Chris J. McBain

Early-life medial pulvinar disruption drives schizophrenia-relevant prefrontal inhibitory and cognitive deficits in primates

This study shows that early-life disruption of the medial pulvinar in marmosets leads to adult prefrontal inhibitory and cognitive deficits relevant to schizophrenia.

Reducing methylation of histone 3.3 lysine 4 in the medial ganglionic eminence and hypothalamus recapitulates neurodevelopmental disorder phenotypes

This study shows that reducing H3K4 methylation in specific brain regions causes neurodevelopmental disorder-like phenotypes, including seizures, growth issues, and behavioral deficits.

Complex opioid driven modulation of glutamatergic and cholinergic neurotransmission in a GABAergic brain nucleus associated with emotion, reward and addiction.

This study investigates how opioid receptors modulate glutamatergic and cholinergic neurotransmission in the medial habenula/interpeduncular nucleus circuit, revealing complex developmental regulation and interactions with potassium channels.

Discrete interneuron subsets participate in GluN1/GluN3A excitatory glycine receptor (eGlyR)-mediated regulation of hippocampal network activity throughout development and evolution.

The paper shows that eGlyRs in hippocampal interneurons regulate network activity through developmental and evolutionary conserved mechanisms.

A novel, evolutionarily conserved inhibitory circuit selectively regulates dentate gyrus mossy cell function.

The paper identifies a novel inhibitory interneuron subtype in the dentate gyrus that selectively regulates mossy cell function and shows this pattern is evolutionarily conserved across species.

An enhancer-AAV toolbox to target and manipulate distinct interneuron subtypes

The paper identifies enhancer-AAV tools for specific neuronal subtypes and validates them across species.

Divergent opioid-mediated suppression of inhibition between hippocampus and neocortex across species and development

The paper shows that opioids suppress inhibition in hippocampal PV-INs but not neocortex across species and development, highlighting conserved and divergent roles in neural circuits.

A novel enhancer-AAV approach selectively targeting dentate granule cells

The paper identifies and validates an enhancer-AAV for selectively targeting dentate granule cells in the hippocampus using RNAseq data.

Loss of Grin2a Causes a Transient Delay in the Electrophysiological Maturation of Hippocampal Parvalbumin Interneurons

This study shows that loss of Grin2a causes delayed electrophysiological maturation of hippocampal parvalbumin interneurons, leading to transient seizure susceptibility in mice.

Thalamic nucleus reuniens preferentially targets inhibitory interneurons over pyramidal cells in hippocampal CA1 region

The paper investigates the synaptic connections of the nucleus reuniens to hippocampal CA1 and finds that it preferentially targets inhibitory interneurons rather than pyramidal cells.

NMDAR-mediated transcriptional control of gene expression during the development of medial ganglionic eminence-derived interneurons

This study identifies Grin1 as a key regulator of subtype-specific gene expression in MGE-derived interneurons, linking NMDAR signaling to neurodevelopmental disorders like schizophrenia.

Emergence of Non-Canonical Parvalbumin-Containing Interneurons in Hippocampus of a Murine Model of Type I Lissencephaly

The paper examines LIS1 mutation effects on PV+INTs in mouse hippocampus, identifying a non-canonical intermediate spiking subset linked to seizures.

Viral manipulation of functionally distinct neurons from mice to humans

The paper identifies enhancers for targeting specific neuronal subtypes across species and demonstrates their utility in circuit manipulation.

Aberrant sorting of hippocampal complex pyramidal cells in Type I Lissencephaly alters topological innervation

This study examines synaptic circuitry formation in a mouse model of Type I Lissencephaly, identifying mispositioned calbindin-expressing principal cells and altered connectivity patterns.

Activity-dependent tuning of intrinsic excitability in mouse and human neurogliaform cells

The paper shows that neurogliaform cells in mouse and human exhibit similar activity-dependent changes in intrinsic excitability, suggesting conserved circuit mechanisms across species.