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Sulfhydration mediates neuroprotective actions of parkin
The gasotransmitter hydrogen sulfide signals by sulfide modification of target proteins. Vandiver and colleagues study the sulfhydration of parkin by hydrogen sulfide and find that sulfhydration stimulates its activity, and that this activity is reduced in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
- M. Scott Vandiver
- , Bindu D. Paul
- & Solomon H. Snyder
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Interstitial cells of Cajal integrate excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission with intestinal slow-wave activity
Interstitial cells of Cajal generate rhythmic pacemaker currents, which result in rhythmic bowel contractions. Klein and colleagues use knock-in mutations to inactivate these cells in mice and find that they modulate bowel contractions by integrating excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission in the gut.
- Sabine Klein
- , Barbara Seidler
- & Dieter Saur
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Impaired endolysosomal function disrupts Notch signalling in optic nerve astrocytes
Crystallins are structural proteins that are expressed on the outside of the lens of the eye. Valapala and colleagues find that specific crystallins in retinal astrocytes regulate V-ATPase activity and endolysosomal acidification, to facilitate optimal Notch signalling during retinal development.
- Mallika Valapala
- , Stacey Hose
- & Debasish Sinha
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| Open AccessCholinergic pesticides cause mushroom body neuronal inactivation in honeybees
Exposure to pesticides can disrupt foraging and navigation behaviour in bees. Palmer et al. use electrophysiology to show that two neonicotinoids and an organophosphate miticide cause neuronal dysfunction in the honeybee brain at environmentally relevant concentrations.
- Mary J. Palmer
- , Christopher Moffat
- & Christopher N. Connolly
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Article
| Open AccessMouse urinary peptides provide a molecular basis for genotype discrimination by nasal sensory neurons
Major histocompatibility complex peptide ligands in mouse urine have been hypothesized to serve as signals for communication. In support of this hypothesis, Sturm and colleagues find that specific urinary peptides from genetically different mouse strains can be discriminated by nasal sensory neurons.
- Theo Sturm
- , Trese Leinders-Zufall
- & Hans-Georg Rammensee
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Role of dopamine D2 receptors in plasticity of stress-induced addictive behaviours
Synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens is implicated in stress and addiction. Sim et al. study mice deficient in dopamine D2 receptors, and find an increase in anxiety behaviour and reduced addictive behaviour in response to stress, both of which are associated with changes in nucleus accumbens activity.
- Hye-ri Sim
- , Tae-Yong Choi
- & Ja-Hyun Baik
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Article
| Open AccessSusceptibility of memory consolidation during lapses in recall
Memory lapses during memory consolidation are periods when the memory becomes briefly inaccessible after its formation. Marra and colleagues study memory lapses in the mollusc Lymnaea, and find that only during these lapses is consolidation of memories susceptible to interruption by external disturbances.
- Vincenzo Marra
- , Michael O’Shea
- & Ildikó Kemenes
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A C-terminal PDZ domain-binding sequence is required for striatal distribution of the dopamine transporter
The mechanisms controlling dopamine transporter (DAT) levels in the striatum are poorly understood. Rickhag and colleagues generate DAT knock-in mice with disrupted PDZ-binding motifs and find that PDZ-domain interactions are necessary for distribution of DAT to striatal nerve terminals.
- Mattias Rickhag
- , Freja Herborg Hansen
- & Ulrik Gether
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| Open AccessIn vivo recordings of brain activity using organic transistors
Flexible organic electronic devices have the potential to serve as biosensors in living animals. Khodagholy et al. show that organic transistors can be used to record brain activity in rats and demonstrate that they have a superior signal-to-noise ratio compared with electrodes due to local signal amplification.
- Dion Khodagholy
- , Thomas Doublet
- & George G. Malliaras
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Third-party social evaluation of humans by monkeys
Humans routinely socially evaluate other people based on interactions between third parties. Anderson and colleagues show that capuchin monkeys also negatively evaluate humans who explicitly refuse to help others.
