Британские Королевские ботанические сады Кью отобрали десяток новых растений (8) и грибов (2) среди пятичетвертака (125) и почти двутретисотни (65) растительных и грибных новинок, описанных их специалистами в 2025 году. Показываем вам итоговую кьюшную подборку и рассказываем о видах.
«Кровавогубая» орхидея Telipogon cruentilabrum из Эквадора.
Неизвестно, какого числа, месяца и года родился человек Флавиус Аэтиус. Где-то «кажется что» в 390 годах — то ли в 391-м, то ли в 396, «далее везде». Государством ИмпЕриум РомАнум («Власть Романи») управлял тогда Флавиус Хонориус Аугустус, но правил он не всем империумом, а только половиною, западной частью — в 395 году, после смерти его отца Теодозиуса I Магнуса страну «попилили» на две части: запад достался Хонориусу, а восток его брату Флавиусу Аркадиусу. Это событие называют «разделом империи», и с тех самых пор появились Империум Оккидентале (Западная), которая исчезнет через 80 лет, и Империум Ориентале (Восточная), которая простоит еще 1 000 лет. Но вначале никто не воспринимал это как «развод и девичью фамилию» — границы существовали на бумаге, люди продолжали называть себя «романи» («популюс романус» — римский народ) и легко, особенно служилая элита, перемещались туда — сюда — обратно. Что и продемонстрировал родитель Аэтиуса, Флавиус Гаудентиус, служивший магистером эквитум (magister equitum — начальник всадников), третьим по рангу (после магистера ин презенти, ака презенталис, и магистера педиум) командиром в армии.
Судя по короткому имени, половину которого, к тому же — дань уважения императору как личному господину (Флавиус — одно из имен-титулов правителей романи, как Кайсар или Аугустус), Гаудентиус не был потомственным аристократом, хотя и был весьма богат. Имя христианское, так что уже отец и мать его, бабушка и дедушка Аэтиуса, явно исповедовали новую веру. О его происхождении вообще мало что известно, лишь только что он был уроженцем провинции Малая Скифия — жопы империи в устье Данубиса (ака Истроса — нынешнего Дуная), куда в I веке сослали поэта Публиуса Овидиуса Назо, и который рыдал в стихах о том, что попал к варварам немытым и вонючим, где и помер. Из-за этого некоторые не очень добросовестные авторы вообще считали Гаудентиуса этническим скифом — что сильно вряд ли. Впервые он упомянут, когда служил Теодозиусу I в войне против узурпатора Еугениуса.
In everyday situations, like a rock party or an organ concert, we feel music vibrating through our bodies. How do these vibrotactile signals influence music processing? How do they aid auditory scene analysis? Combining psychophysics, fMRI and time-resolved EEG decoding, this work reveals how the brain encodes the temporal structure of music (beat and envelope) across audition and touch and uses this information to guide multisensory integration and segregation in simple and more complex perceptual scenes. Participants experienced monophonic and polyphonic piano pieces through auditory, vibrotactile and audiotactile stimulation. Vibrotactile signals improved the detection of a brief target embedded in music, establishing the functional relevance of audiotactile integration in naturalistic settings. fMRI and EEG multivariate decoding revealed that auditory and tactile beat information converged in planum temporale and parietal operculum, albeit through distinct neural dynamics and representations. Superior temporal cortices reliably encoded envelope information from audition, but only weakly from touch. Nevertheless, vibrotactile signals significantly enhanced neural encoding of auditory beat as early as 100 ms, and envelope representations from 250 ms onward. These encoding benefits were associated with superadditive interactions in primary auditory cortex, where tactile signals sharpen and amplify auditory envelope representations. In complex polyphonic music, touch further amplified the segregation and encoding of temporally coherent auditory streams. Our findings highlight the important, yet largely unexplored influence of touch on auditory processing, enriching music perception and supporting auditory scene analysis in real-world environments.
