The discrete neural network for songbird vocal communication provides an effective system to study neural mechanisms of learned motor behaviors in vertebrates. This system consists of two pathways--a vocal motor pathway ...

Birds are the most species-rich class of tetrapod vertebrates and have wide relevance across many research fields. We explored bird macroevolution using full genomes from 48 avian species representing all major extant clades. ...

While bonobos and chimpanzees are both genetically and behaviorally very similar, they also differ in significant ways. Bonobos are more cautious and socially tolerant while chimpanzees are more dependent on extractive foraging, ...

BACKGROUND: Previous work has demonstrated the potential for peripheral blood (PB) gene expression profiling for the detection of disease or environmental exposures. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We have sought to determine the ...

This study combines for the first time two major approaches to understanding the function and structure of neural circuits: large-scale multielectrode recordings, and confocal imaging of labeled neurons. To achieve this ...

Amacrine cells are the most diverse and least understood cell class in the retina. Polyaxonal amacrine cells (PACs) are a unique subset identified by multiple long axonal processes. To explore their functional properties, ...

Neuronal receptive fields (RFs) provide the foundation for understanding systems-level sensory processing. In early visual areas, investigators have mapped RFs in detail using stochastic stimuli and sophisticated analytical ...

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a widely used, noninvasive method for stimulating nervous tissue, yet its mechanisms of effect are poorly understood. Here we report new methods for studying the influence of TMS ...

Although neuroanatomical tracing studies have defined the origin and targets of major projection neurons (PN) of the central nervous system (CNS), there is much less information about the circuits that influence these neurons. ...

The BDNF receptor tyrosine kinase, TrkB, underlies nervous system function in both health and disease. Excessive activation of TrkB caused by status epilepticus promotes development of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), revealing ...