- James R. Anderson
- , Hika Kuroshima
- & Kazuo Fujita
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Human hypocretin and melanin-concentrating hormone levels are linked to emotion and social interaction
The emotional state of humans depends on the temporal concentration of neurochemicals. Blouin et al. measure temporal changes in two neuropeptides, hypocretin and melanin-concentrating hormone, and find that hypocretin but not melanin-concentrating hormone is linked to positive emotions and social interaction.
- Ashley M. Blouin
- , Itzhak Fried
- & Jerome M. Siegel
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Neuron-released oligomeric α-synuclein is an endogenous agonist of TLR2 for paracrine activation of microglia
Parkinson’s disease is associated with the accumulation of abnormal aggregates of α-synuclein and microglial neuroinflammation. Kim et al. show that α-synuclein oliogomers released by neurons activate microglia by stimulating Toll-like receptor 2 signalling in these cells.
- Changyoun Kim
- , Dong-Hwan Ho
- & Seung-Jae Lee
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| Open AccessPhantom pain is associated with preserved structure and function in the former hand area
Reorganization of the sensorimotor cortex due to loss of sensory input is implicated in phantom pain. Makin and colleagues use functional MRI to show that phantom pain experience is instead associated with maintained local functional and structural cortical representations but disrupted inter-regional connectivity.
- Tamar R. Makin
- , Jan Scholz
- & Heidi Johansen-Berg
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Haematopoietic cells produce BDNF and regulate appetite upon migration to the hypothalamus
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is produced in the brain and is a known regulator of energy homoeostasis. Here Urabe and colleagues show that brain-derived neurotrophic factor-producing haematopoietic cells control appetite by migrating into the hypothalamus, where they make contact with neurons.
- Hiroshi Urabe
- , Hideto Kojima
- & Hiroshi Kimura
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Synapsin II desynchronizes neurotransmitter release at inhibitory synapses by interacting with presynaptic calcium channels
The arrival of action potentials at nerve terminals often leads to synchronous neurotransmitter release. Medrihan and colleagues use electrophysiology on mouse hippocampal neurons to show that the vesicle protein Synapsin II promotes GABAergic asynchronous release by interacting with calcium channels.
- Lucian Medrihan
- , Fabrizia Cesca
- & Fabio Benfenati
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Holographic optogenetic stimulation of patterned neuronal activity for vision restoration
Photo-stimulation can be used to control neuronal circuits, but current strategies lack optimal precision and resolution. Reutsky-Gefen et al. demonstrate a potential approach for vision restoration via holographically patterned, optogenetic stimulation of retinal ganglion cells, with temporal precision.
- Inna Reutsky-Gefen
- , Lior Golan
- & Shy Shoham
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Translation of HTT mRNA with expanded CAG repeats is regulated by the MID1–PP2A protein complex
Expansion of CAG repeats in messenger RNAs is a common feature of various neurodegenerative disorders, including Huntington’s disease. Krauß et al.show that messenger RNAs with expanded CAG repeats bind to a protein complex that regulates translation and promotes overproduction of such aberrant proteins.
- Sybille Krauß
- , Nadine Griesche
- & Susann Schweiger
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Parasympathetic stimulation improves epithelial organ regeneration
Irradiation treatment for cancer therapy often causes irreparable damage to adult organs. Knox and colleagues study irradiated mouse submandibular salivary glands and find that restoring parasympathetic nerve function with the neurotrophic factor neurturin improves regeneration.
- Sarah M. Knox
- , Isabelle M. A. Lombaert
- & Matthew P. Hoffman
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Smoking exacerbates amyloid pathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease
A link between smoking and the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease has been implicated in humans. In this study, transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease exposed to cigarette smoke display increased disease abnormalities in the brain, such as amyloidogenesis, neuroinflammation and tau phosphorylation.
- Ines Moreno-Gonzalez
- , Lisbell D. Estrada
- & Claudio Soto
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| Open AccessProsody cues word order in 7-month-old bilingual infants
Bilingual infants possess a unique ability to rapidly acquire the grammar of both of their native languages. Gervain and Werker find that bilingual infants achieve this by using characteristic prosodic cues associated with different word orders.