During arousal and stress, the locus coeruleus (LC) releases noradrenaline (NA) throughout the brain, including hippocampus. It remains, however, unclear how LC activity contributes to the cellular response profiles observed during natural arousal. Here we directly compared effects of natural arousal and isolated LC activation in mouse CA1 using physiologically titrated optogenetics, combined with fiber photometry of NA and calcium signals, chronic two-photon imaging, and behavioral monitoring. We found that natural arousal robustly activated all three major cell types - astrocytes, pyramidal cells, and inhibitory interneurons - on a population level. In contrast, stimulation of the LC alone exerted a slow inhibitory influence on pyramidal cells and interneurons, with only a subset of interneurons exhibiting a transient activation by LC stimulation. Interneurons, but not pyramidal cells, segregated into functionally consistent LC-responsive subpopulations (activated vs inhibited) with distinct laminar positions in CA1. However, these LC-responsive subpopulations of interneurons did not reliably map onto response subpopulations defined by activity patterns during natural arousal. Astrocytes were strongly activated by both natural arousal and LC stimulation. However, single-cell responses of astrocytes to LC stimulation only partially aligned with their activity during natural arousal responses, indicating distinct driving forces across the two conditions. Together, these results show that LC-driven NA release produces distinct, cell-specific effects that do not align with hippocampal dynamics during natural arousal. Thus, our findings highlight the need to rethink how the locus coeruleus influences the main hippocampal cell types in vivo.
The self-reference effect (SRE) refers to the robust mnemonic advantage for self-relevant information and is characterised by a graded pattern spanning the self, close others, and distant others. Despite extensive behavioural evidence, causal evidence for the neural mechanisms supporting the SRE remains limited, particularly during incidental encoding and across source memory, metacognition, and emotional valence. We investigated the causal contributions of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) to self-other episodic memory and metacognition using focal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). One hundred participants completed an incidental encoding task in which trait adjectives were rated with reference to the self, a close friend, or a celebrity, under anodal or sham stimulation to either region. Recognition tests assessed item and source memory sensitivity (d') and metacognitive efficiency (meta-d'/d') as a function of agent and emotional valence. Across stimulation conditions, a graded advantage for self-related information was observed in both item and source memory, extending to metacognitive efficiency. Anodal stimulation to either region enhanced recognition for celebrity-referenced items. PPC stimulation additionally biased source memory away from positive and towards negative information. These findings demonstrate shared and dissociable causal roles of dmPFC and PPC in self-other episodic memory.
Neonatal social communication and single genes predict the variability of post-pubertal social behavior in a mouse model of paternal 15q11-13 duplication
Mental illnesses associated with high-risk copy number variations (CNVs) are characterized by incomplete penetrance and variable severity, with their underlying mechanisms remaining inadequately understood. We hypothesized that such phenotypic variability is evident from the neonatal stage and is, at least in part, attributable to individual differences in the expression levels of CNV-encoded genes in the brain. We conducted an analysis of the quantitative and functional structure of neonatal social communication, assessed post-pubertal social interaction, and evaluated the brain expression levels of genes within the same cohort of a mouse model of paternal human 15q11-13 duplication, a high-risk factor variably associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Subsequently, computational methods were utilized to identify predictive variables for the variability of post-pubertal social interaction. Mice harboring the 15q11-13 duplication exhibited distinctive call sequences characterized by diverse connections, which lacked the incentive value necessary for effective social communication with mother mice. The neonatal call sequences and the expression levels of Magel2, along with, to a lesser extent, Herc2 and Ndn, in the prefrontal cortex of the 15q11-13 duplication model were predictive of post-pubertal social interaction. Our findings demonstrate that variability in post-pubertal social interaction, a dimensional characteristic of neurodevelopmental disorders, can be predicted by the variability of neonatal social communication and is influenced by the expression levels of specific CNV-encoded genes in the prefrontal cortex. This computational approach has the potential to predict the developmental trajectories of various dimensions of mental illness among CNV carriers in humans and to identify CNV-encoded driver genes in preclinical models, thereby providing potential mechanistic bases for the development of gene-based therapeutic strategies
Tactile sensitivity is temporally modulated on a moving limb. Yet the functional significance of this modulation remains unclear. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we examined the temporal dynamics of early somatosensory processing in goal-directed reaching. Participants reached for their unseen left hand while brief vibrations were applied to the moving right index finger in different movement phases. Psychophysical results revealed tactile suppression during reaching, with sensitivity improving around maximum speed relative to the late movement phase. The EEG results were consistent with the psychophysical data. Specifically, the short-latency P45 component, originating in primary somatosensory cortex, was suppressed during reaching, but recovered around maximum speed. Reduced P45 amplitudes were associated with stronger tactile suppression measured behaviorally, linking early cortical activity to perceptual changes. This temporally specific modulation of tactile perception associated with early cortical processing suggests that the somatosensory system dynamically adapts its sensitivity to facilitate sensorimotor control in goal-directed actions.
