Single Rodent Mesohabenular Axons Release Glutamate and GABA Investigators show that the majority of rat and mouse ventral tegmental area neurons innervating the lateral habenula coexpress markers for both glutamate and GABA signaling. [Nat Neurosci] Abstract Extracellular Vesicles from Neural Stem Cells Transfer IFN-γ via Ifngr1 to Activate Stat1 Signaling in Target Cells Researchers defined a mechanism of cellular signaling by which neural stem/precursor cells communicate with the microenvironment via extracellular vesicles, and elucidated its molecular signature and function. [Mol Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract | Press Release Selective Filtering Defect at the Axon Initial Segment in Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Models Researchers report that increased miR-342-5p down-regulates the expression of ankyrin G (AnkG), a protein known to play a critical role in establishing selective filtering machinery at the axon initial segment (AIS). Diminished AnkG expression leads to defective AIS filtering in cultured hippocampal neurons from Alzheimer’s disease mouse models, as monitored by selective exclusion of large macromolecules from the axons. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract Ultradian Corticosterone Pulses Balance Glutamatergic Transmission and Synaptic Plasticity By using high-resolution imaging and electrophysiological approaches, scientists report that a single pulse of corticosterone to hippocampal networks causes synaptic enrichment of glutamate receptors and increased responses to spontaneously released glutamatergic vesicles, collectively abrogating the ability to subsequently induce synaptic long-term potentiation. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract Survivin as a Therapeutic Target in Sonic Hedgehog-Driven Medulloblastoma Investigators hypothesized that Survivin may have a critical role in growth and survival of medulloblastoma (MB) cells and that targeting it may enhance MB therapy. Genetic deletion of survivin in patched mutant tumor cells significantly inhibited proliferation and caused cell cycle arrest. [Oncogene] Abstract Casein Kinase 2α Regulates Glioblastoma Brain Tumor-Initiating Cell Growth through the β-Catenin Pathway Investigators discovered that loss of casein kinase 2α activity reduced the sphere-forming capacity of brain tumor-initiating cells and decreased numerous glioblastoma stem cell markers. [Oncogene] Abstract The Scaffold Protein Nde1 Safeguards the Brain Genome during S Phase of Early Neural Progenitor Differentiation Researchers show a novel function for NDE1, whose mutations cause brain developmental disorders, in safeguarding the genome through S phase during early steps of neural progenitor fate restrictive differentiation. [eLife] Full Article Reactive Neurogenesis in Response to Naturally Occurring Apoptosis in an Adult Brain Investigators used a model of naturally occurring neural degradation in a neural circuit that controls song behavior in Gambel’s white-crowned sparrows and examined the temporal dynamics between neuronal birth and death. They show that inhibiting caspase-mediated apoptosis in the high vocal center decreased neural stem-cell proliferation in the ventricular zone. [J Neurosci] Abstract | Press Release The Effect of Stromal Cell-Derived Factor 1 in the Migration of Neural Stem Cells Recently, SDF-1/CXCR4 axis was shown to be responsible for in cell migration and differentiation during the neural development stage and involved in the pathophysiological process of neurological disorders. Scientists investigated the effect of SDF-1 in migration of neural stem cells in vitro and in vivo. [Cell Biochem Biophys] Abstract |