Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Developmental Trajectory of Synaptic Remodeling in the Mouse Prefrontal Cortex

doi: 10.64898/2026.04.26.720930

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Schematic representation of the experimental setup. At P21 a right-angled microprism attached to a cranial window was implanted into the subdural space of Thy1-GFP-M mice. High-resolution two-photon imaging commenced at P28. Images of the same dendritic segments of layer II/III were acquired every 4 days during adolescence, once at P72 and once at P84. Scale bars = 500 μm (overview) and 5 μm (zoom-ins). (B) Representative two-photon images of the same dendritic segment at different imaging time points, with stable spines indicated by empty arrowheads, eliminated spines by red arrowheads, and newly formed spines by turquois arrowheads. Scale bar = 5 μm. (C) Number of spines per 10 μm dendrite along development. Blue line represents the overall mean, whereas the grey lines depict the mean of each animal. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, based on post-hoc test following mixed-effects model with a significant main effect of age. (D) Percent change in spine density relative to P28. Blue line represents the overall mean, whereas the grey lines depict the mean of each animal. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, based on post-hoc test following mixed-effects model with a significant main effect of age. (E) Spine dynamics assessed by comparing the number of eliminated vs newly formed spines at each maturational time point. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, based on post-hoc test following mixed-effects model with a significant two-way interaction between age and process. The data are means ± SEM. N = 6 mice, whereby three mice did not reach the final age (postnatal day 84) due to a shift in the microprism.

Article Snippet: Longitudinal in vivo imaging experiments were conducted in hemizygous transgenic male and female Thy1-GFP-M mice (Thy1-GFP-M line, JAX: 007788, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, USA).

Techniques: Imaging

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Structural plasticity and enhanced fear extinction following psilocybin in chronically stressed mice

doi: 10.64898/2026.04.21.720014

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Experimental timeline. (B) Change in weight from day -15 to day 0 for animals in the control unstressed and chronic restraint stress (CRS) groups. Square, male. Triangle, female. (C) Fluorescence image of a coronal section with pCREB-positive cells. (D) Fraction of time spent freezing during different CS presentations during fear conditioning on day 0. Line, mean. Error bars, ±SEM. (E) Fraction of time spent freezing during habituation (Hab) and different binned CS presentations during extinction on day 2. Line, mean. Error bars, ±SEM. (F) Similar to (E) for fear renewal on day 10. (G) Imaging setup. (H) Experimental timeline. (I) Two-photon image of a field of view, tracking the same apical tuft dendrites in Thy1 GFP mice across imaging sessions. (J) Dendritic spine density as a function of time. Spine density was expressed as fold-change from baseline (average of sessions on day -3 and day -1) for each dendritic segment. Line, mean. Error bars, ±SEM. (K) Fold-change in dendritic spine density from day -15 to baseline. Left, per mouse. Right, per dendrite. Line, mean. Error bars, ±SEM. (L) Change in weight from day -15 to day 0 for Thy1 GFP mice in the control unstressed and CRS groups. Square, male. Triangle, female. (M) Similar to (K), from baseline to day 14. *, P < 0.05; post hoc test via estimated marginal means with Tukey correction.

Article Snippet: For imaging experiments, we used heterozygous Thy1 GFP line M mice (9 males, 10 females; #007788, Jackson Laboratory).

Techniques: Control, Fluorescence, Imaging

Journal: iScience

Article Title: Conserved post-odor dynamics in the olfactory systems of mice and locusts

doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.115373

Figure Lengend Snippet: Odor ON and OFF responses recorded from locust antenna lobe and mouse olfactory bulb (A) Schematic of the experimental design. (top) Multi-unit extracellular electrophysiological signals were recorded from the projection neurons (PN) in the locust antennal lobe (AL). (bottom) Odors were presented to locusts in blocks of ten trials. A 15-min gap separated blocks of different odors. (B) Representative trial-averaged PSTH traces of 24 PNs in response to benzaldehyde (bza), 4-vinyl anisole (vny), octanol (oct), and z-3-nonen-1-ol (nen). (C) Schematic of the experimental design. (top) Odor-evoked activity was observed from mitral and tufted cell (MTC) glomerular dendrites with mesoscale two-photon calcium imaging through chronic cranial windows over the mouse OB. (bottom) Odors were presented for 5 s, separated by 55 s intertrial intervals, in blocks of ten trials. 15-min periods of no odor stimulation separated blocks of different odors. (D) Representative trial-averaged image of GCaMP fluorescence in the olfactory bulb of a Thy1-GCaMP6f mouse with ROIs overlaid on glomeruli from bilateral olfactory bulbs. Scale bars, 500 μm. (E) Fluorescence traces (dF/F) from 25 representative glomeruli showing responses to acetophenone (ace, purple), methyl salicylate (msc, yellow), eugenol (eug, orange), and allyl sulfide (als, pink).

Article Snippet: Thy1-GCamp6f (GP5.11, Jax laboratories #025393) mice, age two months to four months, of both sexes, were used for two-photon imaging experiments.

Techniques: Olfactory, Activity Assay, Imaging, Fluorescence