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Fragments of the protein α-synuclein, which accumulates in substantia nigra neurons in Parkinson disease, are expressed on the surface of these substantia nigra neurons and induce a form of autoimmunity that could account for the degeneration of these cells in the disease.
The idea that specialized cognitive processes or brain regions are devoted to particular cognitive functions — known as domain specificity — remains an area of substantial debate. Adolphs and Spunt outline the challenges in defining and assessing domain specificity and use social neuroscience findings to suggest a new approach.
Disease progression in a mouse model of Alzheimer disease is associated with the appearance of a population of disease-associated microglia that can phagocytose amyloid-β.
Mammals detect the nutrient content, palatability and potential toxicity of food through taste buds that are present mainly in the tongue. In this Review, Roper and Chaudhari discuss the taste bud cells, receptors and transmitters that are involved in taste detection, how these cells communicate with sensory afferent fibres, and peripheral taste coding.
Empathy is a characteristic of all mammals that ranges from being sensitive to another's emotions to adopting their perspective. In this Review, de Waal and Preston discuss current hypotheses concerning how the emotional states of others are understood in a variety of species.
The prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus have distinct and complementary roles in episodic memory, and their interactions are also crucial for memory. Eichenbaum describes the pathways and mechanisms mediating these interactions and suggests a model of how these regions communicate to retrieve cued memories.
Sex differences in behaviour and disease vulnerability are mirrored by the cellular and molecular sexual dimorphism of the brain. McCarthy and colleagues review findings that have highlighted the roles of inflammation and epigenetics in sex-specific brain differentiation and function.
Thirst is a homeostatic response to changes in fluid balance and is governed by a set of interconnected brain structures known as the lamina terminalis. In this Progress article, Knight and colleagues summarize recent updates to our understanding of the neural circuitry underlying thirst and drinking behaviour in mammals.
The transition from an odour being novel to being familiar inDrosophila Melanogasterinvolves dopaminergic modulation of the kenyon cell–α′3 mushroom body output neuron synapse in the fly mushroom body.
Small-molecule–neuropeptide co-transmission is pervasive throughout the nervous system of all animals. In this Review, Nusbaum, Blitz and Marder discuss how co-transmission is an important source for the considerable flexibility that has been established for synapses, circuits and behaviour.
Parkinson disease is often characterized as a disorder of movement; however, it is also associated with many non-motor features, some of which appear early in the disease course. In this article, Schapira and colleagues provide an overview of these diverse features and their neurobiological basis.
