February 2017

‌‌‌‌February 2017: "The heart of the brain”: the developing midbrain

Submitted by: Dr Shane V Hegarty, Dr. Gerard O'Keeffe and Professor Aideen Sullivan, Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, UCC, Ireland.

Image shows a coronal section of embryonic day 16.5 mouse midbrain, immunohistochemically stained for tyrosine hydroxylase and DAPI. Tyrosine hydroxylase is used to identify midbrain dopaminergic neurons, while DAPI shows the nuclei of cells in this brain region. Dr. Shane Hegarty, Dr. Gerard O'Keeffe and Professor Aideen Sullivan research the molecular signals regulating the development of midbrain dopaminergic neurons with the aim of translating this information into novel therapies for Parkinson's disease, a common neurodegenerative disorder in which this neuronal population is progressively degenerated.

This image was selected for the cover of the first issue of Neuronal Signaling a bi monthly journal publishing high-quality molecular and cellular neuroscience research. Neuronal Signaling spans a variety of neuroscientific disciplines, from signaling pathways involved in nervous system development through to neurodegeneration, synaptopathies, psychiatric disorders and other pathologies.

In this, the first issue of Neuronal Signaling, Aideen Sullivan, the Editor-in-Chief, presents the journal's aims and scope in her introductory Editorial.