A study recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience demonstrates that a subpopulation of long-range projection neurons contain double the normal amount of DNA in their nuclei. These tetraploid neurons remain functional in the adult mouse since they express immediate early genes activated in response to neuronal activity. This study, performed in the mouse cerebral cortex and striatum, demonstrates that the neurotrophin receptor p75 is expressed by the precursors of the projection neurons. The study provides genetic support for the participation of p75 in neuronal tetraploidization since mutant mice for the gene encoding this receptor show a significant reduction of tetraploid neurons.

López-Sánchez N y Frade JM (2013) Genetic evidence for p75NTR-dependent tetraploidy in cortical projection neurons from adult mice. J. Neurosci., 33: 7488-7500.

A multidisciplinary team including the national research council (CSIC), IKERLAN and the Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería de Aragón, cooordinated by Liset menendez de la Prida from the Instituto Cajal have developed a novel generation of microprobes for simultaneous depth recording and drug delivery using exclusively the polymer SU-8 as structural material. The device was tested experimentally using the in vivo anesthetized rat preparation. Both probe types successfully recorded detailed spatiotemporal features of local field potentials and single-cell activity at a resolution never attained before with integrated fluidic probes. Drug delivery was achieved with high spatial and temporal precision in a range from tens of nanoliters to a few microliters, as confirmed histologically.

These technological advancements will foster a wide range of neural applications aimed at simultaneous monitoring of brain activity and delivery at a very precise micrometer scale.
Ane Altuna, Elisa Bellistri, Elena Cid, Paloma Aivar, Beatriz Gal, Javier Berganzo, Gemma Gabriel, Anton Guimerà, Rosa Villa, Luis J. Fernández y Liset Menéndez de la Prida. SU-8 based microprobes for simultaneous neural depth recording and drug delivery in the brain. Lab on a chip. DOI: 10.1039/c3lc41364k.

The CSIC has signed an R&D contract with the biotechnology company Tetraneuron for the development of agents able to block neuronal tetraploidization...

Un individuo aislado se basa en la información que le rodea y en sus experiencias previas para tomar una decisión. No obstante, dentro de un colectivo, esta opción está influenciada por las decisiones individuales que elije cada miembro del grupo. Una investigación del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) ha desarrollado una fórmula matemática que refleja la probabilidad de escoger una u otra opción dentro de un grupo de la misma especie. Dicha fórmula apareció recogida ayer en la revista Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

A multidisciplinary team from the Cajal Institute, the National Center for Biotechnology, and the University of Barcelona has discovered that the lateral inhibition process during neurogenesis, known to be regulated by the Notch receptor and its ligand Delta, is altered a the  neurogenic wavefront (i.e. the edge between the expanding region of the neuroepithelium showing neurogenic capacity and the adjacent non-neurogenic area).

A study reveals common features in the proteins that trigger neurodegenerative diseases

• The results may provide new targets for prevention, early diagnosis and therapy of these devastating diseases.

• It has been published in the last issue of ‘PLoS Biology’, being selected as a journal cover with a special comment.
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Rubén Hervás, Javier Oroz, Albert Galera‐Prat, Oscar Goñi, Alejandro Valbuena, Andrés M Vera, Àngel
Gómez‐Sicilia, Fernando Losada‐Urzáiz, Vladimir N. Uversky, Margarita Menéndez, Douglas V
Laurents, Marta Bruix, Mariano Carrión‐Vázquez (2012). Common Features at the Start of the
Neurodegeneration Cascade. PLoS Biol 10(5): e1001335. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001335.

Janelle Weaver (2012) Single‐Molecule Technique Links Structural Fluctuations of Proteins
to Brain Diseases. PLoS Biol 10(5): e1001338. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001338.