{"title":"Unifying Vascular Injury and Neurodegeneration: A Mechanistic Continuum in Cerebral Small Vessel Disease and Dementia","authors":"Chelsea Jin, Sonu Bhaskar","doi":"10.1111/ejn.70246","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70246","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a major yet underappreciated driver of cognitive impairment and dementia, contributing to nearly half of all cases. Emerging evidence indicates that CSVD is not merely a coexisting vascular condition but an active amplifier of neurodegeneration, operating through a self-perpetuating cascade of microvascular injury, blood–brain barrier (BBB) breakdown, and glymphatic system dysfunction. In this hypothesis-driven review, we propose the Integrated Vascular–Neurodegenerative Continuum, a mechanistic model in which vascular pathology triggers and accelerates neurodegeneration via intersecting pathways, including chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, oxidative stress, and APOE ε4–associated endothelial vulnerability. We synthesize molecular, imaging, and genetic evidence supporting this continuum, highlighting novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets such as peak skeletonized mean diffusivity, dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging–based BBB leakage quantification, and emerging agents like cilostazol and allopurinol. We also critically appraise the limitations of current diagnostic frameworks and advocate for integrative, multimodal approaches to risk stratification. This model offers a unifying framework that bridges cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative domains, offering a foundation for precision medicine strategies aimed at dementia prevention and treatment.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":11993,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Neuroscience","volume":"62 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144998913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Looking at Both Sides: Integrating Data From Both Hemispheres Is Crucial in Rodent Neuroscience","authors":"Annakarina Mundorf, Sebastian Ocklenburg","doi":"10.1111/ejn.70249","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70249","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Despite the overwhelming prevalence of rodent-based research in neuroscience, with over 8700 studies published until March 2025 in the <i>European Journal of Neuroscience</i> alone (based on a targeted PubMed search using rodent-related keywords), one striking reality stands out: only a handful—24 studies—have explicitly addressed hemispheric asymmetries (using the same search with asymmetry-related terms). While this number is not exhaustive, it serves to exemplify the relatively limited focus on hemispheric lateralization in rodent studies. This notable gap in the literature highlights a pervasive underappreciation for the role of brain lateralization in rodents, a critical area of investigation that has been widely studied in human neuroscience but remains largely unexplored in animal models. In light of this, it becomes clear that a fundamental shift in research priorities is needed to unlock the full potential of rodent models in understanding brain organization and its implications for neurological and psychiatric disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":11993,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Neuroscience","volume":"62 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejn.70249","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144998673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cassandra E. Thompson, Sheila Loshi, Samantha J. Carew, Tangyne R. Berry, Matthew P. Parsons, Jack P. Antel, Craig S. Moore
{"title":"MiR-146b-5p Decreases Cytokine Release From Astrocytes and Preserves Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cell Complexity During Inflammation","authors":"Cassandra E. Thompson, Sheila Loshi, Samantha J. Carew, Tangyne R. Berry, Matthew P. Parsons, Jack P. Antel, Craig S. Moore","doi":"10.1111/ejn.70248","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70248","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) and is most often clinically presented in a relapsing form. Within MS lesions, oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) differentiate into mature myelinating oligodendrocytes and mediate repair. A further understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for OPC differentiation will undoubtedly influence the direction of future treatments in MS. In MS lesions, several distinct microRNAs have been previously demonstrated to influence both inflammatory and repair mechanisms, including OPC differentiation and survival. Specifically, miR-146b-5p is an anti-inflammatory microRNA that is upregulated in white matter astrocytes within active MS lesions. Our results demonstrate that increasing miR-146b-5p levels within pure primary human and murine astrocytes significantly decreases IL-6 and CXCL10 production upon IL-1β stimulation, an effect not observed in mixed glial cultures containing microglia. In addition, the inhibitory effects of IL-1β on OPC differentiation and complexity were reversed when miR-146b-5p levels were increased in astrocytes; no differences were observed in the presence of microglia. In astrocytes, the increase in miR-146b-5p levels led to a significant reduction in <i>traf6</i> and <i>irak1</i> expression, which are two critical signaling molecules known to enhance the pro-inflammatory activity of astrocytes. Together, these results suggest that miR-146b-5p is an MS-relevant microRNA that regulates astrocyte function in a manner that fosters OPC growth and morphological complexity. Furthermore, our results further demonstrate the need to consider the complex glial–glial interactions occurring within MS lesions and its overall influence on cellular and molecular mechanisms related to CNS injury and repair.