Featured
-
-
Article
| Open AccessCombinatorial encoding of odors in the mosquito antennal lobe
The human smell that attracts mosquitoes includes many chemical odorants. Here, authors used electrophysiology to probe neurons in the antennal lobe region of the tiny mosquito brain and found that they represent odorants using a combinatorial code.
- Pranjul Singh
- , Shefali Goyal
- & Nitin Gupta
-
Article
| Open AccessDistinct neural mechanisms construct classical versus extraclassical inhibitory surrounds in an inhibitory nucleus in the midbrain attention network
Imc is a midbrain inhibitory nucleus essential for stimulus selection across space. Here, the authors show in the barn owl that global inhibitory surrounds of Imc neurons are constructed within Imc, but their classical inhibitory surrounds are inherited from inputs.
- Hannah M. Schryver
- & Shreesh P. Mysore
-
Article
| Open AccessHomeostatic synaptic plasticity rescues neural coding reliability
How synaptic plasticity affects neural coding reliability is not well understood. Here, the authors find that reducing neurotransmitter release probability triggers a homeostatic compensation to maintain neural coding and behavioral reliability.
- Eyal Rozenfeld
- , Nadine Ehmann
- & Moshe Parnas
-
Article
| Open AccessPrimary somatosensory cortex bidirectionally modulates sensory gain and nociceptive behavior in a layer-specific manner
How the brain controls pain perception remains elusive. Here, authors show that layers 5 and 6 of the somatosensory cortex suppress or enhance nociception through cell-type-specific cortical and corticothalamic interactions.
- Katharina Ziegler
- , Ross Folkard
- & Alexander Groh
-
Article
| Open AccessAdolescent stress impairs postpartum social behavior via anterior insula-prelimbic pathway in mice
The mechanisms of how adolescent stress causes abnormal postpartum social behavior are unclear. Here, authors show an underlying mechanism mediating by the anterior insula-prelimbic cortex pathway and glucocorticoid receptor signaling in mice.
- Kyohei Kin
- , Jose Francis-Oliveira
- & Minae Niwa
-
Article
| Open AccessUpregulation of breathing rate during running exercise by central locomotor circuits in mice
The neuronal basis for respiratory augmentation during running is poorly understood. Here, the authors identify two neuronal pathways by which the central locomotor network can upregulate respiratory rate in running mice.
- Coralie Hérent
- , Séverine Diem
- & Julien Bouvier
-
Article
| Open AccessDistributing task-related neural activity across a cortical network through task-independent connections
Large scale neural recordings show that task-related activity is observed across neural circuits. Here, the authors have identified a network mechanism that promotes distributed activity in the cortex during decision-making via task-independent synapses.
- Christopher M. Kim
- , Arseny Finkelstein
- & Ran Darshan
-
Article
| Open AccessTransient photocurrents in a subthreshold evidence accumulator accelerate perceptual decisions
The rate at which third-order olfactory neurons integrate synaptic inputs to spike threshold is thought to determine the speed of odor discrimination in Drosophila. Here, authors compare the impact of subthreshold optogenetic membrane potential manipulations on decision-making.
- Timothy L. H. Wong
- , Clifford B. Talbot
- & Gero Miesenböck
-
Article
| Open AccessTask-specific modulation of corticospinal neuron activity during motor learning in mice
Corticospinal activity is temporally coded with precise movements in mice. Here the authors investigate the role of corticospinal neuron activity in motor cortex during the learning of either a precise or imprecise task.
- Najet Serradj
- , Francesca Marino
- & Edmund Hollis
-
Article
| Open AccessParabolic avalanche scaling in the synchronization of cortical cell assemblies
The diversity of synchronized neuronal groups provides a challenge for brain theories. Here, the authors report that group size grows quadratically with duration in line with predictions for neuronal avalanches and brain dynamics being critical.
- Elliott Capek
- , Tiago L. Ribeiro
- & Dietmar Plenz
-
Article
| Open AccessCentral medial thalamic nucleus dynamically participates in acute itch sensation and chronic itch-induced anxiety-like behavior in male mice
Itch is known to involve the parabrachial nucleus, but the following transmission nodes remain elusive. Here, the authors show in male mice that the central medial thalamic nucleus—medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) pathway transmits itch signals and is involved in both acute scratching and chronic itch-related affective behavior, with an altered excitatory/inhibitory balance in mPFC in chronic itch models.
