News & Comment

Synapse formation and function at hippocampal CA1 synapses are shown to be regulated by three classes of leucine-rich repeat-containing adhesion molecules, which act in a modular manner to regulate spine density and synapse function.

Restoring function of the K⁺/Cl^– co-transporter KCC2 in spinal inhibitory interneurons spared after spinal cord injury helps the recovery of hindlimb function in mice.

The brains of individuals who have been addicted to opiate drugs show an increase in the number of hypocretin-expressing neurons — the same neurons that are lost in individuals with narcolepsy.

In mice, ‘lost’ infant memories can be recovered through the optogenetic reactivation of silent engrams in the hippocampus.

A discrete subpopulation of CA1 pyramidal cells is identified, which are distinct from place cells, that encode the location of a reward.

A study in flies shows that projections from some groups of glomerular neurons converge on certain types of lateral horn neurons to process combinations of odours that are salient for certain behaviours.

A set of 80 (mostly synaptic) proteins show hyperphosphorylation in sleep-deprived mice and genetically ‘sleepy’ mice, suggesting that increased phosphorylation of such proteins may be associated with sleep need.

Insights into the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which the APOE4 variant increases risk for Alzheimer disease are gained by comparing transcriptomes of neurons, astrocytes and microglia derived from isogenic APOE3- and APOE4-carrying iPSC cell lines.

In genetic fly models of Parkinson disease, disrupted lipid trafficking in neuropeptidergic neurons leads to circadian disruption.

In mice with experimental autoimmune encephalitis, dietary metabolites of tryptophan may modulate the activities of glia to influence neuroinflammation.

Opiate drugs and opioid peptides differ in their effects on intracellular signalling, in which following ligand–receptor binding and internalization, opioids continue to signal from endosomes, whereas opiates activate receptors located at the Golgi.

In mice, neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex that project to the basolateral amygdala are required for observational learning.

New findings demonstrate the coordinated regulation of aligned clusters of presynaptic and postsynaptic proteins in dendritic structural plasticity.

Two molecularly and functionally distinct populations of pyramidal cells in the hippocampal subiculum are characterized

Elevated maternal IL-6 in the maternal circulation can enter the fetus via the maternal—placental—fetal route and alter neurodevelopmental processes, with potentially wide-ranging effects on brain function later in life.

A new study suggests an evolutionary mechanism — involving abnormal spindle-like microcephaly-associated protein — that, in part, underlies cerebral cortical expansion.

Different 3′ untranslated regions of mRNA transcripts are associated with differences in mRNA localization, translation, stability and activity-dependent changes in expression.

In the mouse postnatal hippocampus, microglia trim presynaptic structures by a partial phagocytic process termed trogocytosis and remodel postsynaptic structures.

Distinct output pathways of the nucleus accumbens mediate the opposing effects of context on relapse to alcohol seeking.

In mice, aggression is regulated by the circadian suprachiasmatic nucleus through at least two neural pathways.