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":11993,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Neuroscience","volume":"62 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144997906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Edward Ody, Tilo Kircher, Yifei He, Benjamin Straube
{"title":"Differential Effects of Self-Initiated, Externally Triggered, and Passive Movements on Action-Outcome Processing: Insights From Sensory and Motor-Preparatory Event Related Potentials","authors":"Edward Ody, Tilo Kircher, Yifei He, Benjamin Straube","doi":"10.1111/ejn.70236","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70236","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Self-initiated voluntary actions are different from externally triggered or passive movements. However, it remains unclear how these movements affect action feedback processing and how they are prepared. Here, we focus on the sensory and motor-preparatory event-related potentials. Participants made active (self-initiated, 700 ms lower limit), quick (respond to a cue as quickly as possible), and passive (finger moved by device) button presses that triggered visual stimuli. The active and quick conditions elicited lower visual N1-P2 peak-to-peak amplitudes than the passive condition but did not significantly differ from each other. For prestimulus ERPs (lateralized/readiness potential; L/RP), all conditions showed a negative shift in RP, with lower amplitudes in the quick than in the active condition. There were no significant differences between active and passive. For the LRP, the active and quick conditions showed a sharp deflection shortly before the button press. The amplitude of both conditions was significantly lower than passive around 100 ms before the movement. Our results suggest that active and quick movements involve similar feedback prediction, even though they are prepared differently. They thus offer a finer-grained specification of the efference copy mechanism.</p>","PeriodicalId":11993,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Neuroscience","volume":"62 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejn.70236","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144998852","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Neural Correlates of Response Inhibition With and Without Conflict in ADHD: An Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis","authors":"Sarah Daviddi, Valerio Santangelo","doi":"10.1111/ejn.70244","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70244","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder marked—among other features—by impairments in response inhibition, a complex cognitive process assessable through tasks that either involve conflict suppression (C tasks) or do not (no-C tasks). Previous research has linked impaired response inhibition in ADHD primarily to structural and functional abnormalities in fronto-striatal and fronto-parietal networks. However, it remains unclear how these neural circuits differentially support performance on C and no-C tasks in individuals with ADHD. To address this question, we conducted a meta-analysis using the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) method. We included the available functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies (<i>N</i> = 30) examining children and adolescents with ADHD during C and no-C response inhibition tasks. Across both task types, ADHD participants consistently engaged a fronto-striatal circuit comprising the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and caudate nuclei. When the analysis was restricted on C tasks, activation was primarily observed in the right IFG. In contrast, no-C tasks elicited activation in the left caudate nucleus, with the additional involvement of the right caudate and ACC during successful response inhibition (i.e., correct performance). These findings reveal a functional dissociation within frontal-striatal circuits during response inhibition in children and adolescents with ADHD, with the IFG specifically supporting conflict suppression, and the ACC and caudate nuclei contributing more to successful inhibition in tasks without conflict.