Volume 21 Issue 4, April 2020

In the rodent neuropil, monosomes — transcripts each occupied by a single ribosome — are more abundant than polysomes and mediate local translation.

Upregulation of metabolic stress genes could underlie the dysregulation in stem cell differentiation and maturation observed in organoids.

In macaques, the central thalamus modulates cortical feedforward and feedback pathways to control levels of consciousness.

The claustrum is identified in two different reptiles — the Australian bearded dragon and the turtle — suggesting it is an ancient brain structure.

In recent decades, our understanding of the molecules and pathways involved in the classical axon degeneration pathway, Wallerian degeneration, has been transformed. Coleman and Höke synthesize the recent developments in the field and discuss how the findings might be translated to aid the treatment of human disease.

Learning the value of stimuli and actions from others — social learning — is crucial for survival. In this review, Olsson, Knapska and Lindström discuss the neural and computational systems underlying social and self-experienced learning, and integrate this knowledge with behavioural phenomena of varying complexity.

Voltage-gated calcium channels have an essential role in the regulation of neurotransmitter release. Dolphin and Lee describe here how advances in the techniques available to study presynaptic voltage-gated calcium channels have provided insight into their composition, trafficking, regulation and contributions to presynaptic function.

Prior experience is incorporated into the brain’s predictive models of the world, enabling the accurate interpretation of and responses to new sensory information. In this Perspective, Teufel and Fletcher make the case for an important distinction between two forms of prediction that may advance our understanding of brain function.