Journal of Experimental Neurology

Short Communication Open Access

Retroviral Elements in Human Evolution and Neural Development

Tongguang Wang, Tara T. Doucet-O’Hare, Lisa Henderson, Rachel P. M. Abrams, Avindra Nath

Human embryogenesis and the development of its most unique product, the human brain, are believed to be precisely regulated by factors adopted during human
evolution that differentiate us from other species.

Short Communication Open Access

Cathepsin D: A Candidate Link between Amyloid β-protein and Tauopathy in Alzheimer Disease

Caitlin N. Suire, Malcolm A. Leissring

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by extracellular deposition of the amyloid β-protein (Aβ) and intraneuronal accumulation of the microtubule-associated protein, tau

Commentary Open Access

Commentary on Vulnerability and Resilience to Activity- Based Anorexia and the Role of Dopamine

Jeff A. Beeler, Nesha S. Burghardt

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder characterized by a fear of gaining weight and self-starvation, leading to life-threatening weight loss [1]. It occurs predominately in women and frequently begins during adolescence.

Commentary Open Access

Commentary: Use of BACTRAC Proteomic Database-Uromodulin Protein Expression During Ischemic Stroke

Gabriella-Salome K. Armstrong, Jacqueline A. Frank, Christopher J. McLouth, Ann Stowe, Jill M. Roberts, Amanda L. Trout, Justin F. Fraser, Keith Pennypacker

Uromodulin (UMOD) is a glycoprotein expressed by the epithelial cells of the thick ascending limb of Henle’s loop in the kidney. Research has shown that increased uromodulin expression may be associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease in adults.

Short Communication Open Access

Combined Antiseizure Efficacy of Cannabidiol and Clonazepam in a Conditional Mouse Model of Dravet Syndrome

Shu-Hui Chuang, Ruth E. Westenbroek, Nephi Stella, William A. Catterall

Dravet syndrome (DS) is an intractable childhood epilepsy disorder affecting one in 15,000 to 20,000 births [1]. It is caused by de novo heterozygous lossof- function mutations in the SCN1A gene encoding the brain type-I voltage-gated sodium channel Na_v1.1

Short Communication Open Access

Differential Fecal Microbiome Dysbiosis after Equivalent Traumatic Brain Injury in Aged Versus Young Adult Mice

Booker T Davis IV, Mecca B.A.R. Islam, Promi Das, Jack A Gilbert, Karen J. Ho, Steven J. Schwulst

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has a bimodal age distribution with peak incidence at age 24 and age 65 with worse outcomes developing in aged populations

Review Article Open Access

Resolving the Molecular Steps in Clostridial Neurotoxin Light Chain Translocation

Madison Zuverink, Joseph T. Barbieri

Due to use as human vaccines and therapies, the clostridial neurotoxins (CNTs) have been subjected to decades of scientific investigation using biophysical, electrophysiological, and pharmacological approaches to establish mechanisms of toxin action. 

Commentary Open Access

The Spread of Spectrin in Ataxia and Neurodegenerative Disease

Jon S. Morrow, Michael C. Stankewich

Experimental and hereditary defects in the ubiquitous scaffolding proteins of the spectrin gene family cause an array of neuropathologies

Short Communication Open Access

Capillary Stalling: A Mechanism of Decreased Cerebral Blood Flow in AD/ADRD

Reece Crumpler, Richard J. Roman, Fan Fan

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (ADRD) are debilitating conditions that are highly associated with aging populations, especially those with comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension.

Research Article Open Access

A Protocol for the Generation of Treatment-naïve Biopsy-derived Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma and Diffuse Midline Glioma Models

Matt C. Biery, Alyssa Noll, Carrie Myers, Shelli M. Morris, Conrad A. Winter, Fiona Pakiam, Bonnie L. Cole, Samuel R. Browd, James M. Olson, Nicholas A. Vitanza

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is an aggressive brain tumor that arises in the ventral pons during middle childhood. 

Review Article Open Access

Protein Citrullination in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases

Issa O. Yusuf, Webb Camille, Paul R. Thompson, Zuoshang Xu

Protein citrullination (PC) is a posttranslational modification (PTM) that converts a peptidyl arginine into a peptidyl citrulline. Aberrant PC is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, prion disease, and multiple sclerosis. Common among these diseases is a dramatic increase of PC in reactive astrocytes. Some citrullinated proteins have been identified.