Reviews & Analysis

The retina encodes visual information and sends it to the brain. We now learn that this neural code varies strongly with light adaptation. Does this mean a change in the message or a change in the way that the message is coded?

Loss of the receptor tyrosine kinase ErbB4 in somatostatin (SOM) inhibitory neurons of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) enhances top-down cortical feedback, improving feature detection at the cost of reduced ability to switch attention. The study furthers our understanding of the circuit mechanisms underlying TRN function.

Single-unit recording in primate cortical area MT shows surprising sensitivity to depth defined by dynamical perspective cues. Depth might then be computed through recurrent circuits involving signals downstream of MT.

A study finds that formation of a cognitive map for a virtual reality environment demands associating specific movement trajectories with views to the constellation of peripheral landmarks.

A study links transient activation of the brain's reward system during a novel experience to frequent reactivation of memory traces during sleep and shows that artificial activation of the reward circuit can strengthen memories.

A study demonstrates that learning different character sets produces a repeatable arrangement of distinct cortical modules, suggesting that a preexisting cortical architecture is repurposed during learning.

A study now provides proof of concept that restoration of Ras-Erk signaling during adulthood rescues cellular and cognitive phenotypes in mouse models of the genetic disorder Noonan syndrome.

A randomized clinical trial in older adults shows that high dietary intake of cocoa flavanols enhances memory performance on an object-recognition task and neural activity as assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, a region that is critical for learning and memory.

Patch-clamp recordings and imaging in retina show that electrical synapses between dendrites of neighboring ganglion cells transform spatial patterns of light activated synaptic input into a temporal population code.

The amygdala is known to play an important role in fear conditioning. In this Review, the authors discuss extended circuits beyond the amygdala mediating fear learning and expression, focusing on the neural coding mechanisms underlying these behaviors.

In this Review, Lüscher and Lüthi draw some parallels between anxiety and addiction disorders as diseases of the brain's emotional valence system. The authors present an update on the anatomy and heterogeneity of the fear and reward circuitries, analyze our understanding of the synaptic and cellular mechanisms thought to underlie the two conditions and discuss recent studies causally linking the resulting circuit dysfunctions and alterations in behavior.

Fruit flies seek water, but only when they are thirsty. And imbibing is rewarding only to water-deprived individuals. The effects of thirst on water seeking and on formation of associative memories of drinking water each are mediated by distinct sets of dopamine neurons that innervate restricted zones of the mushroom bodies in the fly brain.

Cortical neurons reduce spiking responses to repetitive sensory stimulation, but the perceptual impact of this adaptation has been difficult to assess. Work now shows that it has profound consequences for tactile perception.

A study finds evidence supporting co-release of glutamate and GABA, excitatory and inhibitory fast neurotransmitters, from a single axon terminal in neurons of the ventral tegmental area that project to the lateral habenula.

Jeremy Bentham distilled animal behavior as avoiding pain and seeking pleasure. Now, using a combination of different methodological approaches, Roy et al. identify a neural mechanism relevant for learning to avoid pain.

Retrosplenial cortex neurons provide a signal akin to a compass readout. Evidence in humans now demonstrates that these neurons anchor their representations locally, locking to the geometry of a room rather than to the city beyond.

In this Perspective, the authors discuss the recent surge in the collection of "big behavioral data" and how it might contribute to the understanding of how the brain controls behavior. They also highlight the challenges of making sense of increasing amounts of behavioral data.

This article reviews various next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and how they may be applied to the studies of the central nervous system. Specifically, the authors summarize practical information about when and how NGS may be applied to the studies of brain function, highlighting pros and cons of each technique for the unique challenges of studying a mixed population of targets.

In this review, the authors discuss the applications of epigenomics approaches to studies of the CNS and critique the tools available to analyze neuroepigenomics data. They also assess the challenges of integrating these data with that of other approaches, such as transcriptomics, proteomics and behavior.

Neuroimagers have collected large datasets and many of these are now available online. In this review the authors discuss the current state of sharing task-based fMRI data and the many challenges it poses.