Tim takes TWiN through two studies on the role of dopamine: that syllables are natural units of spontaneous behavior used by the brain to structure action, and that mesolimbic dopamine release conveys causal associations but not reward prediction errors, thereby challenging the dominant theory of reward learning.
Junjie from Jason’s lab joins TWiN to discuss the observation that the cell gene PNMA2 encodes non-enveloped virus-like capsids that induce autoantibodies which underlie paraneoplastic syndrome.
TWiN answers listener questions about Alzheimer’s disease, glaucoma and the microbiota, Dravet’s Syndrome, schizophrenia, brain development, and chips implanted in the human brain.
Jason and Tim review the use of an implanted chronic deep brain sensing and stimulation device to carry out biomarker-driven closed-loop therapy that resulted in a rapid and sustained improvement in depression.
TWiN reviews evidence in mice that brain neurons encode and retrieve specific immune responses.
Ori, Jason, and Vincent reveal identification of an orphan receptor that modifies short-term memory in mice, and a mouse model of COVID-19 that includes anosmia or loss of smell.
The TWiN team reveals how the nervous system controls hair graying in mice subjected to stress, and adaptive immune responses.
Nirao Shah joins TWiN to discuss the work of his laboratory on how our brains generate social interactions that differ between the sexes.