- Judit Gervain
- & Janet F. Werker
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Enhanced reading by training with imposed time constraint in typical and dyslexic adults
Slow and careful reading is encouraged to improve word decoding accuracy. Breznitz and colleagues show that a few weeks of training in accelerated reading can improve reading, for several months, in typical and dyslexic adults.
- Zvia Breznitz
- , Shelley Shaul
- & Avi Karni
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| Open AccessDissociating cognitive and sensory neural plasticity in human superior temporal cortex
Neural plasticity can be mediated by cognitive processes or sensory inputs to the brain. Cardin et al.use fMRI to study individuals who vary in hearing and sign language abilities, and find that sensory and cognitive experiences cause plasticity in anatomically and functionally distinguishable cortical areas.
- Velia Cardin
- , Eleni Orfanidou
- & Bencie Woll
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Bacteroides fragilis polysaccharide A is necessary and sufficient for acute activation of intestinal sensory neurons
Commensal bacteria in gut lumen are known to interact with the enteric nervous system. Mao and colleagues test the effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bacteroides fragilis ex vivo, in the myenteric plexus, and find that the polysaccharide A is necessary for intestinal sensory neuron sensitization.
- Yu-Kang Mao
- , Dennis L. Kasper
- & Wolfgang A. Kunze
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Extracellular matrix inhibits structural and functional plasticity of dendritic spines in the adult visual cortex
Neuronal connectivity in the mature brain is stabilized by the extracellular matrix. This study shows that degradation of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans in the matrix increases connectivity in the adult cortex by causing a large increase in motility and functional plasticity of dendritic spines.
- L. de Vivo
- , S. Landi
- & G.M. Ratto
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Cytotoxicity of botulinum neurotoxins reveals a direct role of syntaxin 1 and SNAP-25 in neuron survival
Botulinum toxins can cause substantial neurodegeneration. Peng et al. study cultured rat hippocampal neurons and find that botulinum toxin-induced cytotoxicity occurs only when there is effective cleavage of the SNARE proteins, syntaxin 1 or SNAP-25, by type C and type E botulinum toxins.
- Lisheng Peng
- , Huisheng Liu
- & Min Dong
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Perceiving invisible light through a somatosensory cortical prosthesis
Primary sensory areas of newborn mammals typically display input-dependent plasticity. Thomson and colleagues use a sensory prosthetic device in rats to show that adult rats can discriminate different infrared light signals, when the signals are routed to somatosensory cortex by electrical microstimulation.
- Eric E. Thomson
- , Rafael Carra
- & Miguel A.L. Nicolelis
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| Open AccessStereo and serial sniffing guide navigation to an odour source in a mammal
Integrating stereo information from two eyes or two ears is fundamental to localizing visual and auditory stimuli. Kenneth Catania investigates the olfactory sensitivity of eastern American moles, and finds that they use bilateral chemosensory cues in combination with serial sampling to localize odorants.
- Kenneth C. Catania
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| Open AccessDoublecortin-like kinase enhances dendritic remodelling and negatively regulates synapse maturation
Coordination between dendritic growth and synaptogenesis is essential for the establishment of functional neuronal connectivity. This study shows that doublecortin-like kinases achieve this by promoting the growth of distal dendrites, while suppressing the maturation of glutamatergic synapses.
- Euikyung Shin
- , Yutaro Kashiwagi
- & Shigeo Okabe
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Ephrin-A5/EphA4 signalling controls specific afferent targeting to cochlear hair cells
Cochlear inner and outer hair cells receive afferent innervation from type I and type II spiral ganglion neurons, respectively. Defourny et al. find that, in the absence of ephrin-A5 and its receptor EphA4, a subset of type I spiral ganglion neuron projections invade the outer hair cell area.
- Jean Defourny
- , Anne-Lise Poirrier
- & Brigitte Malgrange
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Mirror neurons in monkey area F5 do not adapt to the observation of repeated actions
The repeated presentation of observed action is hypothesized to result in the reduction in firing rates of mirror neurons in premotor areas of the cortex. In this study, it is shown that monkey premotor area F5 mirror neurons, unlike local field potentials, do not display suppression to repetitive stimuli.
