Articles in 2022

Neuropeptide Y released in the rat spleen by neurons of the suprarenal and coeliac ganglia can regulate immune-cell activation.

Androgen signalling during development may represent the mechanism underpinning some observed sex-differences in adult human brain size.

A new study identifies a neuronal cluster in the brainstem that coordinates rhythmic crying with breathing in neonatal mice.

A group of thalamic neurons in mice promote arousal and defensive behaviours in response to threat and enable sleep adaptations in the face of long-term predatory stress.

Neuropod cells in the gut epithelium of mice are sensory transducers for sweet stimuli and mediate the preference for sugar over artificial sweeteners.

Spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus) are revealed to recover motor co-ordination following complete spinal cord transection, owing to regrowth of axonal motor pathways across the lesion site.

Reproductive state-dependent social behaviours in female mice are governed by the responsiveness of a hypothalamic neuron subtype to male cues

Temporarily reducing inhibition in CA1 of the mouse hippocampus enables stimulation-induced over-representation of rewarded locations.

Deciphering the mechanisms that cause encoded memories to be forgotten may help us to understand both adaptive forgetting and pathological memory loss. In this Perspective, Tomás Ryan and Paul Frankland propose that forgetting involves neuroplasticity that alters engram cells accessibility and is governed by changes in environmental predictability.

Crosstalk between the peripheral nervous system and the immune system coordinates responses to external and internal threats, including pathogens and tissue damage. Chiu and colleagues review our current understanding of the mechanisms by which sensory, sympathetic, parasympathetic and enteric neurons modulate immune cell function.

Ingestive and digestive processes are initiated and regulated by mechanosensory signals along the digestive tract. In this Review, Kim, Heo and Kim discuss recent discoveries of specific mechanoreceptors, contributing ion channels and well-defined circuits underlying gut mechanosensation, focusing on the oral and pharyngeal cavities, oesophagus, stomach and intestines.