This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Learning something new not only changes our perspectives and behavior – it actually changes the structure of our brains. Memories and experiences are recorded in the brain by altering the physical connections between neurons. Until recently, however, the protein signals that cause these tiny structural changes were too small to measure with available imaging methods. But researchers at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience created ultra-sensitive sensors and revealed the activity of two of the proteins that write memories into neural circuits in the brain. Individual neurons have many branches, or dendrites. And each dendrite can be covered with thousands of tiny bumps called spines, where messages are received from other neurons. Changes in spine size are one way memories are recorded-when lots of messages are being passed and a spine is very active, it gets bigger. Many proteins need to be activated to make spines grow..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the basis of the resting membrane potentialExplain the stages of an action potential and how action potentials are propagatedExplain the similarities and differences between chemical and electrical synapsesDescribe long-term potentiation and long-term depression

This course includes:

Surveying the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neuronal communication.
Coversion channels in excitable membrane, synaptic transmission, and synaptic plasticity.
Correlation of the properties of ion channels and synaptic transmission with their physiological function such as learning and memory.
Discussion of the organizational principles for the formation of functional neural networks at synaptic and cellular levels.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"A new study suggests that transferring gut microbes from aged to young adult mice has measurable effects on parts of the central nervous system, highlighting the importance of the gut–brain axis in aging. Researchers performed fecal transplants from aged or age-matched donors to younger adult mice. The two groups showed significant differences in their microbial profiles. After transplantation, young adult recipients showed no significant changes in markers of anxiety, explorative behavior, or locomotor activity. But recipients did show impaired spatial learning and memory, as measured by a maze test. These changes were paralleled by alterations in the expression of proteins associated with synaptic plasticity and neurotransmission and changes in microglial cells in the hippocampus — the learning and memory center of the brain..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

The course will span modern neuroscience from molecular neurobiology to perception and cognition, including the following major topics: anatomy and development of the brain; cell biology of neurons and glia; ion channels and electrical signaling; synaptic transmission, integration, and chemical systems of the brain; sensory systems, from transduction to perception; motor systems; and higher brain functions dealing with memory, language, and affective disorders.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Our ability to form new memories is inextricably tied to synaptic plasticity – the structural and functional remodeling of brain tissue that allows us to adapt to an ever-changing environment. During plasticity, synapses must continually process and respond to ongoing fluctuations in biochemical information. Adding to the complexity of this arrangement is the fact that these signals occur under highly variable spatiotemporal scales. How do neurons perform such complex calculations? Researchers from the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience report that a specific isozyme of protein kinase C, known as PKCα, may be the key. The PKC family of enzymes has a long-established, critical role in synaptic plasticity. But which forms of PKC are activated and how activation occurs during this process has remained a mystery. To answer this question, the researchers developed highly specific biosensors to track the activity of classic PKC isozymes in brain tissue..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Insufficient blood supply to the brain and a resulting oxygen shortage are collectively referred to as hypoxic ischemia (HI). During HI, accumulation of the neurotransmitter glutamate (Glu) in synapses can lead to neuron damage. Another neurotransmitter, NAAG, can help protect brain cells during HI by binding to the Glu receptor mGluR3 and preventing excess Glu signaling, but exactly how NAAG helps maintain synaptic networks isn’t clear. To learn more, researchers recently examined NAAG/Glu signaling and synaptic plasticity in the brains of newborn pigs subjected to HI via carotid artery clamping. The levels of NAAG and mGluR3 increased during HI, especially after 12–24 h, and then decreased, consistent with an initial anti-Glu defense mechanism. Next, the researchers inhibited the NAAG-degrading enzyme in piglets to increase brain NAAG levels..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Quantum materials are opening up a realm of possibilities in materials research. Among the best known examples are superconductivity and quantum computing. But that’s only the beginning. The same properties that make these materials unique are also enabling researchers to demystify the inner workings of the human brain. So what makes quantum materials well suited for this purpose? Unlike the free-flowing electrons in ordinary conductors or semiconductors, electrons in quantum materials show correlated behavior. That in itself has been the focus of intense physics research. But the upshot for brain research is tunable electronic behavior that can mimic the electronic signaling of neurons and the synapses between them. Most importantly, quantum materials can simulate synaptic plasticity. Plasticity is the biological ability that makes learning and memory formation possible. It’s all about timing. Connections between neurons that fire within a short, milliseconds-long time window grow stronger..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.