These results suggest that nonassociative plasticity modifies neural networks in such a way that it affects local competitive PARP assay interactions among mixture components. We used a computational model to evaluate the most likely targets for modification. Hebbian modification of synapses from inhibitory

local interneurons to projection neurons most reliably produced the observed shift in response to the mixture. These results are consistent with a model in which the antennal lobe acts to filter olfactory information according to its relevance for performing a particular task. “
“Neuronal networks in the spinal cord termed central pattern generators (CPGs) are responsible for the generation of rhythmic movements, such as walking. The axon guidance molecule EphA4 has been suggested to play a role in the configuration of spinal CPG networks in mammals. In EphA4 knockout (EphA4-KO) mice, the normal alternating walking pattern is replaced by a rabbit-like hopping gait, which Olaparib cost can be reproduced

when locomotor-like activity is induced in the isolated spinal cord. This hopping phenotype has been explained by an abnormal midline crossing of ipsilateral axons. Here, we investigated the nature of this overcrossing in heterozygous EphA4 (EphA4lacZ/+) mice that showed normal alternating gait and homozygous EphA4 (EphA4lacZ/lacZ) mice with hopping gait. Localized lesions showed that the hopping phenotype is maintained by fibers crossing in the ventral commissure. Using transgenic mouse lines in which glutamatergic, GABAergic

and glycinergic neurons are intrinsically labeled, we showed a significant increase Quinapyramine in the number of crossing excitatory β-galactosidase-positive neurons and a decrease in the number of inhibitory neurons crossing the midline in EphA4lacZ/lacZ mice compared with EphA4lacZ/+ mice. These results show that the hopping phenotype is the result of a change in the balance between excitatory and inhibitory signals across the midline and that EphA4-positive neurons play an essential role in the mammalian CPG. “
“Visual expertise in discriminating fine differences among a group of similar objects can be obtained through extensive long-term training. Here we investigated the neural bases of this superior capability. The inferotemporal cortex, located at the final stage along the ventral visual pathway, was a candidate site in monkeys because cells there respond to various complex features of objects. To identify the changes that underlie the development of visual expertise in fine discrimination, we created a set of parametrically designed object stimuli and compared the stimulus selectivity of inferotemporal cells between two different training histories.