Understanding social interaction requires processing social agents and their relationships. The latest results show that much of this process is visually solved: visual areas can represent multiple people encoding emergent information about their inte…
Deciding whether to forego immediate rewards or explore new opportunities is a key component of flexible behavior and is critical for the survival of the species. Although previous studies have shown that different cortical and subcortical areas, incl…
Maintaining precise synaptic contacts between neuronal partners is critical to ensure the proper functioning of the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Diverse cell recognition molecules, such as classic cadherins (Cdhs), are part of the molecular…
Mutations in the activity-dependent transcription factor MEF2C have been associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders. Among these, autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-related behavioral deficits are manifested. Multiple animal models that harbor mut…
Parvalbumin (PV) interneurons in the auditory cortex (AC) play a crucial role in shaping auditory processing, including receptive field formation, temporal precision enhancement, and gain regulation. PV interneurons are also the primary inhibitory neu…
Scientists have long conjectured that the neocortex learns patterns in sensory data to generate top-down predictions of upcoming stimuli. In line with this conjecture, different responses to pattern-matching vs pattern-violating visual stimuli have be…
White matter dysmaturation is commonly seen in preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Animal research has shown that active sleep is essential for early brain plasticity. This study aimed to determine the potential of act…
The molecular clock that generates daily rhythms of behavior and physiology consists of interlocked transcription–translation feedback loops. In Drosophila, the primary feedback loop involving the CLOCK-CYCLE transcriptional activators and the P…
The impact of dopamine on synaptic plasticity and cognitive function following seizure is not well understood. Here, using optogenetics in the freely behaving animal, we examined exploratory behavior and short-term memory in control and kindled male m…