Neuroscience Daily for 06 June: Superior Colliculus Cognition, Anxiety Hunger Circuits, Cortical Oxygen Fluctuations, Serotonin Receptor Atlas

Neuroscience Daily for 06 June: Superior Colliculus Cognition, Anxiety Hunger Circuits, Cortical Oxygen Fluctuations, Serotonin Receptor Atlas

Neuroscience Daily for 06 June follows 4 stories from r/neuro and r/neuroscience, moving through superior colliculus cognition, anxiety hunger circuits, cortical oxygen fluctuations, serotonin receptor atlas. 1. Superior Colliculus Cognition This story from Nature Neuroscience is about evidence that the superior colliculus helps with abstract categorization, not just eye movements and spatial orienting. The paper trained rhesus macaques on a visual category task that did not depend on instructed saccades or covert attention differences, then compared signals in the superior colliculus with activity in posterior parietal cortex. Source link [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01744-x] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/1fkvjk1/primate_superior_colliculus_is_causally_engaged/] 2. Anxiety Hunger Circuits This story from PNAS is about a mouse study linking anxiety relief, hunger circuitry, and anorexia-like behavior. The post describes experiments in which the most anxious mice sought stimulation of neurons that made them intensely hungry while also quieting anxiety, raising the possibility that self-starvation can become entangled with stress regulation rather than food alone. Source link [https://www.pnas.org/post/journal-club/anxious-mice-seek-out-anorexia-like-behaviors-relieve-stress] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/1cwsi57/in_experiments_in_mice_the_most_anxious/] 3. Cortical Oxygen Fluctuations This story from PNAS is about a new bioluminescent sensor study suggesting that oxygen levels in the healthy mouse cortex are constantly shifting across both space and time. Instead of treating oxygenation as a relatively smooth background condition, the post frames cortical tissue as a moving metabolic landscape with local fluctuations even at baseline. Source link [https://www.pnas.org/post/journal-club/oxygen-fluctuates-dramatically-even-healthy-mouse-brain] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/1cbi5je/using_a_novel_bioluminescent_sensor_a_recent/] 4. Serotonin Receptor Atlas This story from Cell Patterns is about a transcriptomic atlas of serotonin receptor expression across the adult mouse brain. The study draws on millions of single-cell measurements to map where different 5-HT receptor genes show up, and the broader takeaway is that many cell types appear to express at least one serotonin receptor while quite a few co-express several receptor variants at once. Source link [https://www.cell.com/patterns/fulltext/S2666-3899(24)00190-9] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/1fejdiz/transcriptomic_mapping_of_the_5ht_receptor/] That's it for today.

Neuroscience Daily for 05 June: Newborn Tau Biomarker, Stress Stimulant Epigenetics, Prefrontal Consciousness, Blood Brain Aging

Neuroscience Daily for 05 June follows 4 stories from r/neuro and r/neuroscience, moving through newborn tau biomarker, stress stimulant epigenetics, prefrontal consciousness, blood brain aging. 1. Newborn Tau Biomarker This story from Scientific American is about a surprising Alzheimer's-linked blood marker showing up at very high levels in healthy newborns. The article covers a Brain Communications study finding that plasma pTau217 in newborns can exceed the levels seen in adults with Alzheimer's disease, then falls over the first months of life, especially in infants born preterm. Source link [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/alzheimers-related-biomarker-found-at-elevated-levels-in-newborns/] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuro/comments/1o36s3d/alzheimersrelated_biomarker_found_at_elevated/] 2. Stress Stimulant Epigenetics This story from Trends in Neurosciences is about a review arguing that chronic stress and stimulant exposure can push the brain toward some of the same rigid behavioral patterns. The review centers on the dorsal striatum and says repeated stress or stimulant use can accumulate epigenetic changes that alter synaptic plasticity, decision-making, and cognitive flexibility over time. Source link [https://www.cell.com/trends/neurosciences/fulltext/S0166-2236(22)00189-8] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/10ny378/convergent_actions_of_stress_and_stimulants_via/] 3. Prefrontal Consciousness This story from Neuron is about a study proposing that shifts in prefrontal brain states help determine when conscious perception changes. The work uses binocular rivalry, where constant sensory input can still flip between different conscious interpretations, and the authors describe a pattern in which stable beta activity is interrupted by lower-frequency activity before perception switches. Source link [https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(23)00131-9] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/11rzsdr/bistability_of_prefrontal_states_gates_access_to/] 4. Blood Brain Aging This story from Nature Neuroscience is about a review of how signals in the blood can help drive brain aging and, at least in animal work, sometimes support rejuvenation. The review pulls together findings on interventions such as exercise, caloric restriction, heterochronic parabiosis, and so-called young blood factors, arguing that circulating molecules can meaningfully shape cognition, neurogenesis, and vulnerability to neurodegenerative disease. Source link [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-022-01238-8] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/12hseco/bloodtobrain_communication_in_aging_and/] That's it for today.