Sequential coupling of sleep oscillations enables concept-neuron reactivation and supports information flow across the human hippocampal-cortical circuit
Effective memory consolidation during sleep is thought to rely on the transfer of reactivated memory traces from the hippocampus to the cortex. However, the mechanisms supporting this essential dialogue across brain areas remain poorly understood. Here, we recorded single-neuron activity (n = 1097) in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) of 10 epilepsy patients across 21 nights of sleep. Before sleep, patients engaged in a memory task with stimuli eliciting concept-neuron responses. During non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, neuronal firing locked to sharp wave-ripples (SWR) revealed a directed flow of information from the hippocampus to cortical targets. Notably, within SWR-driven activity, experience-dependent concept neurons exhibited elevated co-activation both within and across MTL regions, indicating selective reactivation of behaviorally relevant information. Cross-regional co-activation of concept cells was markedly enhanced when hippocampal SWRs coincided with cortical slow oscillation-spindle complexes, suggesting an active role of the cortex in shaping interregional communication. These findings provide evidence that SWRs in humans selectively reactivate experience-related neural ensembles across the hippocampal-cortical network, while synergistic interactions with cortical slow oscillation-spindle events might facilitate effective memory consolidation.
Background: Chronic stress exposure is a risk factor for several psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression (MDD), with the prefrontal cortex (PFC) playing a key role in mediating this stress susceptibility. However, most individuals who are exposed to chronic stress are resilient and do not develop psychopathology. Recent evidence suggests that glial cells, especially astrocytes, play an important role in controlling stress-induced anxiety- and depression-like behavior, yet their role in contributing to stress resilience is not understood. Methods: Using fiber photometry, chemogenetics, and RNA-sequencing in male mice, we establish a role for PFC astrocytes in stress resilience. Results: We demonstrate that stress-induced increases in astrocytic calcium activity are both necessary and sufficient for resilience. Bioinformatic analysis reveals robust transcriptional responses in PFC astrocytes that differ between susceptible vs. resilient mice and are unique when compared to astrocytic transcriptional changes in other limbic regions. Comparison with human RNA-sequencing data indicates that molecular changes observed in PFC astrocytes from susceptible mice converge with gene expression changes observed in MDD patients. Conclusions: Together, these data support targeting astrocytes as a potential therapy for negative behavioral consequences following stress exposure and reveal potential molecular mechanisms within PFC astrocytes that could contribute to depressive-like behaviors.
7.1.26 Когда кто-то из богов говорит о себе, что он един во всех своих воплощениях, он говорит так, потому что хочет присвоить себе воплощения других богов тоже. Я так не делаю. Я говорю правду: до тех пор, пока нас много, никто из нас не может достигнуть единства своих воплощений. Ибо воплощения каждого из нас влияют на воплощения Двух Других. И все воплощения от этого меняются, перенимая или отторгая свойства, исходящие от чужих воплощений. 7.2.26 Я, бог Шива, видел воплощения Брахмы и Вишну, настолько изменённые моим влиянием, что они уже походили на меня больше, чем я сам на себя похож. А среди моих собственных воплощений есть такие, кого я едва могу отличить от Брахмы и Вишну. Так изменили их неисчислимые взаимодействия во множестве рождений, смертей и возвращений. 7.3.26 Потому я и говорю: наказание бесполезно. Ведь оно не вернёт ко мне изменившихся, тех, кто утратил мои свойства. Пусть уходят куда хотят и делают что угодно. Два Других наказывают своих детей. Но я не наказываю. Я лишь высматриваю подходящих и даю им бессмертие. Бывает так, что я остаюсь один, ибо все мои потомки ушли путями моих врагов и стали мне врагами и погибли.
Желание возвращаться на чистый лист: Уголь черный, снег белый, а звезды слепые И не могут закончить рапорт. По желанию и возможность.
