Editorial:With thanks to Ruth Fletcher

In this first issue of 2019, and before I introduce the contents of the issue, we mark the end of Ruth Fletcher’s five-year term as Academic Editor of Feminist Legal Studies (FLS). Ruth has had a significant impact on the direction of the journal over the course of her tenure and it is an intimidating prospect to step into the role after her. Ruth is a scholar of the highest calibre and integrity and her vision and passion for FLS has changed it irrevocably. Over the course of her tenure as Academic Editor the journal has increased its download rate by nearly 60 per cent and almost doubled its impact factor. Central to Ruth’s vision for FLS when she took on the role of Academic Editor in 2014 was to make the journal a space in and through which feminist scholarship, activism and organising could meet. Many of her achievements over the last  five years illustrate how successful she has been in realising that vision

Back at the kitchen table: Reflections on decolonising and internationalising with the Global South socio-legal writing workshops

It has been three years since we held the Feminism, Legality and Knowledge (FLaK) seminar to respond to our developing frustrations and excitement around feminist legal studies and academic publishing. In the wake of our 25th anniversary in 2018, we critically reflect further on our original intention to stock up on decolonising techniques to mix feminism, legality and knowledge whilst building on previous consideration of our self-proclaimed ‘international’ status. These reflections are prompted by editorial board members’ experiences as participants in the Cardiff Law and Global Justice Centre’s British Academy-funded Global South Socio-Legal Writing Workshops in Accra (Ghana), Nairobi (Kenya) and Recife (Brazil) in 2018. Following an explanation of the concerns with academic publishing that have prompted this reflection, we provide a narrative of our experiences in each of the three workshops exploring the lessons learned and their impact on our practice as editors and scholars in feminist legal studies. We finish with a renewal of our commitment to decolonise our minds and practices by continuing to struggle to earn the label ‘international’ for the journal now and in future. A brief introduction to the contents of this issue of FLS follows the reflection

Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Mediates GABAA Receptor Trafficking to the Plasma Membrane of Spinal Cord Neurons In Vivo

The proinflammatory cytokine TNFα contributes to cell death in central nervous system (CNS) disorders by altering synaptic neurotransmission. TNFα contributes to excitotoxicity by increasing GluA2-lacking AMPA receptor (AMPAR) trafficking to the neuronal plasma membrane. In vitro, increased AMPAR on the neuronal surface after TNFα exposure is associated with a rapid internalization of GABAA receptors (GABAARs), suggesting complex timing and dose dependency of the CNS's response to TNFα. However, the effect of TNFα on GABAAR trafficking in vivo remains unclear. We assessed the effect of TNFα nanoinjection on rapid GABAAR changes in rats (N = 30) using subcellular fractionation, quantitative western blotting, and confocal microscopy. GABAAR protein levels in membrane fractions of TNFα and vehicle-treated subjects were not significantly different by Western Blot, yet high-resolution quantitative confocal imaging revealed that TNFα induces GABAAR trafficking to synapses in a dose-dependent manner by 60 min. TNFα-mediated GABAAR trafficking represents a novel target for CNS excitotoxicity

Dialogue on the Impact of Coronavirus on Research and Publishing: Monday 22nd June 2020

This roundtable took place via Microsoft Teams on Monday 22nd June 2020 to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Research and Publishing in the U

Human Sensory LTP Predicts Memory Performance and Is Modulated by the BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism

Background: Long-term potentiation (LTP) is recognised as a core neuronal process underlying long-term memory. However, a direct relationship between LTP and human memory performance is yet to be demonstrated. The first aim of the current study was thus to assess the relationship between LTP and human long-term memory performance. With this also comes an opportunity to explore factors thought to mediate the relationship between LTP and long-term memory. The second aim of the current study was to explore the relationship between LTP and memory in groups differing with respect to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met; a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) implicated in memory function.Methods: Participants were split into three genotype groups (Val/Val, Val/Met, Met/Met) and were presented with both an EEG paradigm for inducing LTP-like enhancements of the visually-evoked response, and a test of visual memory.Results: The magnitude of LTP 40 min after induction was predictive of long-term memory performance. Additionally, the BDNF Met allele was associated with both reduced LTP and reduced memory performance.Conclusions: The current study not only presents the first evidence for a relationship between sensory LTP and human memory performance, but also demonstrates how targeting this relationship can provide insight into factors implicated in variation in human memory performance. It is anticipated that this will be of utility to future clinical studies of disrupted memory function