- Vittorio Caggiano
- , Joern K. Pomper
- & Peter Thier
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| Open AccessPeptide hormone ghrelin enhances neuronal excitability by inhibition of Kv7/KCNQ channels
The gut-derived orexigenic hormone, ghrelin, enhances neuronal firing in the substantia nigra pars compacta. This study shows that ghrelin enhances firing of nigral dopaminergic neurons by a novel mechanism in which activation of the PLC/PKC pathway inhibits Kv7 channels.
- Limin Shi
- , Xiling Bian
- & Junxia Xie
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| Open AccessA point mutation in Semaphorin 4A associates with defective endosomal sorting and causes retinal degeneration
Semaphorin 4A is implicated in photoreceptor survival. Nojima and colleagues generate transgenic mice with different mutations in the Sema4A gene and find that point mutation of F350 causes severe degeneration in photoreceptor cells, which can be rescued by virus-mediated gene therapy.
- Satoshi Nojima
- , Toshihiko Toyofuku
- & Atsushi Kumanogoh
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Heat shock factor-1 influences pathological lesion distribution of polyglutamine-induced neurodegeneration
Heat shock factor-1 is a transcriptional regulator of heat shock proteins that is implicated in neurodegeneration. Kondo and colleagues study the effects of deleting heat shock factor-1 in a mouse model of muscular dystrophy and find that this augments the condition via the accumulation of androgen receptors.
- Naohide Kondo
- , Masahisa Katsuno
- & Gen Sobue
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Dimensionality of brain networks linked to life-long individual differences in self-control
The ability to delay gratification in childhood correlates with the ability to exert self-control in adulthood. Berman and colleagues re-examine individuals that were studied 40 years ago and find that the individuals who are able to exert a high level of self-control have more efficient neural networks.
- Marc G. Berman
- , Grigori Yourganov
- & John Jonides
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| Open AccessA pairwise maximum entropy model accurately describes resting-state human brain networks
During rest, the different regions of the human brain still carry out complex interactions. In this study, a pairwise maximum entropy model is used to quantify the complexity of these interactions during rest, showing that the model is able to capture the structure of the resting-state human brain networks.
- Takamitsu Watanabe
- , Satoshi Hirose
- & Naoki Masuda
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Spatial organization of frequency preference and selectivity in the human inferior colliculus
Studies in animals have shown that the inferior colliculus of the auditory pathway is tonotopically organized. This fMRI study in humans reveals a low-to-high frequency gradient in the inferior colliculus that is tonotopically oriented, as well as spectral selectivity based on responses to natural sounds.
- Federico De Martino
- , Michelle Moerel
- & Elia Formisano
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A genetically female brain is required for a regular reproductive cycle in chicken brain chimeras
Sexual dimorphism describes physical differences between males and females of the same species and is partly shaped by the action of hormones. Maekawa and colleagues construct mixed-sex chicken brain chimeras and find that the female reproductive cycle is largely destroyed in female chimeras with male brains.
- Fumihiko Maekawa
- , Miyano Sakurai
- & Hiroko Ohki-Hamazaki
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| Open AccessOn-demand optogenetic control of spontaneous seizures in temporal lobe epilepsy
Temporal lobe epilepsy in adults does not always respond to treatment. Krook-Magnuson and colleagues use optogenetics to inhibit and activate excitatory and inhibitory neurons, respectively, in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy, and find that they can stop seizures on a moment-to-moment basis.
- Esther Krook-Magnuson
- , Caren Armstrong
- & Ivan Soltesz
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| Open AccessSignalling properties of inorganic polyphosphate in the mammalian brain
Inorganic polyphosphates have been identified in the central nervous system. Holmström and colleagues examine neuroglial cultures in vitro and cardiorespiratory responses in vivo, and find that inorganic polyphosphates trigger calcium-dependent activation of astrocytes and increase cardiorespiratory activity.
- Kira M. Holmström
- , Nephtali Marina
- & Andrey Y. Abramov
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| Open AccessMultiple pore conformations driven by asynchronous movements of voltage sensors in a eukaryotic sodium channel
In outwardly rectifying potassium channels, depolarization initiates conformational changes in voltage-sensing domains. Goldschen-Ohmet al. find that movement of three specific domains correlates with conductance levels, and rearrangements of a fourth domain results in preinactivation subconductance states.
