Small alterations in extracellular H+ can profoundly alter neurotransmitter release by neurons. We examined mechanisms by which extracellular ATP induces an extracellular H+ flux from Müller glial cells, which surround synaptic connections throughout the vertebrate retina. Müller glia were isolated from tiger salamander retinae and H+ fluxes examined using self-referencing H+-selective microelectrodes

Neural prostheses are designed to counter the effects of neurotrauma and restore the fundamental building blocks of human experience including motor action, sensation and meaningful communication with other individuals. Here, we present an overview of active avenues, open questions and debated topics in neuroprosthetics, such as targeting the mechanisms of sensorimotor recovery and designing brain

Na+-K+-ATPase (Na+-K+ pump) is essential for setting resting membrane potential and restoring transmembrane Na+ and K+ gradients after neuronal firing, yet its roles in developing neurons are not well understood. This study examined the contribution of Na+-K+ pump to resting membrane potential and membrane excitability of developing CA1 and CA3 neurons, and its role in maintaining synchronous network

Frequency-following responses to musical notes spanning the octave 65-130 Hz were elicited in a person with auditory neuropathy, a disorder of subcortical neural synchrony, and a control subject. No phaselocked responses were observed in the person with auditory neuropathy. The control subject had robust responses synchronized to the fundamental frequency and its harmonics. Cortical onset responses

Spatial EEG filters are widely used to isolate event-related potential (ERP) components. The most commonly used spatial filters (e.g. the Average Reference and the Surface Laplacian) are stationary. Stationary filters are conceptually simple, easy to use and fast to compute, but all assume that the EEG signal does not change across sensors and time. Given that ERPs are intrinsically non-stationary

We report here that prior social experience modified the behavioral responses of adult crayfish to acute alcohol exposure. Animals housed individually for one week before alcohol exposure were less sensitive to the intoxicating effects of alcohol than animals housed in groups, and these differences are based on changes in the nervous system rather than differences in alcohol uptake. To elucidate the

The ventral striatum regulates motivated behaviors which are essential for survival. The ventral striatum contains both the nucleus accumbens (NAc), which is well established to contribute to motivated behavior, and the adjacent tubular striatum (TuS), which is poorly understood in this context. We reasoned that these ventral striatal subregions may be uniquely specialized in their neural representation

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to improve single- and dual-task performance in healthy participants and enhance transferable training gains following multiple sessions of combined stimulation and task-practice. However, it has yet to be determined what the optimal stimulation dose is for facilitating such outcomes. We aimed to test the effects of different tDCS intensities

The decrease in response with stimulus repetition is a common property observed in many sensory brain areas. This repetition suppression (RS) is ubiquitous in neurons of macaque inferior temporal (IT) cortex, the end-stage of the ventral visual pathway. The neural mechanisms of RS in IT are still unclear, and one possibility is that it is inherited from areas upstream to IT that show also RS. Since

Implicit and explicit processes can occur within a single locomotor learning task. The combination of these learning processes may impact how individuals acquire/retain the task. Because these learning processes rely on distinct neural pathways, neurologic conditions may selectively impact the processes that occur, thus, impacting learning and retention. Thus, our purpose was to examine the contribution

Studies on goal-directed arm movements have shown a close link between feedforward and feedback control in protocols where both planning and online control processes faced a similar type of perturbation, either mechanical or visual. This particular context might have facilitated the use of an adapted internal model by feedforward and feedback control. Here we considered this link in a context where

Robotic Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive and safe tool that produces cortical motor maps using neuronavigation and neuroanatomical images. Motor maps are individualized representations of primary motor cortex (M1) topography that may reflect developmental and interventional plasticity. Results of TMS motor map reliability testing have been variable and robotic measures are

Activity-dependent changes of synapse strength have been extensively characterized at chemical synapses, but the relationship between physiological forms of activity and strength at electrical synapses remains poorly characterized and understood. For mammalian electrical synapses comprising hexamers of connexin36, physiological forms of neuronal activity in coupled pairs have thus far only been linked

The decision regarding which arm to use to perform a task reflects a complex process that can be influenced by many factors, including effort requirements of acquiring the goal. In this study, we considered a virtual reality environment in which people reached to a visual target in 3D space. To vary the cost of reaching, we altered the visual feedback associated with motion of one arm but not the other

Low-intensity electrical stimulation of the common peroneal nerve (CPN) evokes a short latency reflex in the heteronymous knee extensor muscles (referred to as CPN-reflex). The CPN-reflex is facilitated at a heel strike during walking, contributing to body weight support. However, the origin of the CPN-reflex increase during walking remains unclear. We speculate that this increase originates from multiple

Virtual environments have been widely utilized in motor neuroscience and rehabilitation as they afford tight control of sensorimotor conditions and readily afford visual and haptic manipulations. However, typically studies have only examined performance in the virtual testbeds, without asking how performance in the virtual environment compares to behavior in the real world. To test that, this study

Corticokinematic coherence (CKC) is the phase coupling between limb kinematics and cortical neurophysiological signals reflecting cortical processing of proprioceptive afference, and is reproducible when estimated with magnetoencephalography (MEG). However, feasibility and reproducibility of CKC based on electroencephalography (EEG) is still unclear and is the primary object of the present report.