На акварельной бумаге смешно ложатся чернила, Живая клякса, но можно подумать о карандаше. К тому же топор, вилы, настоящая печка (Карбид со стройки и негашеная известь в анамнезе, Геологические наслоения зеленки на разбитых коленках, Когда-то мы узнавали друг друга, зажатые в толпе взрослых, Едва успевая встретиться взглядом, Были один народ.)
Техника скоротечного штриха, По сердцу прочерчено, Наша гравюра умрет с музеем. Отголоски взрослых клише, смешных предрассудков, Тренькающего и бренькающего, Их легко накрывает второй и третьей волной.
Серебряный бор, Рубиновый бром, Адмирал Смерть издалека подойдет на барже (Оставь надежды, у него есть кое-что получше), Не горюй, выше голову, Там уже все собрались.
Effective speech analysis involves deconstructing the acoustic signal into identifiable linguistic units, which depends on the ability to recognize and anticipate temporal patterns within the speech stream. However, these processes may be less efficient in individuals with dyslexia. This study investigated the effects of temporal context and related temporal predictions in dyslexic adult participants and matched control participants, using an auditory oddball task with non-verbal stimuli. Pure tones were presented in sequences, and participants were requested to discriminate the pitch of target stimuli. The temporal intervals between the sounds varied in regularity across the sequences, thereby creating contexts with different levels of temporal predictability. At the end of each sequence, participants were prompted to evaluate the perceived rhythmicity of the sequence and to assess their own performance in the auditory discrimination task. Dyslexic participants demonstrated overall lower accuracy in discriminating target sounds than controls. They also showed reduced influence of the temporal context of the sequences on response times, while controls responded faster in sequences that were temporally more regular and predictable. Additionally, individuals with dyslexia perceived the rhythmicity of sound sequences less accurately, overestimating the temporal regularity in irregular sequences and underestimating it in regular sequences. They also reported lower overall confidence in their ability to perform the task compared to control participants. Altogether, these findings provide converging evidence for altered temporal prediction abilities in dyslexia, which may impact auditory perception and then impair language processing.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a disease of adults involving the loss of dopaminergic neurons after a long, asymptomatic, prodromal period. a-synuclein, LRRK2, and VPS35 are linked to familial PD, however, how these mutations predispose dopamine neurons to death during the early prodromal phases remains unclear. Here, we used in vivo native proximity proteomics (iBioID) and dopaminergic neuron-specific subcellular proteomics across multiple PD models to uncover early alterations preceding neuronal loss. Our analyses identified convergent disruptions in synaptic protein abundance, indicating that presynaptic trafficking defects are early events in PD pathogenesis. Using a targeted CRISPR-based genetic screen in dopamine neurons, we demonstrated that mimicking this misregulation of STXBP1 amplifies vulnerability to a-synuclein, implicating it as a previously underappreciated toxicity buffering factor. These findings highlight convergent mechanisms that sensitize dopamine neuronal degeneration and that presynaptic vesicle SNARE-complex proteins could serve as key targets for disease-modifying therapies in PD and related neurodegenerative disorders.
Speech representations in the human brain do not simply mirror the instantaneous speech signal; rather, they display several properties that are hypothesized to facilitate the integration of speech sounds into words. In particular, neural encodings of speech maintain information that has dissipated from the acoustics, and have also been argued to abstract over variability in how individual speech sounds are produced. Here, we investigate how such characteristics could arise. We introduce a computational framework that uses modern neural network models from speech technology to examine two factors in particular: the learning mechanism and the learning input. We find that self-supervised models trained without lexical or semantic feedback developed temporal dynamics similar to brain representations, regardless of whether they were trained on speech or non-speech audio. In contrast, only models trained on speech learn to abstract over variability due to word position and phonetic context. Overall, our results suggest that domain-general learning mechanisms can lead to several important properties of speech representations, but in some cases require domain-specific input in order to do so.
- Тут не победить. Нам надо проиграть с наименьшими потерями.
- Сомневаюсь я, что так кричал Джордж Вашингтон в битве при Банкер-Хилле.
Однако битву при Банкер-Хилле Вашингтон таки проиграл. Но потерял 450 человек убитыми и ранеными, тогда как англичане - 1 054 человека. Но самое любопытное - не Вашингтон командовал сражением, его там даже не было... О чем, кстати, в серЬЯле тут же и рассказали - потому что хороший серЬЯл.
