Amy Ciceu

Putting 50 years of neuroscience on the map Navigate the rise and fall of research topics over five decades using our interactive map, which is based on a semantic analysis of nearly 350,000 abstracts.

Navigate the rise and fall of research topics over five decades using The Transmitter's interactive map, which is based on a semantic analysis of nearly 350,000 abstracts in leading neuroscience journals. Explore more: www.thetransmitter.org/publishing/p...

#neuroskyence #StateOfNeuroscience

Chaperone-mediated autophagy regulates neuronal activity by sex-specific remodelling of the synaptic proteome - Nature Cell Biology Khawaja et al. show sex-specific differences in neuronal-activity regulation by chaperone-mediated autophagy and that loss of chaperone-mediated autophagy leads to defective neuronal physiology and in...

☕Khawaja et al. show sex-specific differences in neuronal-activity regulation by #chaperone - mediated autophagy. Loss of chaperone-mediated #autophagy leads to defective #neuronal physiology and increased seizure susceptibility.
👉https://rdcu.be/eP69w
bit.ly/4pctKJ2

HBO Max announces it will be adding Mad Men, in 4K

Hey, look! Something is actually being *added* to the HBO Max library. And it's Mad Men finally in 4K!

How to Contact ProPublica or Send a Tip Securely — ProPublica Our job is to hold people and institutions accountable. To do that, we need evidence.

Federal workers: The government shutdown may have ended, but we know that many of you are still dealing with its lasting repercussions.

We want to hear from you. Here's how to securely reach out: https://propublica.org/tips

A Confederacy of Toddlers The Trump administration is a regime of troubled children.

“The United States is now a nation run by public servants who behave no better than internet trolls,” @radiofreetom.bsky.social argues. “Who’s responsible for these choices? Your mother, apparently”:

Anyone see the Northern lights this week?

Psychedelic 5-HT2A receptor agonism alters neurovascular coupling and differentially affects neuronal and hemodynamic measures of brain function - Nature Neuroscience Padawer-Curry et al. show that the hallucinogenic 5-HT2A receptor agonist DOI alters neurovascular coupling in mice, with implications for the interpretation of human fMRI studies of psychedelics.

Psychedelic 5-HT2A receptor agonism alters neurovascular coupling and differentially affects neuronal and hemodynamic measures of mouse and human brain function

@adamqbauer.bsky.social
@jordacular.bsky.social
@realjoshsiegel.bsky.social
@oliverk28.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Aging as adaptation Some age-related changes in the brain and in behavior are not solely the result of cognitive decline but rather part of a larger adaptive process.

In our latest Postdoc Perspectives essay, Dana Rubi Levy, Kevin Mastro and Michael Ryan argue that some age-related changes in the brain are not solely the result of cognitive decline but rather part of a larger adaptive process.

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/aging/aging-...

Is NIH cutting corners as it rushes to fill leadership positions? Unlike in the past, agency searches appear to exclude help from outside academic researchers

NIH is ramping up efforts to fill a huge slate of vacant leadership positions.

Onlookers worry the process is being rushed and will depart, as it already has in one case, from the long-standing practice of drawing on advice from academic scientists to find candidates. https://scim.ag/47HraVv

The real bummer about no one from NIH being able to attend SfN is all the postbacs that would be applying to graduate school this year won’t have the opportunity to network with potential faculty mentors at their posters or attend the graduate school fair.

Public engagement: building common ground How can we help to bridge this divide? Simply producing more excep­ tional science will not be enough to rebuild public trust. Rather, we must adopt a new model that recognizes communication and advocacy as core pillars of science, on a par with rigor and reproducibility. Public engagement efforts should be valued for faculty promotions, much like obtaining grants and publishing our findings in scientific journals. Researchers should be recognized and rewarded for activities such as giving public talks, working with local schools, engaging with policy­ makers, developing social media campaigns and platforms or writing accessible articles for general audiences. Developing these skills must be an integral part of scientific training, reinforcing the notion that the responsibility to champion science lies with us. Courses that teach graduate students and postdocs to communicate complex ideas clearly, to use social media effectively and to advocate for evidence­based policies must be deemed critical and supported by our universities. These efforts should not be viewed as distractions from research but woven into the fabric of what we do as scientists. Rebuilding public trust requires a cultural paradigm shift: scientists must see themselves not just as producers of knowledge, but also as its ambassadors and translators. Such a fundamental change will occur only if it is embraced by our scientific leaders and institutions, emphasizing the critical role of public engagement for science to succeed.

A thought-provoking piece in Nature Neuroscience by many neuroscience colleagues: "Science must break its silence to rebuild public trust". Lots to think about here.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The Drink That Americans Won’t Give Up Without a Fight Coffee has almost no nutritional value and lots of substitutes. It’s also, apparently, too important to lose.