- Jia-Ni Li
- , Xue-Mei Wu
- & Yun-Qing Li
-
Article
| Open AccessRegulation of social interaction in mice by a frontostriatal circuit modulated by established hierarchical relationships
Here, the authors identify a frontostriatal circuit that is involved in regulating social interactions based on learned hierarchical relationships.
- Robert N. Fetcho
- , Baila S. Hall
- & Conor Liston
-
Article
| Open AccessNeural mechanism of acute stress regulation by trace aminergic signalling in the lateral habenula in male mice
Effective stress regulation is essential for the survival of vertebrates. Here, the authors show that the lateral habenula trace aminergic signalling activates the mesolimbic pathway through suppressing the rostromedial tegmental nucleus to manage stress.
- Soo Hyun Yang
- , Esther Yang
- & Hyun Kim
-
Article
| Open AccessParasubthalamic calretinin neurons modulate wakefulness associated with exploration in male mice
The neural circuits regulating wakefulness have not been fully resolved. Here, the authors reveal that neurons expressing calretinin in the parasubthalamic nucleus play a key role in the induction and maintenance of the awake state associated with exploration via projections to the ventral tegmental area.
- Han Guo
- , Jian-Bo Jiang
- & Wei-Min Qu
-
Article
| Open AccessHippocampal sharp wave ripples underlie stress susceptibility in male mice
Stressful memories are a possible factor to induce psychiatric symptoms. Here, the authors demonstrate that stress susceptibility is related to memory consolidation mechanisms in the ventral hippocampus.
- Nahoko Kuga
- , Ryota Nakayama
- & Takuya Sasaki
-
Article
| Open AccessFunctional MRI reveals brain-wide actions of thalamically-initiated oscillatory activities on associative memory consolidation
Thalamic spindle activities may support memory consolidation. Here the authors show that optogenetically-evoked somatosensory thalamic spindle-like activity enhances memory performance in male rats.
- Xunda Wang
- , Alex T. L. Leong
- & Ed X. Wu
-
Article
| Open AccessPlasticity in ventral pallidal cholinergic neuron-derived circuits contributes to comorbid chronic pain-like and depression-like behaviour in male mice
The cholinergic circuits involved in pain modulation remain poorly understood. Here, the authors show that reversal of plasticity in the ventral pallidum-basolateral amygdala cholinergic pathway relieves hyperalgesia and depression-like behaviours in a chronic pain mouse model.
- Ya-Wei Ji
- , Zi-Lin Shen
- & Cheng Xiao
-
Article
| Open AccessMotor cortex gates distractor stimulus encoding in sensory cortex
The neocortex can filter out stimuli that distract us from our goals. Here the authors demonstrate in mice a mechanism of distractor filtering, in which top-down inputs from motor cortex to sensory cortex prevents the internal propagation of distractor stimuli.
- Zhaoran Zhang
- & Edward Zagha
-
Article
| Open AccessPeripersonal encoding of forelimb proprioception in the mouse somatosensory cortex
In contrast to tactile sensations, proprioceptive cortical coding is barely studied in the mammalian brain. Here, using calcium imaging and optogenetic silencing experiments during a forelimb displacement paradigm in mice, the authors locate the proprioceptive cortex to both sensory and motor cortex, and further find passive limb movements to be encoded as a spatial direction vector interfacing the limb with the body’s peripersonal space.
- Ignacio Alonso
- , Irina Scheer
- & Mario Prsa
-
Article
| Open AccessCoregistration of heading to visual cues in retrosplenial cortex
To navigate, animals use visual landmarks to orient themselves within an environment. Here, the authors show how neuronal populations in retrosplenial cortex can use visual input to align the animal’s internal compass to landmarks in the external world
- Kevin K. Sit
- & Michael J. Goard
-
Article
| Open AccessDistributed processing for value-based choice by prelimbic circuits targeting anterior-posterior dorsal striatal subregions in male mice
The prelimbic region of the prefrontal cortex is involved in goal-directed action. Here the authors investigate the function of the prelimbic pathways projecting along the anterior posterior striatal axis in value based decision making in male mice.
- Kyuhyun Choi
- , Eugenio Piasini
- & Marc V. Fuccillo
-
Article
| Open AccessLateral septum adenosine A2A receptors control stress-induced depressive-like behaviors via signaling to the hypothalamus and habenula
The mechanism underlying caffeine consumption inversely correlation with depression is unclear. Here, authors identified adenosine A2A receptor in the lateral septum mediating depressive symptoms via direct outputs to the habenula and the hypothalamus.
