News & Views

How does the brain evaluate whether the benefits of a decision outweigh the costs? A study now reveals that neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex encode costs and benefits, and altering brain activity here biases choices away from negative outcomes. These results link anterior cingulate cortex with the regulation of emotional states.

Tanycytes in the hypothalamic median eminence have now been found to form a metabolically sensitive neurogenic niche in the brain. In adult mice, tanycytes give rise to hypothalamic regulatory neurons in response to a high-fat diet.

In the developing cortex, spike timing–dependent long-term depression requires cannabinoid-induced glutamate release from astrocytes. Astrocytes may be integral to the coincidence detection that guides plasticity and map formation.

Odorants are now shown to elevate mitochondrial Ca²⁺ in sensory neurons; moreover, blocking this Ca²⁺ sequestration impairs dynamic range. Acute stimulation rapidly recruits mitochondria from the soma to the dendritic knob.

A drug that promotes cell death in cancer cells prevents cell death in post-ischemic neurons. These contrasting effects stem from the distinct actions of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-x_L and its cleavage product, ΔN-Bcl-x_L.

How do sensory systems encode prolonged stimuli? A study reveals molecular and circuit mechanisms by which C. elegans interprets oxygen concentration to produce both transient and long-lasting behaviors.

Extracts from the Cannabis plants, or cannabinoids, bind to the same receptors as do endogenous cannabinoids. Although usually found on nerve terminals, where their activation inhibits transmitter release, cannabinoid receptors are now reported to exist on mitochondria, where their activation by endocannabinoids regulates energy metabolism.

A study now demonstrates how dendritic architecture and differential synaptic innervation can account for functional heterogeneity of dopaminergic neurons in the substantial nigra.

The primary cilium, a signal transduction organelle, is present on the cell bodies of adult-born dentate gyrus granule cells as they begin maturation. In its absence, their maturation and integration are impaired.

A synthesis of opto- and pharmacogenetics is beginning to reveal how various interneuron types direct incoming traffic in the hippocampus to help create a map of the environment.

A single amino acid residue determines single-channel conductance, ion permeation and channel block in the NMDA receptor, three of the key features of this ligand-gated ion channel.

How do we make decisions? A study uses MEG to provide the spatial as well as the temporal resolution needed to answer this question, together with computational modeling, which allows for complex non-linear decision models. This work helps resolve some of the seemingly contradictory results from previous work.

A mathematical model based on the dynamics of molecular signaling pathways predicts an optimal training regimen that enhances learning and memory.

A study uses light-gated ion channels to control the activity of neurons in each eye, thereby revealing how the timing of neuronal firing dictates whether visual circuits segregate from one another or stay mixed.

A knock-in mouse mimicking a MeCP2 mutation found in human Rett syndrome recapitulates disease features, including progressive motor and cognitive impairments—and correlations emerge between MeCP2 dosage in mice and phenotype.

Brain regions exhibit specialization for different functions, but such functions are constrained by anatomical connections to other brain regions. A study now finds that, by measuring these connections, we can predict complex functional responses before the subject has even performed the task.

Cell specification of olfactory receptor neurons in Drosophila is orchestrated by context-dependent response to Notch signaling mediated by Hamlet, which directs specific chromatin modifications in subsets of neurons.