Articles in 2018

The brain can be parcellated into areas or networks with different structural or functional properties. Eickhoff, Yeo and Genon describe various imaging-based strategies to parcellate the human brain, including those based on local properties, such as cytoarchitecture, and global properties, such as connectivity.

Number neurons encoding symbolic and nonsymbolical representations of numerical value are identified in the human medial temporal lobe

In a genetic mouse model related to schizophrenia, restoring the excitability of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in hippocampal CA1 ameliorates network dysfunction and behavioural deficits.

Vagal afferents projecting from the gut to the brainstem and then relayed on to the midbrain carry reward signals that trigger dopamine release in the dorsal striatum.

Study shows that population activity in the rat lateral entorhinal cortex can encode the passage of time, which may contribute to temporal aspects of episodic memory.

Various techniques can be used to image aspects of the pathophysiology of Alzheimer disease in humans, notably protein deposition and neurodegeneration. In this Review, William Jagust discusses how human neuroimaging studies have shaped our understanding of this disease.

Hippocampal cannabinoid 1 receptors are shown to be involved in the formation of incidental associations between pairs of low-salience sensory stimuli, which can then become indirectly associated with certain cues and thus influence behaviour.

Mice receiving autoantibodies against the GluA2 AMPA receptor subunit from individuals with autoimmune encephalitis exhibit changes in AMPA receptor subunit composition and impaired synaptic plasticity and memory.

Technological advances have allowed the molecular ‘signatures’ of microglia to be characterized, providing insight into their roles in CNS function. Weiner and Butovsky discuss the plasticity of these signatures in health and disease and consider the mechanisms underlying their establishment, maintenance and regulation.

Inflammasomes are pro-inflammatory protein complexes that become activated in a range of neurodegenerative conditions. In this review, Heneka and colleagues discuss recent findings that provide fresh insights on the role of inflammasomes across cell types and disease states in the brain.

Rodent models are extensively used to investigate the pathophysiology of Alzheimer disease. In this Review, Götz, Bodea and Goedert critically examine the approaches that have been adopted to generate rodent Alzheimer disease models and touch on some of the lessons that have been learned from their use.

Cognitive impairment is a key feature of multiple sclerosis (MS). Di Filippo and colleagues provide an overview of the cognitive domains and brain regions that are affected in MS, with a focus on potential hippocampal mechanisms underlying learning and memory deficits in this disease.

Two studies show that the claustrum delivers inhibition to different parts of the cortex — the prefrontal cortex and auditory cortex.

Spontaneous activity in the developing auditory system is maintained by a homeostatic mechanism and is important for cochlear neuron subtype specification.