Activation of local inhibitory circuits in the dentate gyrus by adult-born neurons.

Robust incorporation of new principal cells into pre-existing circuitry in the adult mammalian brain is unique to the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG). We asked if adult-born granule cells (GCs) might act to regulate processing within the DG by modulating the substantially more abundant mature GCs. Optogenetic stimulation of a cohort of young adult-born GCs (0 to 7 weeks post-mitosis) revealed that these cells activate local GABAergic interneurons to evoke strong inhibitory input to mature GCs. Natural manipulation of neurogenesis by aging-to decrease it-and housing in an enriched environment-to increase it-strongly affected the levels of inhibition. We also demonstrated that elevating activity in adult-born GCs in awake behaving animals reduced the overall number of mature GCs activated by exploration. These data suggest that inhibitory modulation of mature GCs may be an important function of adult-born hippocampal neurons. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Chairside Diabetes Screening: A Survey of Dental Providers at the Largest Municipal Healthcare System in the United States.

PURPOSE: To assess the knowledge and attitudes of dentists at the largest municipal healthcare system in the United States with regard to point-of-care chairside diabetes testing in the dental clinic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 29-item survey was designed in a web-based platform (Survey Monkey) and distributed in November 2020 to 264 dental providers (attending dentists and residents) within eleven dental departments of the New York City Health + Hospitals municipal healthcare system. The questionnaire included sections on demographics, current practices, level of diabetes training, scope of practice, and attitudes regarding chairside diabetes testing. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and logistic regression analyses were performed, with statistical significance set at 0.05. RESULTS: Dentists' willingness to provide chairside HbA1c screening was positively associated with their agreement that this was part of their role (OR = 7.2, p = 0.001) and that screening has an impact on diabetes control (OR = 4.3, p = 0.04). The two most commonly reported barriers to willingness to provide chairside HbA1c screening were amount of time required to obtain and discuss a patient's test results (82.3%) and lack of reimbursement (70.6%). CONCLUSION: Among the largest municipal healthcare systems in the US, there is very limited integration of diabetes screening and management in the dental setting. Given the epidemic of diabetes among the vulnerable population that these hospitals serve, the dental setting is a critical but underutilized site for diabetes screening and medical referral. Increased efforts should be directed towards implementing workflows that incorporate auxiliary dental staff in order to address barriers to chairside screening.