- Muran Wang
- , Peijun Li
- & Wei Guo
-
Article
| Open AccessSubcortical serotonin 5HT2c receptor-containing neurons sex-specifically regulate binge-like alcohol consumption, social, and arousal behaviors in mice
The neurobiological mechanisms by which binge alcohol consumption disrupts social and emotional functioning are unknown. Here, the authors demonstrate that sex-specific social and arousal disturbances induced by binge alcohol consumption are driven by dysregulation of serotonergic signaling and activation of 5HT2c receptor-containing neurons in the lateral habenula in mice.
- M. E. Flanigan
- , O. J. Hon
- & T. L. Kash
-
Article
| Open AccessActivation of the CA2-ventral CA1 pathway reverses social discrimination dysfunction in Shank3B knockout mice
The SHANK3 gene is linked to autism spectrum disorder and Phelan McDermid syndrome, which have been associated with social memory deficits. Here, authors show activation of the hippocampal CA2-ventral CA1 circuit in adult Shank3B knockout mice restores social memory.
- Elise C. Cope
- , Samantha H. Wang
- & Elizabeth Gould
-
Article
| Open AccessCharacterizing brain dynamics during ketamine-induced dissociation and subsequent interactions with propofol using human intracranial neurophysiology
The neural mechanisms underpinning ketamine’s dissociative and antidepressant effects remain poorly understood. Here, the authors analyzed ketamine-induced brain dynamics with intracranial recordings in humans and found that ketamine engages different brain areas in distinct frequency-dependent patterns that may relate to its dissociative and antidepressant effects.
- Fangyun Tian
- , Laura D. Lewis
- & Patrick L. Purdon
-
Article
| Open AccessDeterminants of functional synaptic connectivity among amygdala-projecting prefrontal cortical neurons in male mice
Little is known about the synaptic organization of associative cortical structures such as the medial prefrontal cortex. Here, the authors use two-photon optogenetic stimulation to obtain a detailed cellular resolution map of functional synaptic connectivity of the mouse medial prefrontal cortex, finding unique spatial patterns of local-circuit connectivity in neurons that project to the basolateral amygdala.
- Yoav Printz
- , Pritish Patil
- & Ofer Yizhar
-
Article
| Open AccessCocaine induces locomotor sensitization through a dopamine-dependent VTA-mPFC-FrA cortico-cortical pathway in male mice
The prefrontal cortex is involved in cocaine abuse disorders. Here, the authors show that cocaine suppresses frontal association cortex (FrA) in awake mice and induces locomotor sensitization through a dopamine dependent VTA-vmPFC-FrA pathway.
- Lun Wang
- , Min Gao
- & Zhuan Zhou
-
Article
| Open AccessThe cerebellum regulates fear extinction through thalamo-prefrontal cortex interactions in male mice
Fear extinction is a learning process controlled by the prefrontal cortex. Here, authors show that the cerebellum regulates fear extinction via projections to the medio-dorsal thalamus and the modulation of thalamo-prefrontal cortex interactions.
- Jimena L. Frontera
- , Romain W. Sala
- & Clément Léna
-
Article
| Open AccessComplexity of cortical wave patterns of the wake mouse cortex
The cerebral cortex has ongoing electrical activities with rich and complex patterns in space and time. Here, the authors use optical voltage imaging in mice and computational methods, relating these complexities to different levels of wakefulness.
- Yuqi Liang
- , Junhao Liang
- & Changsong Zhou
-
Article
| Open AccessCholinergic deficits selectively boost cortical intratelencephalic control of striatum in male Huntington’s disease model mice
The corticostriatal dysfunction underlying Huntington’s disease remains incompletely understood. Here, the authors find increased intratelencephalic connectivity resulting from deficient cholinergic transmission in a mouse model of Huntington’s disease.
- Tristano Pancani
- , Michelle Day
- & D. James Surmeier
-
Article
| Open AccessInferring neuron-neuron communications from single-cell transcriptomics through NeuronChat
Neurons communicate differently from non-neuronal cells. Here, authors present a method, NeuronChat, that utilizes scRNA-seq data and/or spatial transcriptomics to infer, visualize and analyze neural-specific cell-cell communication.
