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Neuronal Activity Regulates Blood-Brain Barrier Efflux Transport through Endothelial Circadian Genes 09/25/2020

The authors demonstrate that brain endothelial gene expression and blood-brain barrier efflux exhibit plasticity in response to neuronal activity. This has implications for how the blood-brain barrier regulates the composition of endogenous and exogenous molecules in the central nervous system in relation to circadian time and neuronal activity. This also suggests that neuronal activity can […]

LTP Induction Boosts Glutamate Spillover by Driving Withdrawal of Perisynaptic Astroglia 09/24/2020

Central synapses are often surrounded by thin astroglial processes that confine chemical neurotransmission to the synaptic cleft. Henneberger et al. find that memory trace formation at synaptic connections prompts withdrawal of these processes, thus boosting extrasynaptic neurotransmitter actions. Such actions can alter signal integration rules among neighboring synapses.

Sensory Glia Detect Repulsive Odorants and Drive Olfactory Adaptation 09/23/2020

Duan et al. report that a sheath glia cell-autonomously respond to aversive odorants. Upon activation, the glia suppress aversive odorants-triggered avoidance and promote olfactory adaptation by inhibiting neighboring olfactory neuron via GABA signaling. They propose a novel two-receptor model where the glia and sensory neuron jointly mediate adaptive olfaction.

An Optical Illusion Pinpoints an Essential Circuit Node for Global Motion Processing 09/22/2020

Wu et al. leverage the motion aftereffect (MAE), which causes the well-known “waterfall illusion,” to identify a subset of direction-selective neurons in the pretectum. The activity of these neurons is necessary and sufficient to evoke optokinetic responses; thus, they serve as an essential circuit node in processing rotational motion.