The complex and sophisticated neocortical circuits that mediate higher-order brain functions are assembled from an extraordinary variety of neuronal subtypes, each with distinct morphologies, output connectivity, and ...

The monoaminergic neuromodulatory systems (including the noraderenergic, serotonergic, and dopaminergic neuronal systems) have long been thought of as the custodians of mental health. Dysfunction amongst these neural ...

Animals switch between periods of behavioral quiescence and arousal in response to environmental, circadian, or developmental cues. C. elegans exhibit periods of behavioral quiescence during larval molts (termed lethargus) ...

Proper postsynaptic assembly is a fundamental requirement for circuit function, yet our understanding of its molecular mechanism is incomplete. The Drosophila neuromuscular junction is a powerful system for genetically ...

The human brain can be affected by many diseases during its development, and human genetics studies can illuminate the genetic etiology of these diseases, which is critical for understanding disease pathophysiology, improving ...

The vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) is made up of a diverse array of cell types. The retina, an accessible part of the CNS with seven major cell types and more than sixty cell subtypes, is an excellent model system ...

Life-sustaining cardiorespiratory homeostasis requires the dynamic response of brainstem neural circuits. Apneas - the cessation of breathing often accompanied by bradycardia - can reflect defects in these circuits, and ...

Biological systems self-organize into complex well-ordered structures and can evolve new patterns when perturbed. To identify principles underlying self-organization, I turned to the model organism C. elegans for its ...

Embryos pattern themselves with remarkable consistency and readily adjust their patterning programs to drastic changes in embryo size. This robustness of pattern formation, termed scale invariance, requires cells to determine ...