- Wei Zhao
- , Kevin G. Johnston
- & Qing Nie
-
Article
| Open AccessStress-induced plasticity of a CRH/GABA projection disrupts reward behaviors in mice
Reward circuit dysfunction is a mechanism for key emotional disorders that commonly arise after early life stresses (ELA). Here, the authors discover a projection from amygdala to nucleus accumbens that underlies ELA-induced reward deficits in mice.
- Matthew T. Birnie
- , Annabel K. Short
- & Tallie Z. Baram
-
Article
| Open AccessAn analgesic pathway from parvocellular oxytocin neurons to the periaqueductal gray in rats
The hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin exerts analgesic effects, but the underlying pathways remain largely elusive. Here, the authors describe an analgesic pathway formed by oxytocin neurons projecting to the periaqueductal grey, where axonally released oxytocin activates oxytocin-receptor expressing GABA neurons and subsequently reduces pain-like behaviors in both female and male rats.
- Mai Iwasaki
- , Arthur Lefevre
- & Alexandre Charlet
-
Article
| Open AccessRescue of neuropsychiatric phenotypes in a mouse model of 16p11.2 duplication syndrome by genetic correction of an epilepsy network hub
The 16p11.2 duplication confers risk for autism and schizophrenia, but the disease mechanisms are unknown. Here, the authors use proteomics to show dysregulation of synaptic and epilepsy-associated protein networks in the cortex of model mice, and demonstrate that correcting Prrt2 gene dosage rescues circuit hypersynchrony and behavioural phenotypes.
- Marc P. Forrest
- , Marc Dos Santos
- & Peter Penzes
-
Article
| Open AccessOptogenetic stimulation of anterior insular cortex neurons in male rats reveals causal mechanisms underlying suppression of the default mode network by the salience network
The salience network has been hypothesised to modulate default mode network activity during stimulus-driven cognition. Here, the authors show that in rats, stimulation of the anterior insular cortex, a key node of the salience network, suppresses the default mode network and decouples these networks, providing in vivo evidence of a causal role of the anterior insular cortex in brain network switching.
- Vinod Menon
- , Domenic Cerri
- & Yen-Yu Ian Shih
-
Article
| Open AccessMulti-area recordings and optogenetics in the awake, behaving marmoset
Tools for neurophysiological monitoring in the marmoset are important for studies using this model. Here the authors perform multi-area neural recordings in awake behaving marmosets, and integrate with optogenetics and behaviour.
- Patrick Jendritza
- , Frederike J. Klein
- & Pascal Fries
-
Article
| Open AccessOptogenetic frequency scrambling of hippocampal theta oscillations dissociates working memory retrieval from hippocampal spatiotemporal codes
How temporal coordination of neurons in the hippocampus contributes to memory function is not well understood. Here the authors show that abolishing hippocampal theta oscillations lead to impaired working and episodic memory while leaving spatiotemporal codes intact.
- Guillaume Etter
- , Suzanne van der Veldt
- & Sylvain Williams
-
Article
| Open AccessAn optofluidic platform for interrogating chemosensory behavior and brainwide neural representation in larval zebrafish
Studying chemosensory processing desires precise chemical cue presentation, behavioral response monitoring, and large-scale neuronal activity recording. Here, the authors report a fluidics-based toolkit for studying chemosensation in larval zebrafish, and used it to reveal the brainwide neural representations of cadaverine sensing and its binasal input-dependent behavioral avoidance.
- Samuel K. H. Sy
- , Danny C. W. Chan
- & Ho Ko
-
Article
| Open AccessDistributed context-dependent choice information in mouse posterior cortex
In the posterior cortex, which is involved in decision making, the strength and area specificity of choice signals are highly variable. Here the authors show that the representation of choice in the posterior area of the mouse brain is orthogonal to that of sensory and movement-related signals, with modulations determined by task features and cognitive demands.
- Javier G. Orlandi
- , Mohammad Abdolrahmani
- & Andrea Benucci
-
Article
| Open AccessDecreased but diverse activity of cortical and thalamic neurons in consciousness-impairing rodent absence seizures
Absence seizures impair consciousness by an unknown neuronal mechanism. Here, the authors find that a rat absence seizure model’s behavior and hemodynamics recapitulate previously reported characteristics of human absence seizures, and uncover four distinct patterns of neuronal activity in cortex and thalamus during consciousness-impairing seizures.
