Science Signaling Podcast: 9 October 2012

Eric J. Nestler^1,2 and Annalisa M. VanHook³

¹ Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA.
² Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA.
³ Web Editor, Science Signaling, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005, USA.

Abstract: This Podcast features an interview with Eric Nestler, author of a Report published in the 5 October 2012 issue of Science. BDNF is a secreted ligand that stimulates the growth and survival of neurons and promotes neural plasticity, which is the phenomenon by which a neural network is altered by activity through that network and by environmental factors. Changes in BDNF expression have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases, to mood and behavioral disorders, and to neural plasticity induced by cocaine use. Nestler’s group reports that whereas BDNF plays a positive role in cocaine-induced neural plasticity, it plays a negative modulatory role in morphine-induced neural plasticity and has a different site of action. These findings have implications for understanding and treating addiction and highlight the complex role of BDNF in modulating neural function through its action on multiple downstream signaling pathways.

The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites:

In Science Signaling

EDITORS' CHOICE
Neuroscience
Regulating Opioid Responses

Peter R. Stern (9 October 2012)
Sci. Signal. 5 (245), ec264. [DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.2003665]
 |  Abstract »

RESEARCH ARTICLES
Neuroscience
The Complex of G Protein Regulator RGS9-2 and Gβ₅ Controls Sensitization and Signaling Kinetics of Type 5 Adenylyl Cyclase in the Striatum

Keqiang Xie, Ikuo Masuho, Cameron Brand, Carmen W. Dessauer, and Kirill A. Martemyanov (28 August 2012)
Sci. Signal. 5 (239), ra63. [DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.2002922]
 |  Editor's Summary »  |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »  |  Supplementary Materials »

RESEARCH ARTICLES
Neuroscience
Local Application of Neurotrophins Specifies Axons Through Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate, Calcium, and Ca²⁺/Calmodulin–Dependent Protein Kinases

Shinichi Nakamuta, Yasuhiro Funahashi, Takashi Namba, Nariko Arimura, Marina R. Picciotto, Hiroshi Tokumitsu, Thomas R. Soderling, Akira Sakakibara, Takaki Miyata, Hiroyuki Kamiguchi, and Kozo Kaibuchi (15 November 2011)
Sci. Signal. 4 (199), ra76. [DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.2002011]
 |  Editor's Summary »  |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »  |  Supplementary Materials »

RESEARCH ARTICLES
Neuroscience
Increased Abundance of Opioid Receptor Heteromers After Chronic Morphine Administration

Achla Gupta, Jan Mulder, Ivone Gomes, Raphael Rozenfeld, Ittai Bushlin, Edmund Ong, Maribel Lim, Emeline Maillet, Mats Junek, Catherine M. Cahill, Tibor Harkany, and Lakshmi A. Devi (20 July 2010)
Sci. Signal. 3 (131), ra54. [DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.2000807]
 |  Editor's Summary »  |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »  |  Supplementary Materials »

RESEARCH ARTICLES
Neuroscience
BDNF Selectively Regulates GABA_A Receptor Transcription by Activation of the JAK/STAT Pathway

Ingrid V. Lund, Yinghui Hu, YogendraSinh H. Raol, Rebecca S. Benham, Ramona Faris, Shelley J. Russek, and Amy R. Brooks-Kayal (14 October 2008)
Sci. Signal. 1 (41), ra9. [DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.1162396]
 |  Editor's Summary »  |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »  |  Supplementary Materials »

In Science Magazine

REPORTS
BDNF Is a Negative Modulator of Morphine Action

Ja Wook Koo, Michelle S. Mazei-Robison, Dipesh Chaudhury, Barbara Juarez, Quincey LaPlant, Deveroux Ferguson, Jian Feng, Haosheng Sun, Kimberly N. Scobie, Diane Damez-Werno, Marshall Crumiller, Yoshinori N. Ohnishi, Yoko H. Ohnishi, Ezekiell Mouzon, David M. Dietz, Mary Kay Lobo, Rachael L. Neve, Scott J. Russo, Ming-Hu Han, and Eric J. Nestler (5 October 2012)
Science 338 (6103), 124. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1222265]
 |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »  |  Supplementary Materials »