Disrupting Astrocyte–Neuron Lactate Transfer Persistently Reduces Conditioned Responses to Cocaine By infusing an inhibitor of glycogen phosphorylase into the basolateral amygdala of rats, the authors report that disruption of astrocyte-derived lactate not only transiently impaired the acquisition of a cocaine-induced conditioned place preference but also persistently disrupted an established conditioning. [Mol Psychiatry] Full Article Generation of Functional Human Serotonergic Neurons from Fibroblasts Scientists identified and overexpressed key transcription factors to successfully generate human serotonergic neurons. They found that overexpressing the transcription factors NKX2.2, FEV, GATA2 and LMX1B in combination with ASCL1 and NGN2 directly and efficiently generated serotonergic neurons from human fibroblasts. [Mol Psychiatry] Abstract Serotonin Promotes Development and Regeneration of Spinal Motor Neurons in Zebrafish Investigators showed that, during development, diffuse serotonin promotes spinal motor neuron generation from pMN progenitor cells, leaving interneuron numbers unchanged. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract | Press Release Positioning of AMPA Receptor-Containing Endosomes Regulates Synapse Architecture The authors used live-cell imaging in hippocampal neuron cultures to show that intracellular AMPA receptors are transported in Rab11-positive recycling endosomes, which frequently enter dendritic spines and depend on the microtubule and actin cytoskeleton. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract NEDD4-Mediated HSF1 Degradation Underlies α-Synucleinopathy Researchers discovered aberrant heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) degradation by aggregated α-synuclein (or α-synuclein-induced proteotoxic stress) in transfected neuroblastoma cells. HSF1 dysregulation via α-synuclein was confirmed by in vivo assessment of mouse and in situ studies of human specimens with α-synucleinopathy. [Hum Mol Genet] Abstract | Full Article Astroglial β-Arrestin1-Mediated Nuclear Signaling Regulates the Expansion of Neural Precursor Cells in Adult Hippocampus Scientists showed that β-arrestin 1 (β-arr1) in dentate gyrus (DG) regulates neural precursor proliferation. β-arr1 knockout mice showed reduced neural precursor proliferation in subgranular zone which could be rescued by selective viral expression of β-arr1 but not its nuclear-function-deficient mutants under control of hGFAP promotor in DG. [Sci Rep] Full Article Poly-L-Ornithine Promotes Preferred Differentiation of Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells via ERK Signaling Pathway Three biomaterial substrates poly-L-ornithine, poly-L-lysine and fibronectin were investigated for their effects on proliferation and differentiation of rat neural stem/progenitor cells, and the underlying mechanisms were also explored. [Sci Rep] Full Article Enhancer Analysis Unveils Genetic Interactions between TLX and SOX2 in Neural Stem Cells and In Vivo Reprogramming Investigators showed that a highly conserved cis-element within the Tlx locus functions to drive gene expression in neural stem cells. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article Protein Palmitoylation Regulates Neural Stem Cell Differentiation by Modulation of EID1 Activity Researchers showed that 2-bromopalmitate impaired the differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) into both neurons and glia and impaired NSC cell cycle exit. [Mol Neurobiol] Abstract Discovery of a Small Molecule that Enhances Astrocytogenesis by Activation of STAT3, SMAD1/5/8 and ERK1/2 via Induction of Cytokines in Neural Stem Cells Researchers developed and screened small molecules that can modulate the fate of neural stem cells that are derived from rat fetal cortex. [ACS Chem Neurosci] Abstract |