The paper identifies ethanol-enhanced presynaptic shunting inhibition at the first central auditory synapse as a mechanism for alcohol-induced auditory dysfunction.

bioRxiv · May 11, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

Multi-behavioral phenotyping in early-life-stage zebrafish for identifying disruptors of non-associative learning

David Leuthold, Nadia K. Herold, Jana Nerlich, Kristina Bartmann, Ilka Scharkin, Stefan Hallermann, Nicole Schweiger, Ellen Fritsche, Tamara L. Tal

The paper develops a multi-behavioral phenotyping approach in larval zebrafish to identify neurotoxic chemicals, finding chlorophene disrupts habituation via GABAARs and resembles Kv7 activator effects.

Environmental Health Perspectives · May 30, 2025Peer-reviewedPharmacology & Toxicology

Unreliable homeostatic action potential broadening in cultured dissociated neurons

Andreas Ritzau‐Jost, Salil R. Rajayer, Jana Nerlich, Filip Maciąg, Alexandra John, Michaël Russier, Victoria Gonzalez Sabater, Luke J Steiger, Jacques‐Olivier Coq, Jens Eilers, Maren Engelhardt, Juan Burrone, Dominique Debanne, Martin Heine, Stephen M. Smith, Stefan Hallermann

The paper shows that chronic inactivity does not broadly affect action potentials in neocortical neurons but does in hippocampal neurons under specific conditions.

bioRxiv · May 9, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience

Rab3 mediates cyclic AMP-dependent presynaptic plasticity and olfactory learning

Divya Sachidanandan, Aishwarya Aravamudhan, Achmed Mrestani, Jana Nerlich, Marius Lamberty, Natalie Hasenauer, Nadine Ehmann, Dennis Pauls, Teresa Seubert, Isabella Maiellaro, Mareike Selcho, Manfred Heckmann, Stefan Hallermann, Robert J. Kittel

This study identifies Rab3 as a mediator of cAMP-induced presynaptic plasticity and shows its necessity for olfactory learning in Drosophila.

bioRxiv · Dec 21, 2023 · PreprintNeuroscience

Fully-primed slowly-recovering vesicles mediate presynaptic LTP at neocortical neurons

Iron Weichard, Holger Taschenberger, Felix Gsell, Grit Bornschein, Andreas Ritzau‐Jost, Hartmut Schmidt, Robert J. Kittel, Jens Eilers, Erwin Neher, Stefan Hallermann, Jana Nerlich

This study shows that LTP at layer 5 pyramidal neurons increases synaptic strength by increasing the number of fully-primed, slowly-recovering vesicles.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · Oct 19, 2023Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

NMDA-receptor-Fc-fusion constructs neutralize anti- NMDA receptor antibodies

Stephan Steinke, Toni Kirmann, Eleonora A Loi, Jana Nerlich, Iron Weichard, Philipp Kühn, Torsten Bullmann, Andreas Ritzau‐Jost, Filiz Sila Rizalar, Harald Prüß, Volker Haucke, Christian Geis, Michael Hust, Stefan Hallermann

This study develops NMDA-receptor-Fc-fusion constructs that neutralize anti-NMDA receptor antibodies and inhibit their effects on neurons.

Brain · Dec 28, 2022Peer-reviewedNeuroscience