Light curves and colours of the ejecta from Dimorphos after the DART impact.

On 26 September 2022, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft struck Dimorphos, a satellite of the asteroid 65803 Didymos1. Because it is a binary system, it is possible to determine how much the orbit of the satellite changed, as part of a test of what is necessary to deflect an asteroid that might threaten Earth with an impact. In nominal cases, pre-impact predictions of the orbital period reduction ranged from roughly 8.8 to 17 min (refs. 2,3). Here we report optical observations of Dimorphos before, during and after the impact, from a network of citizen scientists' telescopes across the world. We find a maximum brightening of 2.29 ± 0.14 mag on impact. Didymos fades back to its pre-impact brightness over the course of 23.7 ± 0.7 days. We estimate lower limits on the mass contained in the ejecta, which was 0.3-0.5% Dimorphos's mass depending on the dust size. We also observe a reddening of the ejecta on impact.

Internal representation of hippocampal neuronal population spans a time-distance continuum.

The hippocampus plays a critical role in episodic memory: the sequential representation of visited places and experienced events. This function is mirrored by hippocampal activity that self organizes into sequences of neuronal activation that integrate spatiotemporal information. What are the underlying mechanisms of such integration is still unknown. Single cell activity was recently shown to combine time and distance information; however, it remains unknown whether a degree of tuning between space and time can be defined at the network level. Here, combining daily calcium imaging of CA1 sequence dynamics in running head-fixed mice and network modeling, we show that CA1 network activity tends to represent a specific combination of space and time at any given moment, and that the degree of tuning can shift within a continuum from 1 day to the next. Our computational model shows that this shift in tuning can happen under the control of the external drive power. We propose that extrinsic global inputs shape the nature of spatiotemporal integration in the hippocampus at the population level depending on the task at hand, a hypothesis which may guide future experimental studies.

Modeling driver cells in developing neuronal networks.

Spontaneous emergence of synchronized population activity is a characteristic feature of developing brain circuits. Recent experiments in the developing neo-cortex showed the existence of driver cells able to impact the synchronization dynamics when single-handedly stimulated. We have developed a spiking network model capable to reproduce the experimental results, thus identifying two classes of driver cells: functional hubs and low functionally connected (LC) neurons. The functional hubs arranged in a clique orchestrated the synchronization build-up, while the LC drivers were lately or not at all recruited in the synchronization process. Notwithstanding, they were able to alter the network state when stimulated by modifying the temporal activation of the functional clique or even its composition. LC drivers can lead either to higher population synchrony or even to the arrest of population dynamics, upon stimulation. Noticeably, some LC driver can display both effects depending on the received stimulus. We show that in the model the presence of inhibitory neurons together with the assumption that younger cells are more excitable and less connected is crucial for the emergence of LC drivers. These results provide a further understanding of the structural-functional mechanisms underlying synchronized firings in developing circuits possibly related to the coordinated activity of cell assemblies in the adult brain.

Spatial Embryonic Origin Delineates GABAergic Hub Neurons Driving Network Dynamics in the Developing Entorhinal Cortex.

Coordinated neuronal activity is essential for the development of cortical circuits. GABAergic hub neurons that function in orchestrating early neuronal activity through a widespread net of postsynaptic partners are therefore critical players in the establishment of functional networks. Evidence for hub neurons was previously found in the hippocampus, but their presence in other cortical regions remains unknown. We examined this issue in the entorhinal cortex, an initiation site for coordinated activity in the neocortex and for the activity-dependent maturation of the entire entorhinal-hippocampal network. Using an unbiased approach that identifies "driver hub neurons" displaying a high number of functional links in living slices, we show that while almost half of the GABAergic cells single-handedly influence network dynamics, only a subpopulation of cells born in the MGE and composed of somatostatin-expressing neurons located in infragranular layers, spontaneously operate as "driver" hubs. This indicates that despite differences in the origin of interneuron diversity, the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex share similar developmental mechanisms for the establishment of functional circuits.

Multivariate synaptic and behavioral profiling reveals new developmental endophenotypes in the prefrontal cortex.

