🧠 New paper from our neighboring Gründemann Lab @dzne 👋
Chloé Maëlle Benoit and colleagues show that #axon initial segments in #mPFC #neurons undergo #learning-dependent #StructuralPlasticity during fear extinction, linking #AIS dynamics to #MemoryFormation in vivo. A very cool study that extends the concept of learning-related #plasticity beyond #synapses to intrinsic neuronal compartments.
🧠 In gaps near a millionth of an inch, consciousness might be dancing. Between trillions of synapses, molecular bridges hold synaptic contacts and slowly remodel with activity, weaving patterns so complex we might wonder if they could experience themselves.
✍️ Journey into the neural mystery: https://TPC8.short.gy/JS2DQjc8
🔮 In the space between neurons, a universe of awareness may be unfolding.
#Neuroscience #Consciousness #PhilosophyOfMind #NeuroPhilosophy #CognitiveScience #Synapses #SciComm #TPC8
🧠 #Neurons can communicate via a hidden network of #nanotubes, new study finds. Chang et al. (2025) show that dendritic nanotubes (DNTs) are #actin-based #dendrite-to-dendrite conduits transferring Ca²⁺ and molecular cargo (incl. #Aβ), rising before plaque deposition in mouse #cortex. This overlooked pathway may expand our view of neuronal communication beyond #synapses:
🧠Wie Synapsen zusammenhalten 🤝
Diese Entdeckung hat ein Kölner Forschungsteam über die molekulare Architektur von Synapsen gemacht. Die Studie zeigt, dass das Protein Gephyrin im Gehirn flexible Filamente bildet und damit als wichtiger Baustein inhibitorischer Synapsen dient.
Mehr dazu▶️ https://uni.koeln/YAZEK
📰 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-63748-w
#uniköln #unicologne #Forschung #Synapsen #Gehirn #Neurologie #Research #Synapses #Brain #Neurology
🧠 How Synapses Hold Together 🤝
This discovery was made by a Cologne-based research team studying the molecular architecture of synapses. The study shows that the protein gephrin forms flexible filaments in the brain, serving as an important building block of inhibitory synapses.
Read more ▶️ https://uni.koeln/PSVRY
📰The study was published in Nature Communications: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-63748-w
#uniköln #unicologne #Forschung #Synapsen #Gehirn #Neurologie #Research #Synapses #Brain #Neurology
🧠 New pre-print by Wiesner et al. (2025) shows non-#synaptic #exocytosis directly from the #axon shaft, regulated by the submembrane periodic skeleton. Using #superresolution #imaging and live assays (#HiLo (VAMP2-pHluorin), #SIM, and correlative two-color #SMLM/ #STORM) they reveal that #axons can release vesicles outside classical #synapses, expanding how we understand #neuronal communication and #AxonalSignaling.
From the very beginnings of our field in the late 18th century, psychiatrists have engaged, often extensively, in “metaphorical brain talk” – rephrasing descriptions of mental processes in unconfirmed brain metaphors (e.g., “diseased working of the brain convolutions”). In the late 19th century, Kraepelin criticized the later developments of such approaches, termed “brain mythology” by the philosopher/psychiatrist Jaspers in 1913. In this essay, I review the history, meaning, and significance of this phenomenon and reach four conclusions. First, this trend has continued to the present day in metaphors such as the “broken brain” and the use of simplistic and empirically poorly supported explanations of psychiatric illness, such as depression being “due to an imbalance of serotonin in the brain.” Second, our language stems from the tension in our profession that seeks to be a part of medicine yet declares our main focus as treatment of the mental. We feel more comfortable with the reductionist approach of brain metaphors, which, even though at times self-deceptive, reinforce our commitment to and membership in a brain-based medical specialty. Third, metaphorical brain talk can also be seen as the “promissory note” of our profession, a pledge that the day will come when we can indeed explain accurately to ourselves and to our patients the brain basis of the psychiatric disorders from which they suffer. Finally, moving away from metaphorical brain talk would reflect an increasing maturity of both the research and clinical aspects of our profession.
One mechanism, three disorders: When the excitability margin in vCA1 neurons falls <5 mV, network oscillations replay emotional engrams → depression, schizophrenia, PTSD.
🔗 https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/e4cwb_v1
#Science #Neuroscience #Neurobiology #Neurophysiology #Brain #BrainHealth #MentalHealth #Psychiatry #Schizophrenia #Depression #PTSD #Hippocampus #Memory #Synapses #CognitiveScience #NeuralNetworks #OpenScience #FediSci #Preprint #AcademicChatter #AcademicTwitter #SciComm #Researchers #Research #OSF
Fabrizio Musacchio
Véronique
The Perpetually Curious!
Fabrizio Musacchio
Universität zu Köln
N-gated Hacker News
Michela
patrykrosa