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Neuroscientists can measure activity from more neurons than ever before, garnering new insights and posing challenges to traditional theoretical frameworks. New frameworks may help researchers use these observations to shed light on brain function.
The authors uncovered the physiological mechanism underlying the functional role of melanin-concentrating hormone in the dorsolateral septum, a region involved in routing hippocampal firing rhythms and encoding spatial memory.
Xie et al. report that GABAergic neurons in the anterior hypothalamic nucleus control mechanically evoked defensive attack, an important survival behavior that is often the last line of defense against threatening stimuli (for example, predators).