The human motor cortex microcircuit: insights for neurodegenerative disease.

The human motor cortex comprises a microcircuit of five interconnected layers with different cell types. In this Review, we use a layer-specific and cell-specific approach to integrate physiological accounts of this motor cortex microcircuit with the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases affecting motor functions. In doing so we can begin to link motor microcircuit pathology to specific disease stages and clinical phenotypes. Based on microcircuit physiology, we can make future predictions of axonal loss and microcircuit dysfunction. With recent advances in high-resolution neuroimaging we can then test these predictions in humans in vivo, providing mechanistic insights into neurodegenerative disease.

Defining the causes of sporadic Parkinson's disease in the global Parkinson's genetics program (GP2).

The Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2) will genotype over 150,000 participants from around the world, and integrate genetic and clinical data for use in large-scale analyses to dramatically expand our understanding of the genetic architecture of PD. This report details the workflow for cohort integration into the complex arm of GP2, and together with our outline of the monogenic hub in a companion paper, provides a generalizable blueprint for establishing large scale collaborative research consortia.

Domestic Foal Weaning: Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices?

Artificial weaning is a standard practice known to be one of the most stressful events in a domestic foal's life. Research has mainly focused on ways to alleviate weaning stress. However, there is still a need for more detailed research on what should constitute best practices with respect to animal welfare. The aim of this review is to address this issue by examining the natural weaning process. We first provide an overview of the scientific literature on the natural temporal dynamics of the dam-offspring bond in horses: it is to be noted that the natural process of weaning is little documented, individual variations have been poorly investigated and immediate effects of weaning on the mare-foal relationship remain unexplored. To partly address these gaps, we performed a study around the weaning period on 16 mare-foal pairs kept with minimal human interference. Most foals were weaned spontaneously when 9-10 months old, with individual variations mainly due to the conception rate of mares. Natural weaning induced no stress response in either partner and was performed without clear signs of rejection by the dams either just before or after. We lastly open up the discussion on the need for rethinking weaning practices under domestic conditions.