Tariffs have rapidly increased the price of coffee—a drink with almost no nutritional value and lots of functional substitutes. Yet coffee may also be the one thing Americans can’t live without, @elcush.bsky.social writes:

Augmenting AMPA receptor signaling after spinal cord injury increases ependymal-derived neural stem/progenitor cell migration and promotes functional recovery - Nature Neuroscience Hachem et al. show that AMPAR signaling drives the acute activation of ependymal-derived neural stem/progenitor cells after spinal cord injury and that this mechanism can be targeted therapeutically to harness the endogenous regenerative potential of the spinal cord.

Augmenting AMPA receptor signaling after spinal cord injury increases ependymal-derived neural stem/progenitor cell migration and promotes functional recovery

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Increasing the level of the protein PI31 demonstrates neuroprotective effects in mice - News One fundamental feature of neurodegenerative diseases is a breakdown in communication. Even before brain cells die, the delicate machinery that keeps neurons in touch—by clearing away protein waste at...

A study from the #StellerLab in @pnas.org finds that boosting PI31 can prevent neuronal degeneration, restore synaptic function, and significantly extend lifespan in fly and mouse models of rare genetic disorders similar to Parkinson’s. #RockefellerScience

Oxytocin shapes both mouse mom and pup behavior Distressed pups emit distinct cries for help, which depend on oxytocin neurons in their hypothalamus.

Oxytocin controls both sides of the mother-pup relationship in mice, influencing how pups communicate when separated from their mothers, a new study finds.

By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/oxytocin/oxy...

Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.

This is very exciting! A small clinical trial using gene therapy for Huntington's disease has been successful. microRNAs were used to edit the Huntington mRNA, stopping it making mutant protein that can damage neurons. Huge hopes now for treating such a devastating condition

Oh to be a kitten that was found starving to death in a bucket and now only knows safety and comfort

Whistle-Blower Complaints Detail Tension Over Vaccines at N.I.H.

This is courage from former NIH leaders.

Thank you, Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo and Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, former heads of two NIH institutes.

"[removed] after objecting to Trump/[Vought] efforts to undermine vaccines, flout court orders, withhold research money and politicize the grant-making process." 1/🧪

Astrocyte networks are much larger than previously thought, which “flips the way we think about astrocytes and what their networks may mean,” says @liddelowsa.bsky.social.

By @callimcflurry.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/astrocytes/a...

What do neuroscience labs and the streets of New York City have in common? They are both commonly home to rats, a feature this research team is leveraging to study rat social cognition in the wild.

By @martajhill.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/social-cogni...

Newton’s cradle? More like cat’s cradle (got this for my boyfriend’s office desk but his cat has co-opted it as his new favorite toy)😼

I was in a meeting -- did the Supreme Court rule that we're living in the Purge movies yet, or are they holding off until the October term?

Astrocytes sense neuromodulators to orchestrate neuronal activity and shape behavior Astrocytes serve as crucial mediators of neuromodulatory processes previously attributed to direct communication between neurons, four new studies show.

Beyond housekeeping duties, astrocytes also coordinate complex computational tasks during modulation, expanding their role in the brain.

By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/astrocytes/a...

National Science Foundation cancels research grants related to misinformation and disinformation Hundreds of grants, fellowships, and awards were terminated because they are no longer "aligned with NSF priorities."

MAGA just killed science.

For the last 3 yrs, I was the director for the Science of Science program at the NSF. We funded projects on science communication - science communication to the public, communication of public priorities to scientists, citizens engagement & participation in science. 🧵

The Scramble to Save Rural Health Care From DOGE Can an Alabama health clinic survive Musk’s “chainsaw for bureaucracy”?

An obscure federal grant brings health care to rural America. Can an Alabama doctor save it from DOGE? Stephanie McCrummen reports:

"they are going to end cancer research and kill its top scientists" is the kind of thing that would get you laughed out of the writer's room on saturday morning cartoons and it is literally what's happening

This paper changed my life: Shane Liddelow on two papers that upended astrocyte research A game-changing cell culture method developed in Ben Barres’ lab completely transformed the way we study astrocytes and helped me build a career studying their reactive substates.

In our latest edition of “This paper changed my life,” @liddelowsa.bsky.social explains how two papers from Ben Barres’ lab completely changed the way the field studies astrocytes and enabled everything discovered in glia research since.

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/this-paper-c...

First lines of NOT-OD-25-080, available at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-25-080.html

Jay Bhattacharya said in his confirmation hearing that he plans to restore NIH to its former glory & repair public distrust of science.

Would love to hear how rescinding the NIH policy on scientific integrity accomplishes that goal.

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...