The postnatal maturation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) represents a period of increased vulnerability to risk factors and emergence of neuropsychiatric disorders. To disambiguate the pathophysiological mechanisms contributing to these disorders, we revisited the endophenotype approach from a developmental viewpoint. The extracellular matrix protein reelin which contributes to cellular and network plasticity, is a risk factor for several psychiatric diseases. We mapped the aggregate effect of the RELN risk allele on postnatal development of PFC functions by cross-sectional synaptic and behavioral analysis of reelin-haploinsufficient mice. Multivariate analysis of bootstrapped datasets revealed subgroups of phenotypic traits specific to each maturational epoch. The preeminence of synaptic AMPA/NMDA receptor content to pre-weaning and juvenile endophenotypes shifts to long-term potentiation and memory renewal during adolescence followed by NMDA-GluN2B synaptic content in adulthood. Strikingly, multivariate analysis shows that pharmacological rehabilitation of reelin haploinsufficient dysfunctions is mediated through induction of new endophenotypes rather than reversion to wild-type traits. By delineating previously unknown developmental endophenotypic sequences, we conceived a promising general strategy to disambiguate the molecular underpinnings of complex psychiatric disorders and for the rational design of pharmacotherapies in these disorders.

Awake hippocampal reactivations project onto orthogonal neuronal assemblies.

The chained activation of neuronal assemblies is thought to support major cognitive processes, including memory. In the hippocampus, this is observed during population bursts often associated with sharp-wave ripples, in the form of an ordered reactivation of neurons. However, the organization and lifetime of these assemblies remain unknown. We used calcium imaging to map patterns of synchronous neuronal activation in the CA1 region of awake mice during runs on a treadmill. The patterns were composed of the recurring activation of anatomically intermingled, but functionally orthogonal, assemblies. These assemblies reactivated discrete temporal segments of neuronal sequences observed during runs and could be stable across consecutive days. A binding of these assemblies into longer chains revealed temporally ordered replay. These modules may represent the default building blocks for encoding or retrieving experience.

Development of early-born γ-Aminobutyric acid hub neurons in mouse hippocampus from embryogenesis to adulthood.

Early-born γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons (EBGNs) are major components of the hippocampal circuit because at early postnatal stages they form a subpopulation of "hub cells" transiently supporting CA3 network synchronization (Picardo et al. [2011] Neuron 71:695-709). It is therefore essential to determine when these cells acquire the remarkable morphofunctional attributes supporting their network function and whether they develop into a specific subtype of interneuron into adulthood. Inducible genetic fate mapping conveniently allows for the labeling of EBGNs throughout their life. EBGNs were first analyzed during the perinatal week. We observed that EBGNs acquired mature characteristics at the time when the first synapse-driven synchronous activities appeared in the form of giant depolarizing potentials. The fate of EBGNs was next analyzed in the adult hippocampus by using anatomical characterization. Adult EBGNs included a significant proportion of cells projecting selectively to the septum; in turn, EBGNs were targeted by septal and entorhinal inputs. In addition, most EBGNs were strongly targeted by cholinergic and monoaminergic terminals, suggesting significant subcortical innervation. Finally, we found that some EBGNs located in the septum or the entorhinal cortex also displayed a long-range projection that we traced to the hippocampus. Therefore, this study shows that the maturation of the morphophysiological properties of EBGNs mirrors the evolution of early network dynamics, suggesting that both phenomena may be causally linked. We propose that a subpopulation of EBGNs forms into adulthood a scaffold of GABAergic projection neurons linking the hippocampus to distant structures. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:2440-2461, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Internally Recurring Hippocampal Sequences as a Population Template of Spatiotemporal Information.

The hippocampus is essential for spatiotemporal cognition. Sequences of neuronal activation provide a substrate for this fundamental function. At the behavioral timescale, these sequences have been shown to occur either in the presence of successive external landmarks or through internal mechanisms within an episodic memory task. In both cases, activity is externally constrained by the organization of the task and by the size of the environment explored. Therefore, it remains unknown whether hippocampal activity can self-organize into a default mode in the absence of any external memory demand or spatiotemporal boundary. Here we show that, in the presence of self-motion cues, a population code integrating distance naturally emerges in the hippocampus in the form of recurring sequences. These internal dynamics clamp spontaneous travel since run distance distributes into integer multiples of the span of these sequences. These sequences may thus guide navigation when external landmarks are reduced.