- Marcel P. Goldschen-Ohm
- , Deborah L. Capes
- & Baron Chanda
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A safe lithium mimetic for bipolar disorder
Lithium is commonly used to treat bipolar disorder, but it exerts side effects at doses close to the therapeutic range. Singh and colleagues screen a collection of clinical compounds and find that ebselen induces lithium-like effects on mouse models of bipolar disorder by inhibiting inositol monophosphatase.
- Nisha Singh
- , Amy C. Halliday
- & Grant C. Churchill
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| Open AccessDisplays of paternal mouse pup retrieval following communicative interaction with maternal mates
Parental responsibilities in mice are usually carried out by the mother of the pups. In this study, the authors show that when mothers are separated from their mouse pups, they emit ultrasonic vocalizations to their male partners, who respond by administering paternal care to the pups.
- Hong-Xiang Liu
- , Olga Lopatina
- & Haruhiro Higashida
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Phospho-dependent ubiquitination and degradation of PAR-1 regulates synaptic morphology and tau-mediated Aβ toxicity in Drosophila
PAR-1 inDrosophilahas been identified as a key physiological tau kinase. Lee and colleagues perform genetic screens for regulators of PAR-1 and find that it is targeted for ubiquitination and degradation by the ubiquitin ligase complex SCF(Slimb), and that this pathway modulates synaptic morphology.
- Seongsoo Lee
- , Ji-Wu Wang
- & Bingwei Lu
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Article
| Open AccessPioneer glutamatergic cells develop into a morpho-functionally distinct population in the juvenile CA3 hippocampus
The heterogeneity of cortical interneurons results from spatio-temporal differences in embryonic origin. Marissal et al. show that early-generated glutamatergic neurons display distinct morpho-functional features, suggesting that temporal factors are also important in determining glutamatergic function.
- Thomas Marissal
- , Paolo Bonifazi
- & Rosa Cossart
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| Open AccessRapamycin reverses impaired social interaction in mouse models of tuberous sclerosis complex
Tuberous sclerosis complex is an autosomal dominant cognitive disorder caused by mutations affecting TSCgenes. Sato and colleagues examine tuberous sclerosis complex mutant mice and find that the behavioural and anatomical abnormalities can be reversed by inhibiting rapamycin-sensitive signalling pathways, even in adulthood.
- Atsushi Sato
- , Shinya Kasai
- & Masashi Mizuguchi
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Sequential then interactive processing of letters and words in the left fusiform gyrus
Reading requires accurate and rapid distinction between similar visual stimuli. Thesen and colleagues use human intracranial electrophysiology and brain imaging to show that letter-selective responses, in an area of the brain immediately posterior to the visual word-form area, occur before word selection.
- Thomas Thesen
- , Carrie R. McDonald
- & Eric Halgren
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A role for calpain-dependent cleavage of TDP-43 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis pathology
The mislocalization and downregulation of the proteins TDP-43 and ADAR2, respectively, are implicated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis pathology. Yamashita et al. find that downregulation of ADAR2 results in calcium-permeable AMPA receptor-mediated calpain activation and subsequent aberrant cleavage of TDP-43.
- Takenari Yamashita
- , Takuto Hideyama
- & Shin Kwak
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| Open AccessExhaustion of nucleus pulposus progenitor cells with ageing and degeneration of the intervertebral disc
Back pain and sciatica are often caused by intervertebral disc degeneration. Sakai and colleagues identify a subset of nucleus pulposus progenitor cells from the intervertebral disc and show that loss of these progenitor cells correlates with ageing and intervertebral disc degeneration.
- Daisuke Sakai
- , Yoshihiko Nakamura
- & Joji Mochida
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Suppression of adult neurogenesis impairs population coding of similar contexts in hippocampal CA3 region
The dentate gyrus and CA3 of the hippocampus are involved in pattern separation. Niibori and colleagues investigate the role of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in pattern separation and find that suppressing adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus impairs coding of similar, but not dissimilar contexts.
- Yosuke Niibori
- , Tzong-Shiue Yu
- & Paul W. Frankland
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