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Fear is actively maintained in balance in mice by the insular cortex, which gates extinction learning according to an animal’s fear level using interoceptive signals related to fear expression that are sent to the brain via the vagus nerve.
The recollection of memories and voluntary actions are often perceived to be generated spontaneously. In this Perspective, Itzhak Fried examines evidence from human single-neuron studies indicating that brain systems involved in these acts can form a conceptual–volition interface, where representations of actions and stored memories interact, sometimes in the absence of sensory input and sometimes allowing such input to be overridden.
A prevailing theory of Parkinson disease pathogenesis revolves around the spread of α-synuclein toxicity from the periphery to the brain. In this Review, Blesa and colleagues discuss the idea that, although these bottom-up mechanisms are involved, early neuronal loss in the nigrostriatal system also plays a prominent role.
Stress, a key risk factor for many neuropsychiatric disorders, drives a range of maladaptive physiological changes from genetic to behavioural levels. In this review, Sanacora et al. discuss the mechanisms underlying susceptibility and resilience to acute and chronic stress.
Mapping promoter–enhancer interactions reveals that increased diversity of cell types in the vertebrate CNS coincides with the evolutionary expansion of complexity in noncoding regions of the genome
In the brain of the ant species Harpegnathos saltator, the switch from worker ant to gamergate is regulated by the steroid hormones JH3 and 20E, which induce expression of Kr-h1, a transcription factor that regulates caste-specific gene expression via transcriptional repression.
In mice, peripheral immune responses can be encoded by neurons in the insular cortex, and reactivation of these neurons can lead to retrieval of peripheral inflammation.
The translation of analgesic drug candidates to the clinic relies upon successful preclinical pain modelling. In this Review, Stucky and colleagues describe recent trends in the methods used to model pain in laboratory animals and provide recommendations for experimental designs that may increase translational success.
The amyloid hypothesis has been the dominant model for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease for several decades. In this Perspective, Giovanni Frisoni and colleagues examine evidence for and against this hypothesis before outlining an alternative model, the probabilistic model of Alzheimer disease.
Numerous energy-demanding cellular processes contribute to synaptic activity and function. Li and Sheng describe the mechanisms that regulate presynaptic energy supply to ensure that neurons can meet these demands and maintain their functions during periods of intensive synaptic activity.
In their flagship paper, the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN) describes the classification and analysis of cell types in the mammalian primary motor cortex.
Environmental stressors, including extreme ambient temperature, the presence of pathogens or predators, and a lack of food, can profoundly influence animal behaviour. In this Perspective, Nakamura, Nakamura and Kataoka present a hypothalamomedullary network model for physiological responses to various environmental stressors.
Synaptic dysfunction is a key feature of Alzheimer disease. In this Review, Padmanabhan, Kneynsberg and Götz examine insights provided by super-resolution microscopy into synaptic architecture and organization in Alzheimer disease, focusing on amyloid-β and tau, thought to be two key players in the pathophysiology of the disease.
Targeting two neuronal populations simultaneously with brief bursts of deep brain stimulation (DBS) induces longer-lasting beneficial effects on motor function than conventional DBS in dopamine-depleted mice.
