New Study Reveals Molecular Basis of the Proton Sensor on the Human GluN1/GluN2A NMDA Receptors A recent study from Dr. ZHU Shujia’s Laboratory etc. published in Cell Reports resolved the first three-dimensional Cryo-EM structure of human GluN1/GluN2A NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartic acid) receptors at near-atomic resolution. This work demonstrated the structural basis and molecular mechanism of proton inhibition on this key neuronal excitatory receptor.
A recent study published in Neuron demonstrated that tachykinin 1 (Tac1)-expressing neurons in the periaqueductal gray (PAG) facilitate the itch-scratching cycle via descending regulation. This work was performed by researchers in Dr. SUN Yan-Gang’s Lab at the Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
From 30th, November to 2nd, December in 2018, Dr. Jiulin Du was invited to attend the 5th ‘Imaging Structure and Function of the Zebrafish Brain’ international conference at Brighton, England, and gave an academic report named ‘Logic of the anatomical and functional organization of the Locus Coeruleus in zebrafish’ on the conference.
On November 20th, the "Journal of Neuroscience" published a research paper entitled "Agrp neurons project to the medial preoptic area and modulate maternal nest-building". This study was conducted by the team of XU Xiao-Hong in the Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience. In this study, the team explored the mutual antagonism between hunger and maternal behaviors, as well as the neural basis for such behavioral interactions.
To foster close interaction and encourage future collaboration, three top biomedical institutions of France and China established joint center for MOU and held the first trio-party symposium in Shanghai on October 31, 2018. Dr. Zhu Chen, vice chairman of Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, attended the ceremony and symposium.
A recent study published in Journal of Neuroscience demonstrated that dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) play important roles in modulating itch signals. This work was performed by researchers in Dr. SUN Yan-gang’s Lab at the Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
A recent study published in Neuron demonstrated in vivo that PDGFRβ-expressing mural cells of the brain vasculature function as initial sensors of external insults, and secrete chemokine CCL2 to relay the signal to neurons in multiple brain regions, to increase excitatory synaptic transmission and total neuronal excitability.
A recent study published in the Nature communications reported an in vivo high-throughput method for screening compounds that have therapeutic potential in treating channelopathies. This work was performed by Dr. CAI Shiqing’s lab.
A recent study published in Neuron provides new insights into how neuronal signals in the sensory cortices is decoded, or read out, by downstream areas for decision making. This work was performed by researchers in the laboratory of Spatial Perception at the Institute of Neuroscience, CAS.
On September 18, an article entitled “The Locus Coeruleus Modulates Intravenous General Anesthesia of Zebrafish via a Cooperative Mechanism” was published in Cell Reports. This work was performed by Prof. YU Tian’s team at Zunyi Medical College and Dr. DU Jiulin’s lab at the Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Science.
The ION-MPIBC Joint Symposium on Neuroscience was held from July 30th to August 1st at the Institute of Neurosciences (ION), Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS). Seventeen researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany (MPIBC), and more than 100 researchers from ION attended the symposium. The symposium aims to enhance communication for scientific research between ION and MPIBC.
The CAS-UNSW Workshop on Neuroscience was held from July 23rd to 24th at the Institute of Neurosciences (ION), Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS). Seventeen researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), and more than 30 researchers from CAS attended the workshop. The workshop aims to enhance communication, and to build a cooperation platform for scientific research between CAS and UNSW.
A recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience described an important mechanism that helps to understand the effects of the C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion in synaptic regulation and excitotoxicity, and in the development of C9orf72-related amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
A recent study published in Neuron demonstrated that mutation of MYORG gene is a new causative factor for primary familial brain calcification. This finding resulted from a joint work by Prof. CHEN Wan-Jin and Prof. WANG Ning’s team and Dr. XIONG Zhi-Qi’s lab.
A recent study published in Developmental Cell demonstrated that the efficient and precisely targeted integration can be achieved by Tild-CRISPR in mouse and human cells. This work was performed by researchers in Dr. YANG Hui’s Lab, in collaboration with the team of Dr. CHEN Zi-jiang .