The views and conclusions contained hereon are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing

the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or Selleck Nutlin 3 implied, of IARPA, DOI, or the US Government. Abbreviations ACh acetylcholine BF basal forebrain Glu glutamate LGN lateral geniculate nucleus mAChRs muscarinic acetylcholine receptors PFC prefrontal cortex TRN thalamic reticular nucleus V1 primary visual cortex “
“miR-96 is a microRNA, a non-coding RNA gene which regulates a wide array of downstream genes. The miR-96 mouse mutant diminuendo exhibits deafness and arrested hair cell functional and morphological differentiation. We have previously shown that several genes are markedly downregulated in the diminuendo organ of Corti; one of these is Ptprq, a gene known to be important for maturation and maintenance of hair cells.

In order to study the contribution that downregulation of Ptprq makes to the diminuendo phenotype, we carried out microarrays, scanning electron microscopy and single hair cell electrophysiology to compare diminuendo mutants (heterozygous and homozygous) with mice homozygous for a functional null allele of Ptprq. In terms of both morphology and electrophysiology, the auditory phenotype of mice lacking Ptprq resembles that of diminuendo heterozygotes, while diminuendo homozygotes are more severely affected. A comparison of transcriptomes indicates there is a broad similarity between diminuendo homozygotes Methocarbamol and Ptprq-null mice. The reduction in Ptprq observed in diminuendo see more mice appears to be a major contributor to the morphological, transcriptional and electrophysiological phenotype, but does not account for the complete diminuendo phenotype. “
“The dopaminergic projections to the basal ganglia have long been implicated in reward-guided behavior and decision-making, yet little is known about the role of the posterior pedunculopontine nucleus (pPPN), a major source of excitatory input to the mesolimbic dopamine

system. Here we studied the contributions of the pPPN to decision-making under risk, using excitoxic lesions and reversible inactivation in rats. Rats could choose between two options – a small but certain reward on one lever; or a large but uncertain reward on the other lever. The overall payoff associated with each choice is the same, but the reward variance (risk) associated with the risky choice is much higher. In Experiment 1, we showed that excitotoxic lesions of the pPPN before training did not affect acquisition of lever pressing. But whereas the controls strongly preferred the safe choice, the lesioned rats did not. In Experiment 2, we found that muscimol inactivation of the pPPN also produced similar effects, but reversibly. These results show that permanent lesions or reversible inactivation of the pPPN both abolish risk aversion in decision-making.