- Cian McCafferty
- , Benjamin F. Gruenbaum
- & Hal Blumenfeld
-
Article
| Open AccessNucleus accumbens circuit disinhibits lateral hypothalamus glutamatergic neurons contributing to morphine withdrawal memory in male mice
Lateral hypothalamus (LH) plays an role in drug addiction. Here, authors present evidence for disinhibited LH glutamatergic neurons by neural circuits from nucleus accumbens to contribute to context-induced expression of morphine withdrawal memory.
- Huan Sheng
- , Chao Lei
- & Ping Zheng
-
Article
| Open AccessContinuous cholinergic-dopaminergic updating in the nucleus accumbens underlies approaches to reward-predicting cues
Nucleus accumbens cholinergic interneurons release acetylcholine and glutamate. Here, authors show that acetylcholine, rather than glutamate, is predominantly involved in updating dopamine dynamics mediating Pavlovian approach behaviours.
- Miguel Skirzewski
- , Oren Princz-Lebel
- & Timothy J. Bussey
-
Article
| Open AccessA nigro–subthalamo–parabrachial pathway modulates pain-like behaviors
Maladaptive plastic changes in the brain are critical for pain maintenance. The authors identify a nigro–subthalamo–parabrachial pathway and reveal that reversing a series of neuronal and synaptic malfunctions in this pathway in acute and chronic pain mitigates hyperalgesia, providing potential therapeutic targets for pain modulation.
- Tao Jia
- , Ying-Di Wang
- & Chunyi Zhou
-
Article
| Open AccessDeep brain stimulation creates informational lesion through membrane depolarization in mouse hippocampus
The neurophysiological mechanisms of deep brain stimulation remain poorly understood. Through fluorescence voltage imaging of individual hippocampal neurons in awake mice, the authors show that deep brain stimulation causes membrane depolarization that impairs a neuron’s ability to respond to intrinsic network activity patterns and optogenetic somatic depolarization, thereby creating an informational lesion.
- Eric Lowet
- , Krishnakanth Kondabolu
- & Xue Han
-
Article
| Open AccessAn HSV-1-H129 amplicon tracer system for rapid and efficient monosynaptic anterograde neural circuit tracing
Minimizing toxicity of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV) based tools for anterograde tracing is important for functional studies. Here the authors generate an anterograde monosynaptic tracer system based on HSV amplicon, which shows fast tracing, bright labeling, low toxicity, input-defined postsynaptic neurons’ anterograde monosynaptic tracing feature, and has potential for functional mapping.
- Feng Xiong
- , Hong Yang
- & Wen-Bo Zeng
-
Article
| Open AccessNoradrenergic signaling mediates cortical early tagging and storage of remote memory
The locus coeruleus norepinephrine system plays a role in various cognitive functions. Here the authors show that in mice, locus coeruleus to medial prefrontal cortex norepinephrine release and β1-AR signaling during contextual fear conditioning are critical for remote memory storage.
- Xiaocen Fan
- , Jiachen Song
- & Xing Liu
-
Article
| Open AccessGABAergic neurons in the rostromedial tegmental nucleus are essential for rapid eye movement sleep suppression
The neural circuits regulating REM sleep are poorly understood. The authors reveal that GABAergic neurons in the rostromedial tegmental nucleus suppress the onset and maintenance of REM sleep, and that projections of these neurons to the LDT and LH mediate distinct REM sleep transitions.
- Ya-Nan Zhao
- , Jian-Bo Jiang
- & Su-Rong Yang
-
Article
| Open AccessA circuit from the ventral subiculum to anterior hypothalamic nucleus GABAergic neurons essential for anxiety-like behavioral avoidance
Anxiety is thought to be evolutionarily rooted in predator defense. Yan et al. show that GABAergic neurons in the anterior hypothalamic nucleus (AHN), a node in the predator defense network, play an essential role in anxiety-like behaviors.
- Jing-Jing Yan
- , Xiao-Jing Ding
- & Xiao-Hong Xu
-
Article
| Open AccessAn integrated resource for functional and structural connectivity of the marmoset brain
Mapping brain connections is critical for decoding brain functions. Here, the authors present an integrated resource of awake resting-state fMRI and neuronal tracing data of marmosets to understand structural-functional relationships of brain connections.
- Xiaoguang Tian
- , Yuyan Chen
- & Cirong Liu