Thrilled to share that our work is now published in Science! ✨

We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Congratulations, Emilie — such exciting work!

From RNA to evolution: Come join our next keynote lecture on the choreography of brain development by @debbysilver.bsky.social, Professor at Duke University!

📍September 15 at 11am in NQ105 in Martinsried
Art by @somedonkey.bsky.social

New from the lab: Fatty Acid Metabolism Sets the Species-specific Tempo of Cortical Development through Protein Acetylation Dynamics. Led by amazing trio: @ryo2iwata.bsky.social , Isabel Gallego, @emirerkol.bsky.social, together with @steinaerts.bsky.social , @fendtlab.bsky.social

New from the Bocchi Lab in Nature Communications:
Cortical astrocytes arise from two distinct progenitor lineages with specialized roles.
Glad my lab could support the lineage tracing part using TrackerSeq.
Congratulations to @bocchiric.bsky.social and the whole team!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Interested in developmental epigenetics? So are we! Apply now to join us for your postdoc!

Multiple positions across multiple groups @mrc-lms.bsky.social

Projects spanning germline demethylation, gene regulation, genome architecture in development & disease 👇👇

lms.mrc.ac.uk/work/vacanci...

Ventral telencephalic progenitor maturation is gated by developmental timing, revealing a distinct regulatory logic underlying the development of inhibitory neurons

@annrosebright.bsky.social @flo-neuhaus.bsky.social aus.bsky.social, @chr-mayer.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Grateful to all our collaborators, @elena-dvoretskova.bsky.social, Diana Rodrigues, Michael Myoga, Chao Feng, Ilaraia Vitali, Elif Dönmez and Christian Peters for their contributions to this work!

Explore the data in our interactive app: mayerlab.net/mouse-inhibi...

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Gene regulatory network analysis pointed to NFIB as a central hub. It interacts e.g. with MEIS2 and TCF4, and drives late-stage enhancer activation. Heterochronic transplants suggests: maturation competence is sensitive to environmental timing.
#GeneRegulation #Scenic+ #NFIB #Transplantation
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We also saw a shift in TF activity.

Footprinting showed increased NFI binding, especially NFIB, in late-born cohorts. These neurons activate maturation modules faster — possibly guided by chromatin remodeling during neurogenesis.
#TFfootprints #TranscriptionFactors #scATACseq
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This shift was mirrored in chromatin accessibility.

scATAC-seq revealed stage-specific enhancer activation, with late-born cells opening distinct regulatory elements — especially in distal regions. A dynamic change in the regulatory landscape.
#Chromatin #Epigenetics #scATACseq
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Using FlashTag to label isochronic cohorts, we tracked the fate of early- and late-born GABAergic neurons. Surprisingly, later-born neurons matured faster — reaching advanced transcriptional states in hours rather than days. Differentiation stayed relatively constant; maturation didn’t.
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During corticogenesis, progenitor competence changes over time — generating distinct excitatory neuron types.
But it turns out that in inhibitory lineages, progenitors retain more stable differentiation competence. Instead, temporal progression alters maturation dynamics.
#PatchClamp
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Now out in @natneuro.nature.com: Temporal control of progenitor competence shapes maturation in GABAergic neuron development in mice. Congrats to first authors @annrosebright.bsky.social, Yana Kotlyarenko, @flo-neuhaus.bsky.social, and thanks to all collaborators!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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📢 Announcing the MOPITAS Autumn School on Spatial Transcriptomics Data Analysis – taking place November 12–14, in Munich. Don't miss this excellent opportunity to deepen your expertise in data science and multi-OMICS analysis - especially as a PhD student in the data science community.

some new posters
#sciComm #sciArt #neuroskyence #neuroscience

Attended the Neurogenomics Conference @humantechnopole.bsky.social in Milan earlier this week. Impressive host institute and an inspiring environment. Thanks to the organisers for putting together a strong and engaging meeting.

#NeuroGen25

Our group leader @chr-mayer.bsky.social is one of the awardees of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) Pilot Awards for a novel research project on the role of genetic mutations in chromatin-modifying enzymes in the development of autism – Congratulations!! 🎉 🧠✨

This project is co-funded by the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation (NLMFF). Grateful for their support in advancing research on neurodevelopment and autism spectrum disorders.

More about the grant: www.nlmfoundation.org/grant/epigen...

#NLMFF #AutismResearch #Neurodevelopment

Big thanks to #SFARI for supporting our research through a 2024 Pilot Award. This funding will help us explore how mutations in chromatin regulators ASH1L and SETBP1 impact the development of inhibitory neurons and contribute to autism spectrum disorders.

www.sfari.org/2025/04/08/a...

Alert! Postdoc positions available - at least two. Interested in coming to Karolinska and work on adolescent development/schizophrenia? Have a background in neuroscience, functional genomics, computational analysis or spatial transcriptomics? Large data sets available for analysis. Get in touch!