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Learning-to-learn refers to progressive speedup in solving a series of problems with shared structure. This study shows that it emerges in recurrent neural networks from the reuse and refinement of a neural state subspace underlying schema formation.
Can erasing bad memories relieve pain? Stegemann et al. uncover the cellular basis of fear–pain interactions, reporting that fear potentiates pain via memories encoded in prefrontal engrams. Blocking these memory traces reduces chronic pain in mice.
During planning, the brain rapidly activates memories of paths leading to reward or punishment. In a new MEG study, the authors show that choosing to approach under uncertainty evokes reactivation of potential punishment, while avoiding reactivates forgone rewards.
By tracking the activity of CA1 neurons during associative learning, Biane, Ladow et al. reveal the distinct contribution of neurons along the dorsoventral axis of CA1 in the encoding and updating of task-related representations throughout learning.
The authors find that the hippocampus creates a spatial and predictive cognitive map, and show how orbitofrontal and hippocampal computations select these maps adaptively to guide novel choices.
The authors show that norepinephrine signaling to astrocytes in the mouse visual cortex acts as a separate neuromodulatory pathway that regulates the effects of arousal on neuronal activity and cortical state.
Zhu et al. found that cholinergic signals from the basal forebrain relay auditory information to the auditory cortex. These signals are modulated by brain and behavioral states and provide repeated auditory representations across the cortical tonotopy.
Sydnor et al. provide evidence that human neurodevelopment unfolds along a hierarchical cortical axis from childhood to adolescence and demonstrate how environmental influences on the maturing brain are shaped by this developmental program.
This study reveals a common mechanism for active reboot of consciousness from anesthesia. Ubiquitination degradation of KCC2 in the ventral posteromedial nucleus (VPM) leads to GABAA receptor-mediated disinhibition, triggering and accelerating recovery of VPM neuron activity and consciousness.
The statistics of natural scenes are not uniform—their structure varies dramatically from ground to sky. A combination of theory and experiments revealed that the visual system has adapted to these inhomogeneities to increase coding efficiency.
Chen et al. describe a new subtype of reactive astrocyte formed by APOE-mediated lipid accumulation in individuals with epilepsy and mouse models. These reactive astrocytes aggravate seizure symptoms and could serve as new therapeutic targets for epilepsy.
The mechanisms of remyelination are unclear. Here, the authors develop and use two-photon apoptotic targeted ablation and show a form of rapid synchronous remyelination mediated by a distinct subset of OPCs that can occur in adult mice but not in aging.
The authors compare three classes of models—acoustic, semantic and sound-to-event deep neural network—to determine which can best link specific features of auditory stimuli to predicted functional magnetic resonance imaging responses in auditory cortical regions.
The caudal ventrolateral medulla was thought to be involved in pain control, but its pathway was unknown. Here, Gu et al. identify the molecular components of a caudal ventrolateral medulla–locus coeruleus–spinal cord pathway and show it has a role in counter-stimulus pain control.
Buch et al. used machine learning to identify brain–behavior dimensions that define four robust ASD subtypes linked to distinct molecular pathways and that suggest personalized therapeutic targets for circuit-based neuromodulation and pharmacotherapy.
The authors find that 40-Hz flickering light does not suppress Aβ, activate microglia or engage native gamma oscillations. Thus, visual flicker stimulation may not be a viable mechanism for altering AD pathology and modulating deep structures.
Information flowing among connected peers shapes our beliefs and decisions. Jiang et al. show that learning on social networks is biased toward well-connected individuals, with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex tracking connectedness on the network that routes learning.
Tovote and colleagues present an analytical framework that integrates threat-evoked inter-related behavioral and cardiac adjustments and allows identification of short- and long-lasting defensive states and their midbrain neuronal mediators.
Microglia mediate aberrant synapse engulfment in Alzheimer’s
disease (AD), but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here the authors
show a perivascular cells-to-microglia crosstalk that induces microglia phagocytic
state resulting in synapse engulfment in two mouse models of AD.
The authors map thalamic synapses onto layer 2/3 mouse visual cortex neurons, showing they are sparse, small and heterogeneously distributed. Modeling these data suggests that a few neurons could together reliably decode thalamic visual input.