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[
Neuron,
2008]
Animal behaviors are subjected to innate preferences, which are usually encoded by dedicated sensory neurons. In this issue of Neuron, Tsunozaki and colleagues show that one olfactory neuron in Caenorhabditis elegans produces two opposing preferences to an odor by regulating cGMP and PKC signaling.
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[
Neuron,
2011]
Degenerin/epithelial sodium channels (DEG/ENaCs) are luminaries of gentle touch in Caenorhabditis elegans. In this issue of Neuron, Geffeney etal. demonstrate that eponymous DEG-1 channels carry mechanotransduction currents in a polymodal neuron, where they act upstream of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels.
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[
Neuron,
2013]
Plasticity models invoke the synaptic delivery of AMPARs, yet we know little about how receptors move invivo. In this issue of Neuron, Hoerndli etal. (2013) show that lateral diffusion and kinesin-mediated transport move AMPARs between synapses invivo.
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[
Mol Cell,
2014]
Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system, Norris et al. (2014) define complex combinatorial regulation of alternative splicing at single-neuron resolution and illustrate functional coherence among components of a splicing regulatory network controlled by a neuronal splicing factor.
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[
Neuron,
2016]
The integrity of neural circuits must be maintained throughout the lifetime of an organism. In this issue of Neuron, Cherra and Jin (2016) characterize a small, two-Ig domain protein, ZIG-10, and its role in maintaining synaptic density in a specific set of C.elegans neurons.
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[
Dev Cell,
2015]
Recent advances suggest that phase transitions of proteins into liquid or hydrogel states could underlie pathological protein aggregation associated with neurodegenerative disease. In a recent issue of Neuron, Murakami et al. (2015) demonstrate that ALS-associated FUS mutations abrogate the reversibility of condensed liquids and/or hydrogels, leading to neurotoxicity in C. elegans.
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[
Neuron,
2009]
Biogenic amines are typically regarded as neuromodulators rather than fast-acting neurotransmitters. In this issue of Neuron, Pirri et al. report the characterization of LGC-55 in C. elegans, the first identified tyramine-gated chloride channel. This study suggests that the roles of classical and trace biogenic amines in all organisms may need to be reconsidered.
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[
Neuron,
2012]
Animals use a form of sensory feedback termed proprioception to monitor their body position and modify the motor programs that control movement. In this issue of Neuron, Wen etal. (2012) provide evidence that a subset of motor neurons function as proprioceptors in C.elegans, where B-type motor neurons sense body curvature to control the bending movements that drive forward locomotion.
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[
Neuron,
2002]
A variety of secreted components have been identified as retrograde signals mediating diverse aspects of synaptic development, maintenance, and plasticity; however, little is known about the mechanisms mediating the release of secreted retrograde signals. Doi and Iwasaki (this issue of Neuron) implicate AEX-1, a protein distantly related to the UNC-13/Munc13 family, as an attractive candidate regulator of the retrograde release machinery in muscle.
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[
Neuron,
2002]
Cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) has been implicated in the regulation of diverse aspects of vertebrate and insect behavior, yet the mechanisms underlying these effects are poorly understood. In this issue of Neuron, Fujiwara et al. and L'Etoile et al. address the neural basis for PKG function in C. elegans and demonstrate the power of behavioral genetic analysis in simple systems in the elucidation of neuronal signaling mechanisms in vivo.