</p>","PeriodicalId":11993,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Neuroscience","volume":"62 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejn.70244","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144998854","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Whole Body Motor Adaptation in Goldfish Using Fish Operated Vehicle","authors":"Zhuoxin Liu, Shachar Givon, Ronen Segev, Opher Donchin","doi":"10.1111/ejn.70241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70241","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Motor adaptation is crucial for animals to move in diverse environments, including fish. Here, we develop a novel experimental platform that allows for precise control of sensorimotor transformations and direct comparison with established paradigms used in mammalian studies. We show that goldfish operating a fish operated vehicle (FOV) adapt swimming behavior to achieve targets when vehicle movement is perturbed by a rotational transformation. Goldfish gradually adjusted their swimming patterns to compensate for the perturbation and had aftereffects when the perturbation was removed. Fish showed improved performance when the perturbation was reintroduced, although their initial learning rate in the second exposure was slower compared to the first exposure. These findings reveal that although goldfish can adapt to novel dynamics, their adaptation mechanisms may differ from those of mammals. This study broadens our understanding of motor adaptation across species, contributing to a more comprehensive view of motor learning in vertebrates.</p>","PeriodicalId":11993,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Neuroscience","volume":"62 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejn.70241","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144929463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zihao Lu, Haolin Yin, Pan Xiang, Xuan Yi, Xiaohe Tian, Qiyong Gong
{"title":"Multimodal Imaging of Blood–Brain Barrier Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease: From Pathological Mechanisms to Therapeutic Opportunities","authors":"Zihao Lu, Haolin Yin, Pan Xiang, Xuan Yi, Xiaohe Tian, Qiyong Gong","doi":"10.1111/ejn.70237","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70237","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In Parkinson's disease (PD), blood–brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction is shifting from being viewed as a passive marker of damage to a key pathological driver and potential therapeutic target. Its disruption involves mechanisms such as abnormal α-synuclein transport, tight junction breakdown, inflammatory activation, and vascular remodeling, all of which significantly disturb the neural microenvironment. Imaging technologies are playing an increasingly pivotal role in unraveling these complex processes. Based on current clinical and experimental evidence, this review outlines the major mechanisms of BBB disruption in PD and focuses on recent advances in multiscale imaging techniques for BBB research. It covers super-resolution microscopy, two-photon imaging, MRI, and PET, emphasizing their critical value in mechanistic investigation, functional assessment, and target localization. Multimodal imaging enables cross-scale integration—from nanoscopic to macroscopic levels and from laboratory research to clinical application—and holds promise for building a “mechanism–imaging–intervention” framework that may accelerate the translation from pathophysiological understanding to clinical intervention.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":11993,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Neuroscience","volume":"62 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144923419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anne-Laure Vittek, Cécile Juan, Corentin Gaillard, Manuel Mercier, Pascal Girard, Suliann Ben Hamed, Céline Cappe
{"title":"Frequency Coding of Multisensory Integration in the Local Field Potentials of the Medial Pulvinar","authors":"Anne-Laure Vittek, Cécile Juan, Corentin Gaillard, Manuel Mercier, Pascal Girard, Suliann Ben Hamed, Céline Cappe","doi":"10.1111/ejn.70230","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70230","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The pulvinar is a posterior thalamic nucleus, with a heterogeneous anatomo-functional organization. It is divided into four parts, including the medial pulvinar, which is densely connected with primary unisensory and multisensory cortical regions, and subcortical structures, including the superior colliculus. Based on this connectivity, the medial pulvinar may play an important role in sensory processing and multisensory integration. However, its contribution to multisensory integration has rarely been directly investigated. To fill this knowledge gap, two macaque monkeys were trained on a fixation task, during which auditory, visual, and audiovisual stimuli were presented. We characterize local field potentials of the medial pulvinar associated with these stimuli. In the temporal domain, we describe an early and a late period showing multisensory integration, both dominated by sub-additive processes (the audiovisual response is inferior to the sum of the unisensory responses). In the frequency domain, multisensory integration, mostly sub-additive, is predominant in the lower frequencies (90% of recorded signals in 4.5–8.5 Hz and 96% in 8.5–20 Hz). Prevalence largely decreases in high frequencies (54% in 35–60 Hz, 37% in 60–120 Hz). This suggests that the medial pulvinar is a multisensory hub, integrating visual and auditory information in different frequency bands and contributing to cortico-pulvino-cortical multisensory computational loops.</p>","PeriodicalId":11993,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Neuroscience","volume":"62 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejn.70230","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144923420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
