Tim takes TWiN through two studies on the role of dopamine: that syllables are natural units of spontaneous behavior used by the brain to structure action, and that mesolimbic dopamine release conveys causal associations but not reward prediction errors, thereby challenging the dominant theory of reward learning.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Jason Shepherd, Timothy Cheung, and Vivianne Morrison

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• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Spontaneous behavior without explicit reward (Nature)
• Dopamine release conveys causal associations (Science)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your neuroscience questions and comments to [email protected]

Junjie from Jason’s lab joins TWiN to discuss the observation that the cell gene PNMA2 encodes non-enveloped virus-like capsids that induce autoantibodies which underlie paraneoplastic syndrome.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Jason Shepherd, Timothy Cheung, and Junjie Xu

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• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Virus-like capsids in paraneoplastic disease (bioRxiv)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your neuroscience questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiN explains the finding that immunity to commensal bacteria promotes sensory neuron regeneration via the cytokine interleukin-17A.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Ori Lieberman, Timothy Cheung, and Vivianne Morrison

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• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Immunity to the microbiota promotes sensory neuron regeneration (Cell)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your neuroscience questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiN reviews the field of microgial research, which has advanced in recent decades but is constrained by nomenclature that is necessary but often implies specific functions.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Jason Shepherd, Timothy Cheung, and Vivianne Morrison

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• Microglia states and nomenclature (Nature)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your neuroscience questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiN answers listener questions about Alzheimer’s disease, glaucoma and the microbiota, Dravet’s Syndrome, schizophrenia, brain development, and chips implanted in the human brain.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Jason Shepherd, Timothy Cheung, and Vivianne Morrison

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• Letters read on TWiN 36
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your neuroscience questions and comments to [email protected]

Jason and Tim review the use of an implanted chronic deep brain sensing and stimulation device to carry out biomarker-driven closed-loop therapy that resulted in a rapid and sustained improvement in depression. 

Hosts: Jason Shepherd and Timothy Cheung

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• Closed-loop neuromodulation for depression (Nat Med)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your neuroscience questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiN explains how central nervous system resident macrophages known as microglia coordinate cellular interactions during spinal cord repair in mice.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Jason Shepherd, Timothy Cheung, and Vivianne Morrison

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• Microglia coordinate spinal cord repair (Nat Commun)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your neuroscience questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiN describes how neurotropic viruses leave the brain via meningeal lymphatic vessels located dorsally and basally beneath the skull.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Ori Lieberman, Jason Shepherd, and Timothy Cheung

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• Meningeal lymph vessels and viral exit from brain (Nature Neuroscience)
• Clearing mouse brain video (YouTube)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your neuroscience questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiN reviews how, in a mouse stroke model, recovery of movement is associated with the remaining cortex and the striatum coordinating their activity together.

Hosts: Ori Lieberman, Timothy Cheung, and Vivianne Morrison

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• Recovery after stroke in mice (Cell Rep)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your neuroscience questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiN explains the observation that in mice, the HIV-1 co-receptor CCR5 closes the temporal window for linking different memories.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Jason Shepherd, Timothy Cheung, and Vivianne Morrison

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• CCR5 and memory linking (Nature)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your neuroscience questions and comments to [email protected]