Article Archive

In parallel to progressive human-like neuromelanin pigmentation, these animals display age-related neuronal dysfunction and degeneration affecting numerous brain circuits and body tissues, linked to motor and non-motor deficits, reminiscent of early neurodegenerative stages. This model may open new research avenues in the field of brain aging and neurodegeneration.

The authors increased Reelin levels might modulate the numbers of striatal interneurons and the density of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic projections, suggesting that these changes may be involved in the protection of Reelin against neuropsychiatric disorders. View original preprint.

Preprint: The authors evaluated Gauchian in 90 Sanger-sequenced patients with GD and five GBA1 heterozygotes using the software tool Gauchian to identify GBA1 variants from whole genome sequencing. While Gauchian genotyped most patients correctly, this limits Gauchian's utility in variant screening and precluding its use in diagnostics.

Published: The team identified repeated blows to head in sports/combat as a potential new risk factor. 23% of PD cases in females were attributable to pesticides/herbicides exposure, and 30% of PD in males were attributable to pesticides/herbicides, military-related chemical exposures, and repeated blows to the head, and therefore could have potentially been prevented. View original preprint.

Published: The main purpose of the paper is to demonstrate how these three tools can support the computational/mathematical modeling of neural systems with a variety of numerical methods that are well tested and documented. Thus, the authors present a powerful tool kit for computational/mathematical approaches to studying the dynamics and functions of complex neural systems such as the basal ganglia. View original preprint.

Published: This sensitive, computationally efficient approach enables fluorescent puncta and cellular features to be distinguished in cellular and tissue environments with a sensitivity down to the level of the single protein. View original preprint. 

Published: To understand PD-associated sleep-wake abnormalities, a new progressive model of PD - the MCI-Park mouse - was studied. Near the transition to the parkinsonian state, these mice exhibited significantly altered sleep-wake regulation, including increased wakefulness, decreased non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, increased sleep fragmentation, reduced rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and altered EEG activity patterns. View original preprint.

While the basal ganglia circuit model underpinning the notion that striatal dopamine (DA) depletion was the critical determinant of network pathophysiology underlying the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, the hypothesis itself has never been directly tested. It is time for a new model of the network determinants of motor disability in PD.

The mechanisms by which intracellular aSYN pathology contributes to dysfunction and degeneration of neurons in the brain are still unclear. Genetic and physiological methods were used to monitor mitochondrial function in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopaminergic and pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) cholinergic neurons after stereotaxic injection of aSYN pre-formed fibrils (PFFs) into the mouse brain.

Published: Reinforcement mechanism promotes not only reinforcement, but gradual refinement of the entire behavioral repertoire to assign credit to specific actions and action sequences that lead to dopamine release.

The authors' CFET array has the potential to unlock a wide range of applications, from uncovering the role of neuromodulators in synaptic plasticity, to addressing critical safety barriers in clinical translation towards diagnostic and adaptive treatment in Parkinson’s disease and major mood disorders.

Published: Synchronous measures of spike and dopamine signals displayed contrasting relations to the behavioral task parameters, as taken from the small set of representative data, suggesting a complex relationship between these two modes of neural signaling. View original preprint. 

Published: The team concluded from their autopsy series that after a fatal course of COVID-19, microscopic changes, when present, in the rostral, intracranial portion of the olfactory circuitry generally reflected neurodegenerative processes seen elsewhere in the brain. In general, inflammation correlated best with the degree of Alzheimer’s-linked tauopathy and declined with progression of age in COVID19+ patients. View original preprint.

Preprint: The team identified significant age- and posit that simple-to-administer, quantitative smell tests could serve as inexpensive screening tools in future population studies for the identification of α-synuclein-related brain disorders, including Parkinson's during its premotor phase.

Preprint: To understand the cause of these discrepancies, the team reviewed their data, and concluded that they are misinterpreting Gauchian results in 8 of the 11 discrepant samples, and incorrectly using Gauchian to analyze low-coverage 1kGP samples.

Published: Inhibiting microbial amyloids or their interactions with the host, may therefore represent a tangible target to limit various amyloid pathologies.

These results highlight a potential link for further exploration between nanoplastic pollution and α-synuclein aggregation associated with Parkinson’s disease and related dementias.

Preprint: The team provides a comprehensive evaluation of multiple systems in a prevalent experimental model of intestinal permeability, which will inform future studies using this model and others, assist in the identification of druggable targets in the gut-brain axis, and contribute to our understanding of the concomitance of intestinal and neuropsychiatric dysfunction.

Preprint: LRRK2 has become an appealing target in PD, but findings suggest that more research is required to understand the cell-type-specific consequences and optimal timing of LRRK2-targeting therapeutics.

Graphical abstract.