Experiments in human cortical organoid and mouse models of SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency, which is associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), reveal altered cortical neurogenesis, suggesting that a non-synaptic mechanism contributes to the disorder.

This study applies topological analysis to hippocampal ripple waveforms, uncovering a low-dimensional continuum that encodes layer-specific synaptic input information. It also reveals how ripple waveforms vary during wakefulness, sleep and learning.

The authors describe the connectivity, response profile and behavioral roles of two transcriptionally defined amygdala populations from separate embryonic lineages and show how responses of one population change with social experience.

Nelson et al. report that the APOE-R136S mutation protects against APOE4-promoted Alzheimer’s disease pathologies, including phosphorylated Tau accumulation, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, in mouse and human neuron models.

Li et al. developed a base-editing system to edit mutations linked to autism. Targeting a mutation in Mef2c restored Mef2c protein levels in several brain regions and reversed behavioral changes in Mef2c-mutant mice.

The authors identify a cluster of ~160 peptidergic neurons in the mouse brainstem whose activity is necessary and sufficient for producing sound and controlling sound volume. These neurons form the final common pathway for vocalization.

The ENIGMA-ORIGINs group presents a large and globally diverse pediatric neuroimaging dataset from birth to age 6. They use this resource to study the effects of sociodemographics and adverse birth outcomes on trajectories of brain volumes and cognition.

Neuronal somata perform higher levels of aerobic glycolysis and lower levels of OXPHOS than terminals, which safeguards against oxidative damage.

Parker et al. recorded neural activity in V1 of freely moving mice and freely gazing marmosets. In both species, neurons respond to gaze shifts in a temporal sequence, such that new visual input is processed in a ‘coarse’ to ‘fine’ manner.

Stathmin-2 is lost in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Here the authors show that stathmin-2 has an essential role in the maintenance of axon structure, with its loss from adult motor neurons resulting in axonal collapse and muscle denervation.

George Aghajanian died on July 4, 2023 in Guildford, Connecticut, at the age of 91. An electrophysiologist and innovator, George was a much-loved mentor, colleague and friend. His laboratory captured the first in vivo recordings of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine neurons. For over half a century, George’s research at the Yale University School of Medicine opened new fields of discovery in neuroscience.

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 neuroscience has evolved, and where it is heading. This month, we are talking to Corey Harwell, Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. We spoke about the mentors who shaped his early interest in neuroscience, and how his lab lets their data lead them in interesting directions.

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 Costantino Iadecola (Director and Chair of the Feil Family Brain & Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, NY, USA), a neurovascular biologist and physician interested in the roles of vasculature, hypertension and immune cells in ischemic stroke and neurodegenerative diseases.