We tested the influence of a photothrombotic lesion in somatosensory cortex on plasticity in the mouse visual system and the efficacy of anti-inflammatory treatment to rescue compromised learning. To challenge plasticity mechanisms, we induced monocular deprivation (MD) in 3-mo-old mice. In control animals, MD induced an increase of visual acuity of the open eye and an ocular dominance (OD) shift towards this eye. In contrast, after photothrombosis, there was neither an enhancement of visual acuity nor an OD-shift. However, OD-plasticity was present in the hemisphere contralateral to the lesion. Anti-inflammatory treatment restored sensory learning but not OD-plasticity, as did a 2-wk delay between photothrombosis and MD. We conclude that (i) both sensory learning and cortical plasticity are compromised in the surround of a cortical lesion; (ii) transient inflammation is responsible for impaired sensory learning, suggesting anti-inflammatory treatment as a useful adjuvant therapy to support rehabilitation following stroke; and (iii) OD-plasticity cannot be conceptualized solely as a local process because nonlocal influences are more important than previously assumed.

Disease epidemiology during ageing shows a transition from cancer to degenerative chronic disorders as dominant contributors to mortality in the old. Nevertheless, it has remained unclear to what extent molecular signatures of ageing reflect this phenomenon. Here we report on the identification of a conserved transcriptomic signature of ageing based on gene expression data from four vertebrate species across four tissues. We find that ageingassociated transcriptomic changes follow trajectories similar to the transcriptional alterations observed in degenerative ageing diseases but are in opposite direction to the transcriptomic alterations observed in cancer. We confirm the existence of a similar antagonism on the genomic level, where a majority of shared risk alleles which increase the risk of cancer decrease the risk of chronic degenerative disorders and vice versa. These results reveal a fundamental trade-off between cancer and degenerative ageing diseases that sheds light on the pronounced shift in their epidemiology during ageing.

Experimental studies in small rodents requiring high spatial resolution can be performed by using a clinical 3 T scanner with appropriate dedicated coils.

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Modern optical measurement technologies such as structured light microscopy or fringe-projection profilometry rely fundamentally on structured illumination of the specimen or probe. Miniaturizing the applied illumination concept enables the availability of these methodologies even in spatial domains that have remained inaccessible so far. Here we introduce a design methodology to realize complex illumination patterns with high diffraction efficiencies in a strongly miniaturized and functional integrated approach. This is achieved by combining the advantages of refractive freeform wavefront tailoring and diffractive beam shaping. This novel concept overcomes classical stray light issues known from conventional diffractive beam shaping and remains valid for micro-optical systems, i.e., beyond the geometric optical regime. Moreover, the design process is in particular optimized to reduce the aspect ratio of the obtained surface features. This strongly improves the manufacturability and as-built performance of the designed optical element, and the feasibility of the approach is demonstrated by the design and realization of monolithic beam shaping units on the tips of optical fibers via two-photon direct laser writing. This provides the means to realize complex illumination patterns in an integrated and mechanically flexible approach.

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