João V. Mello-Hortega, Carolina S. de Oliveira, Vitoria S. de Araujo, Lupe Furtado-Alle, Luciane V. Tureck, Ricardo L. R. Souza
{"title":"Cannabidiol and Alzheimer Disease: A Comprehensive Review and In Silico Insights Into Molecular Interactions","authors":"João V. Mello-Hortega, Carolina S. de Oliveira, Vitoria S. de Araujo, Lupe Furtado-Alle, Luciane V. Tureck, Ricardo L. R. Souza","doi":"10.1111/ejn.70229","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70229","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Alzheimer's disease (<span>AD</span>) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a set of multifactorial conditions that progressively impair memory processing and cognitive function. The study of this pathology is particularly challenging due to its complex etiology, which involves several pathological hallmarks, including amyloid plaque formation, tau protein hyperphosphorylation, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and other contributing factors—all leading to neuronal loss. The primary therapeutic approach for AD involves the use of anticholinesterase agents; however, these treatments are associated with adverse effects, and their efficacy has been increasingly questioned. Against this backdrop, researchers have investigated cannabidiol (CBD) as a potential complementary treatment for AD. This study compiles and synthesizes current evidence regarding the therapeutic effects of CBD in the context of AD, examining its impact on the amyloid cascade, tau phosphorylation, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, the cholinergic pathway, glucose and lipid metabolism, behavioral alterations, and physiological changes. In addition, an in silico analysis was conducted based on studies that identified differential gene expression in response to CBD. Through this analysis, we mapped the gene network and biological pathways involved in CBD's mechanism of action in <span>AD</span>, contributing to the identification of potential gene targets for further research and providing deeper insight into its therapeutic potential.</p>","PeriodicalId":11993,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Neuroscience","volume":"62 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejn.70229","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144905400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pavel E. Musienko, Oleg V. Gorskii, Tatiana G. Deliagina, Pavel V. Zelenin
{"title":"Functional Organization of the Spinal Locomotor Network Based on Analysis of Interneuronal Activity","authors":"Pavel E. Musienko, Oleg V. Gorskii, Tatiana G. Deliagina, Pavel V. Zelenin","doi":"10.1111/ejn.70238","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70238","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Locomotion is a vital motor function for any living being. In vertebrates, a basic locomotor pattern is controlled by the spinal locomotor network (SLN). Although SLN has been extensively studied, due to technical difficulties, most data were obtained during fictive locomotion, and data about the activity of spinal neurons during locomotion with intact sensory feedback from limbs are extremely limited. Here, we overcame the technical problems and recorded the activity of putative spinal interneurons from spinal segments L4–L6 during treadmill forward locomotion evoked by stimulation of the mesencephalic locomotor region in the decerebrate cat. We found that neurons were activated and inactivated preferably within one of the four phase ranges presumably related to preparation for the limb lift-off, the limb lift-off, transition from the limb flexion to limb extension during swing, and the limb touch-down. We analyzed the activity phases of recorded interneurons by using a new method that took into account the previously ignored information about the stability of neuronal modulation in the sequential locomotor cycles. We suggested that neurons with stable modulation (i.e., small dispersion of their activity phase in sequential cycles) represent the core of SLN. Our analysis revealed groups of neurons active approximately out of phase and presumably contributing to the control of vertical (VC) and horizontal (HC) components of the step. We found that most VC- and HC-related neurons were located in the intermediate and dorsal/ventral parts of the grey matter, respectively. Our experimental data can be used as a benchmark for computational models of locomotor neuronal networks.</p>","PeriodicalId":11993,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Neuroscience","volume":"62 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejn.70238","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144910218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}