This longitudinal study tracked the brains of 139 first-time mothers. Mothers showed lower cortical volume before childbirth that attenuated during the postpartum, with a distinct recovery rate as a function of the brain network and birth type.

Wang et al. found that catecholaminergic neurons in the ventrolateral medulla regulate fasting-induced T cell redistribution. Similar to fasting, these neurons suppressed autoimmune inflammation in mouse models of multiple sclerosis and psoriasis.

Panic disorder is characterized by uncontrollable fear accompanied with unique somatic symptoms. Kang, Kim et al. identify a pontomesencephalic PACAP pathway that plays a crucial role in panic-like behavioral and physiological alterations in mice.

This paper introduces ‘prospective configuration’, a new principle for learning in neural networks, which differs from backpropagation and is more efficient in learning and more consistent with data on neural activity and behavior.

Dopp et al. profiled gene expression in single cells from the whole fly brain, revealing how it changes with sleep/wakefulness states and circadian times. The findings highlight the role of glia in integrating sleep drive and circadian processes.

This paper shows that memory engrams are dynamic: neurons drop in and out as engrams become selective during memory consolidation. Inhibition and inhibitory plasticity are crucial for the expression and emergence of memory selectivity, respectively.

Immune activity can influence sleep, but the role of microglia has remained unclear. Ma, Li and colleagues show that microglia can promote sleep through P2Y12–G_i-coupled GPCR signaling, intracellular calcium increase and suppression of norepinephrine transmission.

This study reports a motif of local field potentials that maps onto the anatomical layers of the cortex, is preserved across macaque cortical areas and across primates and may represent a ubiquitous layer-based and frequency-based cortical mechanism.

Tasnim et al. show that ASD-associated genes act in different compartments of somatosensory circuits and that differences in developmental timing of ASD gene function and circuit maturation contribute to phenotypic heterogeneity across ASD models.

Using in vivo imaging in zebrafish, Li and colleagues found that neuron–oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) synapses regulate OPC development and myelination via Ca²⁺ signaling, elucidating a new role for neuron–glia interactions in shaping the CNS.

As Nature Neuroscience celebrates its 25th anniversary, we are having conversations with both established leaders in the field and those earlier in their careers to discuss how the field has evolved and where it is heading. This month we are talking to Bill Martin, Global Therapeutic Area Head, Neuroscience at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. We discussed the challenges and opportunities ahead for the development of treatments for psychiatric disease.

As Nature Neuroscience celebrates its 25th anniversary, we are having conversations with both established leaders in the field and those earlier in their careers to discuss how the field has evolved, and where it is heading. This month, we are talking to Ukpong Eyo (Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Virginia, USA), a glial biologist interested in the role of microglia in neurodevelopment, health and disease, about science, family, and the benefits of finding your balance.