The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is a small-bodied New World primate that is becoming an important model to study brain functions. Despite several studies exploring the somatosensory system of marmosets, all results have come from anesthetized animals using invasive techniques and post-mortem analyses. Here we demonstrate the feasibility for getting high-quality and reproduceable somatosensory

Stopping actions depends on the integrity of the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG). Electrocorticography from the rIFG shows an increase in beta power during action-stopping. Scalp EEG shows a similar right frontal beta increase, but it is unknown if this beta modulation relates to the underlying rIFG network. Demonstrating a causal relationship between the rIFG and right frontal beta in EEG during

The cerebellum resembles a feedforward, three-layer network of neurons in which the "hidden layer" consists of Purkinje cells (P-cells), and the output layer consists of deep cerebellar nucleus (DCN) neurons. In this analogy, the output of each DCN neuron is a prediction that is compared to the actual observation, resulting in an error signal that originates in the inferior olive. Efficient learning

Identifying similarities and differences in the brain metabolome during different states of consciousness has broad relevance for neuroscience and state-dependent autonomic function. This study focused on prefrontal cortex (PFC) as a brain region known to modulate states of consciousness. Anesthesia was used as a tool to eliminate wakefulness. Untargeted metabolomic analyses were performed on microdialysis

Playing the piano involves rapid and precise upper limb movements, which requires seamless integration of the proprioceptive and motor systems. In this study, we comprehensively assessed active and passive proprioception and different domains of motor function in young pianists, aiming to understand how their proprioceptive and motor functions are improved. Fifty-seven participants, including seventeen

Dendritic spikes in thin dendritic branches (basal and oblique dendrites) are traditionally inferred from spikelets measured in the cell body. Here, we used laser-spot voltage-sensitive dye imaging in cortical pyramidal neurons (rat brain slices) to investigate the voltage waveforms of dendritic potentials occurring in response to spatially-restricted glutamatergic inputs. Local dendritic potentials

Piezo2 channels are expressed in Merkel cells and somatosensory neurons to mediate mechanotransduction leading to the sense of touch. Cytoskeletons including microtubules are key intracellular structures that maintain cellular membrane mechanics and thereby may be important in mechanotransduction. In the present study, we have explored, with microtubule-targeting agents, the potential role of microtubules

The gray matter of the spinal cord is the seat of somata of various types of neurons devoted to the sensory and motor activities of the limbs and trunk as well as a part of the autonomic nervous system. The volume of the spinal gray matter is an indicator of the local neuronal processing and this can decrease due to atrophy associated with degenerative diseases and injury. Nevertheless, the absolute

Biophysically-based computational models of nerve fibers are important tools for designing electrical stimulation therapies, investigating drugs that affect ion channels, and studying diseases that affect neurons. Although peripheral nerves are primarily composed of unmyelinated axons (i.e., C-fibers), most modeling efforts focused on myelinated axons. We implemented the single-compartment model of

Standard analysis of neuronal functions assesses the temporal correlation between animal behaviors and neuronal activity by aligning spike trains with the timing of a specific behavioral event, e.g. visual cue. However, spike activity is often involved in information processing dependent on a relative phase between two consecutive events rather than a single event. Nevertheless, less attention has

To isolate brain activity that may reflect effective cognitive processes during the study phase of a memory task, cognitive neuroscientists commonly contrast brain activity during study of later-remembered versus later-forgotten items. This "subsequent memory effect" method has been described as identifying brain activity "predictive" of memory outcome. However, the modern field of machine learning

Superior colliculus (SC) is a midbrain structure that integrates sensory inputs and generates motor commands to initiate innate motor behaviors. Its retinorecipient superficial layers (sSC) receive dense cholinergic projections from the parabigeminal nucleus (PBN). Our previous in vitro study revealed that acetylcholine induces fast inward current followed by prominent GABAergic inhibition within the

Journal of Neurophysiology, Volume 124, Issue 4, Page 1308-1308, October 2020.