Neuroscience Daily for 05 June: Newborn Tau Biomarker, Stress Stimulant Epigenetics, Prefrontal Consciousness, Blood Brain Aging

Neuroscience Daily for 05 June follows 4 stories from r/neuro and r/neuroscience, moving through newborn tau biomarker, stress stimulant epigenetics, prefrontal consciousness, blood brain aging. 1. Newborn Tau Biomarker This story from Scientific American is about a surprising Alzheimer's-linked blood marker showing up at very high levels in healthy newborns. The article covers a Brain Communications study finding that plasma pTau217 in newborns can exceed the levels seen in adults with Alzheimer's disease, then falls over the first months of life, especially in infants born preterm. Source link [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/alzheimers-related-biomarker-found-at-elevated-levels-in-newborns/] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuro/comments/1o36s3d/alzheimersrelated_biomarker_found_at_elevated/] 2. Stress Stimulant Epigenetics This story from Trends in Neurosciences is about a review arguing that chronic stress and stimulant exposure can push the brain toward some of the same rigid behavioral patterns. The review centers on the dorsal striatum and says repeated stress or stimulant use can accumulate epigenetic changes that alter synaptic plasticity, decision-making, and cognitive flexibility over time. Source link [https://www.cell.com/trends/neurosciences/fulltext/S0166-2236(22)00189-8] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/10ny378/convergent_actions_of_stress_and_stimulants_via/] 3. Prefrontal Consciousness This story from Neuron is about a study proposing that shifts in prefrontal brain states help determine when conscious perception changes. The work uses binocular rivalry, where constant sensory input can still flip between different conscious interpretations, and the authors describe a pattern in which stable beta activity is interrupted by lower-frequency activity before perception switches. Source link [https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(23)00131-9] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/11rzsdr/bistability_of_prefrontal_states_gates_access_to/] 4. Blood Brain Aging This story from Nature Neuroscience is about a review of how signals in the blood can help drive brain aging and, at least in animal work, sometimes support rejuvenation. The review pulls together findings on interventions such as exercise, caloric restriction, heterochronic parabiosis, and so-called young blood factors, arguing that circulating molecules can meaningfully shape cognition, neurogenesis, and vulnerability to neurodegenerative disease. Source link [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-022-01238-8] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/12hseco/bloodtobrain_communication_in_aging_and/] That's it for today.

Neuroscience Daily for 04 June: Psychedelics For TBI, Myo Inositol Development, Optogenetic Implants, Cross Region Memory

Neuroscience Daily for 04 June follows 4 stories from r/neuro and r/neuroscience, moving through psychedelics for tbi, myo inositol development, optogenetic implants, cross region memory. 1. Psychedelics For TBI This story from PubMed Central is about a mini-review asking whether psychedelics could someday play a role in recovery after stroke or traumatic brain injury. The linked review says the evidence so far is still early and mostly preclinical, with studies pointing to possible effects on neuroinflammation, neuroplasticity, hippocampal neurogenesis, and other repair-related pathways rather than any proven treatment. Source link [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8357986/] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/1c9tupe/dmt_for_traumatic_brain_injury/] 2. Myo Inositol Development This story from PNAS is about a human milk component called myo-inositol and its possible role in building neuronal connections during early development. The paper reports that myo-inositol is especially abundant in early lactation, increases synapse abundance in human and rat neurons, and in mouse experiments enlarged excitatory postsynaptic sites in the developing cortex. Source link [https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2221413120] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/15dk1l5/the_human_milk_component_myoinositol_promotes/] 3. Optogenetic Implants This story from ScienceDirect is about a review of implantable micro-LED optogenetic interfaces and what would have to happen before they become realistic tools for human therapy. The review argues that tiny flexible light sources could eventually make it easier to stimulate very specific neural circuits, while also highlighting major engineering problems around heat, power delivery, biocompatibility, closed-loop control, and device integration. Source link [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169409X22002897] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/10bnpwu/implantable_microlightemitting_diode_%C2%B5ledbased/] 4. Cross Region Memory This story from PNAS is about a journal-club summary of research on how neurons coordinate memory formation across different brain regions. The linked write-up frames the work as evidence that memory traces are not laid down in isolation, but are coordinated across distributed circuits that have to link their activity during learning. Source link [https://www.pnas.org/post/journal-club/memories-form-across-brain] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuroscience/comments/10ep4p7/neurobiologists_at_the_university_of_california/] That's it for today.

Neuroscience Daily for 03 June: V1 Learning Tradeoff, SSVEP Flicker Layout, STDP Timing Debate

Neuroscience Daily for 03 June follows 3 stories from r/neuro and r/neuroscience, moving through v1 learning tradeoff, ssvep flicker layout, stdp timing debate. 1. V1 Learning Tradeoff This story is about an arXiv study asking why training vision networks can make their earliest visual representations less like activity in human V1. In the post, a researcher reports that after just one epoch of object classification training, backpropagation erased about 90 percent of the model’s V1 alignment, while predictive coding and spike-timing-dependent plasticity lost only about a quarter to a third and then leveled off. Source link [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuro/comments/1tupw1i/one_epoch_of_backprop_is_enough_to_destroy_v1like/] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuro/comments/1tupw1i/one_epoch_of_backprop_is_enough_to_destroy_v1like/] 2. SSVEP Flicker Layout This story from r/neuro is about whether the layout of multiple SSVEP flicker targets on a screen can make them harder to distinguish in a brain-computer interface. The poster is asking if light from neighboring flashing squares could blur together in the visual field and reduce classification accuracy, especially because their training data was recorded with each square flashing alone rather than all at once. Source link [https://i.redd.it/lbvgpt82wx4h1.jpeg] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuro/comments/1tv56ke/will_the_shape_of_the_ssvep_flickers_cause_a/] 3. STDP Timing Debate This story is about spike-timing-dependent plasticity, or STDP, from r/neuro. The post uses STDP to ask what in the brain gives us the feeling of a narrow, less-than-one-second window of experience as we move through the world. Source link [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuro/comments/1tmf7k3/spike_timing_dependency_plasticity_stdp/] Reddit discussion [https://www.reddit.com/r/neuro/comments/1tmf7k3/spike_timing_dependency_plasticity_stdp/] That's it for today.