Nitric oxide regulates synaptic transmission between spiny projection neurons

Recurrent axon collaterals are a major means of communication between spiny projection neurons (SPNs) in the striatum and profoundly affect the function of the basal ganglia. However, little is known about the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie this communication. We show that intrastriatal nitric oxide (NO) signaling elevates the expression of the vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT) within recurrent collaterals of SPNs. Down-regulation of striatal NO signaling resulted in an attenuation of GABAergic signaling in SPN local collaterals, down-regulation of VGAT expression in local processes of SPNs, and impaired motor behavior. PKG1 and cAMP response element-binding protein are involved in the signal transduction that transcriptionally regulates VGAT by NO. These data suggest that transcriptional control of the vesicular GABA transporter by NO regulates GABA transmission and action selection.United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (Grant W81XWH-09-1-0108

Drama at Dunder Mifflin: Workplace Bullying Discourses on \u3cem\u3eThe Office\u3c/em\u3e

This study examines the portrayal and affective framing of workplace bullying behaviors on the popular American television show The Office. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were conducted on 54 episodes spanning the show\u27s nine seasons. Results revealed 331 instances of workplace bullying, for an average of 6.13 bullying behaviors per episode. Workplace bullying behavior on The Office was grouped into five categories: sexual jokes, public humiliation, practical jokes, belittlement, and misuse of authority. In general, instances of workplace bully were scripted as humorous and lacking significant consequences, which could further contribute to social discourses that perpetuate the problem of bullying in real-life workplaces

Influence of sex and estrous cycle on synaptic responses of the medial vestibular nuclei in rats : role of circulating 17β-estradiol

We investigated the possible influence of sex and estrous cycle on the synaptic responses of neurons in the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) and their long-term modifications. In brain stem slices of male and female rats during proestrus (PE) and diestrus (DE), we evaluated the field potential evoked in the MVN by vestibular afferent stimulation. Here we find that in PE females the field potential had a lower threshold and higher amplitude than in DE females and in males and also that the stimulus\u2013response curve was shifted to the left. Such difference is related to the level and cyclic fluctuation of circulating 17-estradiol (E2). This is supported by the exogenous administration of E2 in DE females and males, with low levels of circulating E2 that enhanced the field potential amplitude to values close to those of PE females. Sex and estrous cycle also influence the MVN synaptic plasticity. This has been shown by investigating the effect of testosterone (T) on the induction of long-term effects, since T is the precursor for the neural synthesis of E2 (estrogenic pathway), which is involved in the induction of fast long-term potentiation (LTP), or of 5-dihydrotestosterone (DHT, androgenic pathway) which mediates slow LTP and long-term depression (LTD). We found that T mostly induced LTD in PE females and no effect in DE females, while it only provoked fast LTP in males. We suggest that high level of circulating E2 may interfere with the conversion of T, by inhibiting the neural estrogenic pathway and facilitating the androgenic one. On the whole these results demonstrate an influence of circulating E2 on vestibular synaptic transmission and plasticity that in some cases may contribute to the sex and menstrual cycle dependence of symptoms in human vestibular pathology