How is an evanescent wish to move translated into a concrete action? This simple question and puzzling miracle remains a focal point of motor systems neuroscience. Where does the difficulty lie? A great deal has been known about biomechanics for quite some time. More recently, there have been significant advances in our understanding of how the spinal system is organized into modules corresponding

Attention is often extolled for its selective neural properties. Yet, when powerfully captured by a salient unexpected event, attention can give rise to a broad cascade of systemic effects for evaluating and adaptively responding to the event. Using graph theory analysis combined with fMRI, here we show that the extensive psychophysiological and cognitive changes associated with such attention capture

Neural oscillatory changes within and across different frequency bands are thought to underlie motor dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD) and may serve as PD biomarkers. Here, we used oscillatory signals derived from chronically-implanted cortical and subcortical electrode arrays as features to train machine-learning algorithms to classify the clinical states in a nonhuman primate model. LFP data

Changes to cerebral miRNA expression have been implicated in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), as miRNAs that regulate the expression of gene products involved in amyloid beta (Aβ) processing, such as BACE1, are dysregulated in those that suffer from AD. Exercise training improves cognition and reduces BACE1 and Aβ plaque burden; however, the mechanisms are not fully understood. Using our

The cortical N1 response to balance perturbation is observed in electroencephalography recordings simultaneous to automatic balance-correcting muscle activity. We recently observed larger cortical N1s in individuals who had greater difficulty resisting compensatory steps, suggesting the N1 may be influenced by stepping or changes in response strategy. Here, we test whether the cortical N1 response

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is impossible to detect using standard neuroradiological assessment such as structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Injury does however disrupt the dynamic repertoire of neural activity indexed by neural oscillations. In particular, beta oscillations are reliable predictors of cognitive, perceptual and motor system functioning, as well as correlate highly with

Neural oscillations are routinely analyzed using methods that measure activity in fixed frequency bands (e.g. alpha, 8-12 Hz), though the frequency of neural signals varies within and across individuals based on numerous factors including neuroanatomy, behavioral demands, and species. Further, band-limited activity is an often assumed, typically unmeasured model of neural activity and band definitions

Object recognition relies on different transformations of the retinal input, carried out by the visual system, that range from local contrast to object shape and category. While some of those transformations are thought to occur at specific stages of the visual hierarchy, the features they represent are correlated (e.g., object shape and identity) and selectivity for the same feature overlaps in many

Active vision is a fundamental process by which primates gather information about the external world. Multiple brain regions have been studied in the context of simple active vision tasks in which a visual target's appearance is temporally separated from saccade execution. Most neurons have tight spatial registration between visual and saccadic signals, and in areas such as prefrontal cortex (PFC)

Colloquially referred to as "taste", flavor is in reality a thoroughly multisensory experience. Yet, a mechanistic understanding of the multisensory computations underlying flavor perception and food choice is lacking. Here, we used a multisensory flavor choice task in rats to test specific predictions of the statistically-optimal integration framework, which has previously yielded much insight into

Under extreme environmental conditions, many insects enter a protective coma associated with a spreading depolarization (SD) of neurons and glia in the CNS. Recovery depends on the restoration of ion gradients by mechanisms that are not well understood. We investigated the effects of glybenclamide, an ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel inhibitor, and pinacidil, a KATP activator, on the mechanisms involved

Songbirds produce complex vocalizations by coordinating neuromuscular control of syrinx, respiratory system and upper vocal tract. The functional roles of syringeal muscles have been documented mainly with correlative data, which have suggested that synergistic activation plays a role in the fine control of vocal features. However, the specific involvement of individual muscles in achieving this fine

The relative contributions of reticulospinal versus corticospinal pathways for movement production are thought to be dependent upon the type of response involved. For example, unilateral distal movements involving the hand and finger have been thought to be primarily driven by corticospinal output, whereas bilateral responses are considered to have greater reticulospinal drive. The current study investigated

Auditory brainstem response (ABR) and cochlear compound action potential (CAP) are widely used for hearing assessment. Due to easy detection, ABR is more commonly used to evaluate cochlear lesions than CAP. Since ABR reflects the central auditory response in the brain, and CAP reflects the auditory nerve function of the cochlea, ABR is not the same as CAP. In order to see the difference between ABR

In macaques, the middle lateral auditory cortex (ML) is a belt region adjacent to primary auditory cortex (A1) and believed to be at a hierarchically higher level. Although ML single-unit responses have been studied for several auditory stimuli, the ability of ML cells to encode amplitude modulation (AM) - an ability which has been widely studied in A1 - has not yet been characterized. Here we compared

Both passive and active mechanisms are necessary to explain small amplitude forward-backward (FB) voluntary swaying. Parallel and symmetric leg inverted pendulum models with stiffness control are a simple way to replicate FB swaying during quiet stance. However, it has been more difficult to model lateral left-right (LR) voluntary swaying involving the dual mechanisms of hip loading-unloading and ankle

