Cognitive maps are theorized to enable generalizing experiences in new situations. Park et al. show that non-spatial experiences sampled piecemeal are integrated into a two-dimensional cognitive map of social hierarchy, and a grid code is used for novel inferences.

This paper identified >500 genetic loci associated with behaviors and disorders related to self-regulation, including addiction and child behavior problems. The resulting genetic risk scores predict several behavioral, medical and social outcomes.

This paper explores neural network and cellular complexity within human cortical and subcortical fusion organoids. The platform is used to model network dysfunction associated with Rett syndrome and to identify new therapeutic candidates.

Using single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, Hasel et al. uncover complex reactive astrocyte subtypes that occupy distinct areas of the brain. They find two super-responders expressing unique genes in strategic locations in the brain.

Cognitive maps are theorized to enable generalizing experiences in new situations. Park et al. show that non-spatial experiences sampled piecemeal are integrated into a two-dimensional cognitive map of social hierarchy, and a grid code is used for novel inferences.

This paper identified >500 genetic loci associated with behaviors and disorders related to self-regulation, including addiction and child behavior problems. The resulting genetic risk scores predict several behavioral, medical and social outcomes.

This paper explores neural network and cellular complexity within human cortical and subcortical fusion organoids. The platform is used to model network dysfunction associated with Rett syndrome and to identify new therapeutic candidates.

Using single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, Hasel et al. uncover complex reactive astrocyte subtypes that occupy distinct areas of the brain. They find two super-responders expressing unique genes in strategic locations in the brain.

Ma et al. show that the PVT biases the selection of passive and active defensive behaviors via mostly segregated projections to the CeA and the NAc. Their results update current views on the role of the midline thalamus in fear-related behaviors.

Kim et al. found that visual inputs trigger gated feedforward inhibition of ACC neurons, which disinhibits striatal motor neurons and initiates precise responses in mice performing a visual Go/No-go task.

Peter Lakatos passed away on Sunday, 30 May 2021. He was 49 years old. Peter was a Research Scientist at the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research in New York State and a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. With Peter’s sudden death, neuroscience has lost a gentle giant.

Academics are not immune to the biases contributing to persistent inequalities in society. We face an urgent need to overhaul and dismantle current evaluation practices that uphold inequities at multiple points along the academic pipeline. Graduate admissions and faculty advancement are two arenas of gatekeeping in which a reimagining and redistribution of weighting of commonly used evaluation metrics are warranted. We define and promote the use of dynamic, flexible holistic evaluation models that can be implemented by first recognizing and acknowledging the biases that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in academia. Leaders of academic institutions must step up to drive adoption of these revised evaluation metrics.

Leslie Gail Ungerleider, a distinguished experimental psychologist and neuroscientist, previously Chief of the Laboratory of Brain and Cognition at the National Institute of Mental Health, died suddenly on 11 December 2020. Friends, family, colleagues, and trainees all the world over mourn her passing, but also celebrate her life and extraordinary achievements.

In this special issue, we present a series of reviews, perspectives and commentaries that highlight advances in methods and analytical approaches and provide guidelines and best practices in various areas of neuroscience.

Horace Basil Barlow, Fellow of the Royal Society, winner of the Australia Prize, the Royal Medal of the Royal Society and the Schwartz Prize of the Society for Neuroscience, died on 5 July 2020 at the age of 98, 10 days after suffering a stroke. As news spread among his former students and collaborators, one phrase recurred again and again in the messages of nostalgic reflection: ‘the end of an era’.