The Orange Cat Brain Atlas is here. 🧠🐈

Today, we published the first comprehensive cellular map of the orange cat brain. The new atlas reveals a single, specialized neuron responsible for behaviors like staring at walls, knocking objects off tables, and the 3am "zoomies."

Mitochondrial transfer from glia to neurons protects against peripheral neuropathy - Nature Mitochondria that are transported from satellite glial cells in dorsal root ganglia to peripheral sensory neurons through tunneling nanotube-like structures provide protection against peripheral neuro...

Loss of MYO10-dependent mitochondrial transfer from satellite glia to sensory neurons emerges as a previously unrecognized driver of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Really interesting article👏🏻👌🏻
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Integration of hunger and hormonal state gates infant-directed aggression - Nature Combined behavioural, circuit-level and cellular approaches are used to demonstrate how hypothalamic neurons integrate hunger and oestrous state to drive a switch in how female mice interact with pups.

Nature research paper: Integration of hunger and hormonal state gates infant-directed aggression

go.nature.com/3WmxmvH

Amygdala–liver signalling orchestrates glycaemic responses to stress - Nature Studies in mice show that acute stress activates hyperglycaemia via activation of a medial amygdala–ventral hypothalamic circuit that controls glucose metabolic responses in the liver, independently of adrenal and pancreatic hormones.

Nature research paper: Amygdala–liver signalling orchestrates glycaemic responses to stress

go.nature.com/4m2rH8t

Macrophages protect against sensory axon loss in peripheral neuropathy - Nature A study in a mouse model of obesity and prediabetes demonstrates that recruitment of macrophages to nerves has a protective role in diet-induced peripheral neuropathy.

#NeuroImmunologyPower! Woolf &co show @nature.com that peripheral neuropathy associated with type 2 #diabetes is delayed by recruitment of galactin-3 producing #macrophages which delay terminal sensory axon degeneration! #ScienceSavesLives www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Engineered commensals for targeted nose-to-brain drug delivery. #Cell

"This study demonstrates the capability of Lp as an intranasal delivery vehicle, emphasizing its potential for brain-targeted therapeutic applications."

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Opioidergic activation of the descending pain inhibitory system underlies placebo analgesia The placebo effect can relieve pain by activating the brain’s pain inhibition system via endogenous opioidergic signals.

A new #ScienceAdvances study in rats reveals neurobiological mechanisms that trigger placebo analgesia—which occurs when a pharmacologically ineffective treatment still produces pain relief. scim.ag/3CtSzxn

The liver and muscle secreted HFE2-protein maintains central nervous system blood vessel integrity - Nature Communications Blood vessel integrity is critical to maintain brain health. Here, the authors show that both the liver and the muscles secrete HFE2, a protein that promotes blood vessel integrity in healthy animals ...

Very cool 🇨🇦-led study on liver-brain communication #multi-organ #cerebrovascular www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Sexually dimorphic dopaminergic circuits determine sex preference Sociosexual preference is critical for reproduction and survival. However, neural mechanisms encoding social decisions on sex preference remain unclear. In this study, we show that both male and femal...

Receiving one or two doses of HPV vaccines prior to age 17, especially for those initiating before age 15, has comparable effectiveness against high-grade cervical lesions with those who received three doses. #Lancet

Open Access
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The study demonstrates for the first time exactly how dopamine and serotonin work together -- or more precisely, in opposition -- to shape our learning behavior. #Nature

Read more
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

PIEZO-dependent mechanosensing is essential for intestinal stem cell fate decision and maintenance Stem cells perceive and respond to biochemical and physical signals to maintain homeostasis. Yet, it remains unclear how stem cells sense mechanical signals from their niche in vivo. In this work, we ...

PIEZO-dependent mechanosensing is essential for intestinal stem cell fate decision and maintenance | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Our new study shows that SARS-CoV-2 spike protein accumulates & persists in the body for years after infection, especially in the skull-meninges-brain axis, potentially driving long COVID. mRNA vaccines help but cannot stop it🔬🧠🦠🧵Your weekend read👇
@cellpress.bsky.social
cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Beautiful and highly mechanistic story on how differences in gut microbiota colonization in neonates modulate tolerance to viral inflammation, and thus influence the development of necrotizing enterocolitis #GutMicrbiota #Inflammation #EarlyLife #NEC

Sex matters in #neuroinflammation
Really nice examination of genetic and hormonal sex effects in demyelination in the murine models of #Alzheimer’s disease. #neuroskyence, #neuroimmunolgy
#innateimmunity
#immunosky

Microviridae bacteriophages influence behavioural hallmarks of food addiction via tryptophan and tyrosine signalling pathways - Nature Metabolism Castells-Nobau et al. provide insight into how bacteriophages in the gut microbiome contribute to regulating food addiction by modulating tryptophan and tyrosine metabolism in the host.

Can viruses cause food addiction? This fascinating study demonstrates that Microviridae bacteriophages can influence behavioural outcomes related to food addiction via tryptophan and tyrosine signalling pathways

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Mitochondrial calcium uptake declines during aging and is directly activated by oleuropein to boost energy metabolism and skeletal muscle performance Gherardi et al. identify that aging and disability impair mitochondrial calcium uptake in skeletal muscle via MCUR1. Food-derived polyphenols increase the import of calcium in mitochondria by binding ...

Mitochondrial calcium uptake declines during #aging and is directly activated by #oleuropein to boost energy metabolism and skeletal #muscle performance

www.cell.com/cell-metabol...

#sarcopenia #mitochondria #aging #nutrition

Amy Cao

Excited to share my first post here! Our new paper reveals a top-down breathing circuit that slows breathing to ease anxiety & fear. A step forward in understanding how brain-breathing interactions shape emotion. Published in Nature Neuroscience—grateful to my team!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...