We compared voluntary oscillatory sway for eight subjects tested in 1.8g and 1g gravito-inertial force (GIF) levels of parabolic flight. Subjects performed voluntary forward-backward (FB) and lateral left-right (LR) swaying as the forces and moments under the soles of each foot were measured. We calculated the experimental values of three parameters - two ankle stiffness parameters KSAP and KSML acting

Axo-somatic K+ channels control action potential output in part by acting in concert with voltage-gated Na+channels to set action potential threshold. Slowly inactivating, D-type K+ channels are enriched at the axo-somatic region of cortical pyramidal neurons of the prefrontal cortex where they regulate action potential firing. We previously demonstrated that D-type K+ channels are down regulated in

A variety of visual cues can trigger defensive reactions in mice (De Franceschi et al. 2016; Evans et al. 2018; Huang et al. 2017; Salay et al. 2018; Shang et al. 2018; Shang et al. 2015; Wei et al. 2015; Yilmaz and Meister 2013; Zhao et al. 2014) and other species (Budnik et al. 2016; Dick et al. 2017; Dunn et al. 2016; Jang et al. 2016; Sen et al. 2017; Shragai et al. 2017; Simmons et al. 2013; Temizer

Since the first optogenetics study was published in 2005, its use in probing the link between neural circuits and behavior has increased exponentially. Recently, Gong et al. (Neuron 107:38-51,2020) developed an ultra-sensitive step-function opsin (SOUL) capable of activating any region of the mouse brain and cortical areas in macaques with external illumination, thus, aiming towards minimally-invasive

The rostral nucleus of the solitary tract (rNST) serves as the first central relay in the gustatory system. In addition to synaptic interactions, central processing is also influenced by the ion-channel composition of individual neurons. For example, voltage-gated K+ channels such as IA can modify the integrative properties of neurons. IA currents are prevalent in rNST projection cells but are also

Training can improve motor skills and modify neural activity at rest and during movement execution. Learning-related modulations may also concern motor preparation but the neural correlates and the potential behavioral relevance of such adjustments remain unclear. In humans, preparatory processes have been largely investigated using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with several studies reporting

Reaching movements, as a basic yet complex motor behavior, are a foundational model system in neuroscience. In particular, there has been a significant recent expansion of investigation into the neural circuit mechanisms of reach behavior in mice. Nevertheless, quantification of mouse reach kinematics remains lacking, limiting comparison to the primate literature. In this study, we quantitatively demonstrate

When a person tries to press with a finger, other fingers of the hand produce force unintentionally. We explored this phenomenon of enslaving during unintentional force drifts in the course of continuous force production by pairs of fingers of a hand. Healthy subjects performed accurate force production tasks by finger pairs Index-Middle, Middle-Ring, and Ring-Little with continuous visual feedback

Smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEM) hold the image of a slowly moving stimulus on the fovea. The neural system underlying SPEM primarily includes visual, parietal and frontal areas. In the present study, we investigated how these areas are functionally coupled and how these couplings are influenced by target motion frequency. To this end, healthy participants (N=57) were instructed to follow a sinusoidal

The earliest stages of sensorimotor learning involve learning the correspondence between movements and sensory results: a sensorimotor map. The present exploratory study investigated the neurochemical underpinnings of sensorimotor map acquisition by monitoring twenty-five participants as they acquired a new association between movements and sounds. Functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS)

Auditory experience and behavioral training can modify perceptual performance. However, the consequences of temporal perceptual learning for temporal and spectral neural processing remain unclear. Specifically, the attributes of neural plasticity that underlie task-generalization in behavioral performance remain uncertain. To assess the relationship between behavioral and neural plasticity, we evaluated

Many motor skills are learned with the help of instructions. In the context of complex motor sequences, instructions often break down the movement into chunks which can then be practiced in isolation. Thus, instructions shape an initial cognitive representation of the skill, which in turn guides practice. Are there ways of breaking up a motor sequence that are better than others? If participants are

Using procedures optimized to explore network organization within the individual, the topography of a candidate language network was characterized and situated within the broader context of adjacent networks. The candidate network was first identified using functional connectivity and replicated across individuals, acquisition tasks, and analytic methods. In addition to classical language regions near

The function of spontaneous brain activity is an important issue in neuroscience. Here we test the hypothesis that patterns of spontaneous activity code representational patterns evoked by stimuli. We compared in human visual cortex multi-vertex patterns of spontaneous activity to patterns evoked by ecological visual stimuli (faces, bodies, scenes) and low-level visual features (e.g. phase-scrambled