The pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis has long been used as a model organism in the study of neuroscience.  The mollusc’s relatively small neural system and bright orange neurons make it ideal to study the anatomy, molecular biology and electrophysiology of neuronal circuits both in vivo and in vitro, and to further understanding of the effects of this process on behavior.

In a review
published today in Neural Systems & Circuits, Professor Paul Benjamin (University of Sussex) describes studies undertaken in Lymnaea to relate neural circuitry to feeding behaviour.  Investigations have revealed the neural networks involved in decision making, biting (a rhythmic process initiated by chemical food stimuli), modulation, hunger and satiety.  Interestingly, rather than forming discreet circuits, feeding behaviour …

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Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a recessive X-linked
form of muscular dystrophy, a neuromuscular condition caused by mutations in
the dystrophin gene.  Symptoms of DMD
include muscle degeneration, breathing and walking difficulties, and first
appear in affected children before the age of 5.

The advent of stem cell studies holds much promise for the
treatment and repair of dystrophic muscle in this condition.  In an article published in Skeletal Muscle, Parker et al. develop an improved pre-clinical
model of myogenic stem cell transplantation, and test this in both canine-mouse
and canine-canine assays.  Previous
experiments using murine-murine transplantation have demonstrated that adult
murine satellite stem cells with engraftment potential in dystrophin deficient
(mdx) mice express CXCR4.  In …

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In the first in a series of opinion pieces for Neural Systems & Circuits,
David Gamez argues for a greater use of mathematical modelling in order to
study the brain (From
Baconian to Popperian Neuroscience).   The piece likens the recent technological
advances in neuroscience with the development of physics in the 17th
century, and suggests that the same principles (e.g. the systematic gathering
of experimental data in order to elucidate the scientific truth) should hold
true in this evolving field.

David states “This
opinion piece argues that the gathering of facts about the brain needs
to be complemented by a greater focus on mathematical models whose
predictions can be experimentally tested. These models …

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Neural Systems & Circuits is publishing a special thematic series dedicated to advances in invertebrate circuitry research. The series intends to provide the reader with an overview of new and exciting developments in the field, and will publish reviews and research from key scientists working on diverse model organisms, using either computational or experimental approaches.

For more information on the series, and an introduction to the work featured, please see the recently published Editorial written by Prof. George Kemenes. The first review, published by Prof. Malcolm Burrows, concentrates on the circuitry of phase change in the locust. Further contributions on …

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