GABAergic inhibition shapes interictal dynamics in awake epileptic mice.

Epilepsy is characterized by recurrent seizures and brief, synchronous bursts called interictal spikes that are present in-between seizures and observed as transient events in EEG signals. While GABAergic transmission is known to play an important role in shaping healthy brain activity, the role of inhibition in these pathological epileptic dynamics remains unclear. Examining the microcircuits that participate in interictal spikes is thus an important first step towards addressing this issue, as the function of these transient synchronizations in either promoting or prohibiting seizures is currently under debate. To identify the microcircuits recruited in spontaneous interictal spikes in the absence of any proconvulsive drug or anaesthetic agent, we combine a chronic model of epilepsy with in vivo two-photon calcium imaging and multiunit extracellular recordings to map cellular recruitment within large populations of CA1 neurons in mice free to run on a self-paced treadmill. We show that GABAergic neurons, as opposed to their glutamatergic counterparts, are preferentially recruited during spontaneous interictal activity in the CA1 region of the epileptic mouse hippocampus. Although the specific cellular dynamics of interictal spikes are found to be highly variable, they are consistently associated with the activation of GABAergic neurons, resulting in a perisomatic inhibitory restraint that reduces neuronal spiking in the principal cell layer. Given the role of GABAergic neurons in shaping brain activity during normal cognitive function, their aberrant unbalanced recruitment during these transient events could have important downstream effects with clinical implications.

Normotopic cortex is the major contributor to epilepsy in experimental double cortex.

OBJECTIVE: Subcortical band heterotopia (SBH) is a cortical malformation formed when neocortical neurons prematurely stop their migration in the white matter, forming a heterotopic band below the normotopic cortex, and is generally associated with intractable epilepsy. Although it is clear that the band heterotopia and the overlying cortex both contribute to creating an abnormal circuit prone to generate epileptic discharges, it is less understood which part of this circuitry is the most critical. Here, we sought to identify the origin of epileptiform activity in a targeted genetic model of SBH in rats. METHODS: Rats with SBH (Dcx-KD rats) were generated by knocking down the Dcx gene using shRNA vectors transfected into neocortical progenitors of rat embryos. Origin, spatial extent, and laminar profile of bicuculline-induced interictal-like activity on neocortical slices were analyzed by using extracellular recordings from 60-channel microelectrode arrays. Susceptibility to pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures was assessed by electrocorticography in head-restrained nonanesthetized rats. RESULTS: We show that the band heterotopia does not constitute a primary origin for interictal-like epileptiform activity in vitro and is dispensable for generating induced seizures in vivo. Furthermore, we report that most interictal-like discharges originating in the overlying cortex secondarily propagate to the band heterotopia. Importantly, we found that in vivo suppression of neuronal excitability in SBH does not alter the higher propensity of Dcx-KD rats to display seizures. INTERPRETATION: These results suggest a major role of the normotopic cortex over the band heterotopia in generating interictal epileptiform activity and seizures in brains with SBH.

High-harmonic generation from plasma mirrors at kilohertz repetition rate.

We report the first demonstration of high-harmonic generation from plasma mirrors at a 1 kHz repetition rate. Harmonics up to nineteenth order are generated at peak intensities close to 10¹8 W/cm² by focusing 1 mJ, 25 fs laser pulses down to 1.7 µm FWHM spot size without any prior wavefront correction onto a moving target. We minimize target surface motion with respect to the laser focus using online interferometry to ensure reproducible interaction conditions for every shot and record data at 1 kHz with unprecedented statistics. This allows us to unambiguously identify coherent wake emission as the main generation mechanism.

Generation of 4.3 fs, 1 mJ laser pulses via compression of circularly polarized pulses in a gas-filled hollow-core fiber.

We report the generation of 4.3 fs, 1 mJ pulses at 1 kHz using a hollow-core fiber compressor seeded with circularly polarized laser pulses. We observe up to 30% more energy throughput compared to the case of linearly polarized laser input, together with significantly improved output spectral stability. Seeding with circularly polarized pulses proves to be an effective approach for high-energy operation of the hollow-fiber compression technique.