excitable" molecules in non-excitable cells. Biochimica et biophysica acta, 1813(5), 992-1002. PMID: 20869992
- February 6, 2012
- 08:44 AM
- 591 views
the synapse: where the magic happens
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
What is a synapse?The synapse is the junction between two neurons, usually between an axon, which gives the signal, and a dendrite, which receives the signal. This meeting of neurons is absolutely essential to how the brain works. It is where the information gets passed on from one neuron to the next. The 'magic' at the synapseWhen someone talks about neuronal pathways being strengthened, they usually mean a strengthening of this synaptic connection. ........ Read more »
Bliss TV, & Lomo T. (1973) Long-lasting potentiation of synaptic transmission in the dentate area of the anaesthetized rabbit following stimulation of the perforant path. The Journal of physiology, 232(2), 331-56. PMID: 4727084
Lømo T. (2003) The discovery of long-term potentiation. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 358(1432), 617-20. PMID: 12740104
- January 26, 2012
- 10:26 PM
- 586 views
The "Human Neuron", not so special after all?
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Von Economo neurons, a set of neurons classified by their elongated, 'spindle-like' shape, were once thought to belong only to humans and great apes. This uniqueness, as you might imagine, encouraged extensive speculation about what this neuron does. Do they make you smart? Do they process emotions? social cues? future planning?Not that extensive speculation is a bad thing, it's just that it is easy to jump into the deep end and assume that because something is unique to humans, it is what........ Read more »
Butti C, Santos M, Uppal N, & Hof PR. (2011) Von Economo neurons: Clinical and evolutionary perspectives. Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior. PMID: 22130090
- March 4, 2012
- 02:28 PM
- 584 views
4 reasons why all women should play Mass Effect
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Another adventure outside of the 'cellular neuroscience' walls for The Cellular Scale. Today we are traveling to the land of video games, video games and women. Commander Shepard, the most badass woman in the galaxyMass Effect 3 is being released in a few days and I thought I would use this time (while my xbox is downloading the free demo) to write about why the world would be a better (or at least slightly more gender-neutral) place if all women played Mass Effec........ Read more »
Galinsky AD, Wang CS, & Ku G. (2008) Perspective-takers behave more stereotypically. Journal of personality and social psychology, 95(2), 404-19. PMID: 18665710
- May 1, 2012
- 12:50 PM
- 582 views
Virtual Reality for Worms
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
How do you build a virtual environment for a worm? The Nematode C. Elegans with glowing neurons (source)Using a little optogenetic trickery, you can directly activate specific worm neurons with light. If you know your worm neurons, you can stimulate ones that make it think it has suddenly touched something with its nose or that the environment is suddenly very salty. Before we dive into worm VR, let's back up and discuss this specific worm.The Magnificent C......... Read more »
Faumont S, Rondeau G, Thiele TR, Lawton KJ, McCormick KE, Sottile M, Griesbeck O, Heckscher ES, Roberts WM, Doe CQ.... (2011) An image-free opto-mechanical system for creating virtual environments and imaging neuronal activity in freely moving Caenorhabditis elegans. PloS one, 6(9). PMID: 21969859
- June 15, 2012
- 11:27 AM
- 576 views
Neurons are like Magnets
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
The earth has magnetic poles just like this magnetIt has long been thought that animals can use the earth's magnetic field to know where they are with respect to the planet itself. Migrating whales and turtles could use this method to determine which direction to swim, and pigeons could use this to navigate over long distances. Loggerhead hatchling: brain still developingRecently a paper out of Baylor college of medicine has shown the neural correlates which underlie this magnetic sense. They ac........ Read more »
Wu LQ, & Dickman JD. (2012) Neural correlates of a magnetic sense. Science (New York, N.Y.), 336(6084), 1054-7. PMID: 22539554
- February 9, 2012
- 09:42 AM
- 571 views
LTP and LTD at the same time? Adventures in Functional Compartmentalization
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
On Monday we talked about LTP and LTD on a basic level, today we are discussing how they interact with each other. In a recent Open Access paper, Pavlowsky and Alarcon ask the question: Can some synapses on a neuron strengthen while at the same time others weaken? And if so, how do the two processes interact with each other? neurons firing (source)First let's get some background. Synapse strengthening (LTP) and synapse weakening (LTD) both require new proteins to be synthesized........ Read more »
Pavlowsky A, & Alarcon JM. (2012) Interaction between Long-Term Potentiation and Depression in CA1 Synapses: Temporal Constrains, Functional Compartmentalization and Protein Synthesis. PloS one, 7(1). PMID: 22272255
- May 17, 2012
- 11:36 PM
- 569 views
The Zebra Neuron
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
A Brown Baby Zebra (source)If I told you there was a special neuron that only Zebras had in their brains, what function would you predict this neuron to have? I can think of a few: 1. Eating Grass2. .....3. ...Ok, so I can only think of one. It seem reasonable to assume that maybe this neuron has something to do with eating grass, and it seems reasonable to conduct experiments testing whether zebras who are bad at eating grass have fewer of these neurons and the like.Now, wh........ Read more »
Evrard HC, Forro T, & Logothetis NK. (2012) Von economo neurons in the anterior insula of the macaque monkey. Neuron, 74(3), 482-9. PMID: 22578500
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