Neuroscience articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Emerging evidence suggests that chemical and electrical synapses interact to regulate the strength of synaptic transmission. Liuet al. report that in a C. elegansescape circuit, functionally mixed electrical-chemical synapses exist between premotor interneurons and downstream motor neurons, and that the electrical synapse amplifies the chemical transmission between the neurons.

    • Ping Liu
    • , Bojun Chen
    •  & Zhao-Wen Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Glial scars are thought to provide a biochemical and mechanical barrier to neuronal regeneration post-injury, but the mechanical properties of the scars have not been studied in detail. Here the authors perform atomic force microscopy measurements of glial scars from the injured rat cortex and spinal cord, and find that brain tissue softens in response to the injury.

    • Emad Moeendarbary
    • , Isabell P. Weber
    •  & Kristian Franze

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mutations in the chromatin modifier Chd7 have been associated with CHARGE syndrome and other developmental disorders. Here the authors show that Chd7 is required for the activation of genes essential for cerebellar granule cell differentiation, and that disrupting Chd7 leads to cerebellar hypoplasia in mice.

    • Weijun Feng
    • , Daisuke Kawauchi
    •  & Hai-Kun Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Studying the physiological confirmation of amyloid β (Aβ) and amyloid precursor protein (APP) often uses techniques that could disrupt their conformation. Here, the authors use non-destructive microscopy approaches to study the confirmation of Aβ and APP in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease.

    • O. Klementieva
    • , K. Willén
    •  & G. K. Gouras

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The functions of semaphorins in the adult brain are poorly understood. Here the authors show that Sema7A carries out stage-specific functions in the adult hippocampus via differential receptor usage; in progenitor cells, Sema7A inhibits proliferation via acting on PlexinC1, whereas in adult-born neurons, it promotes dendrite growth through β1-integrins.

    • Bart C. Jongbloets
    • , Suzanne Lemstra
    •  & R. Jeroen Pasterkamp

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Accumulating evidence suggests that microRNAs play a role in circadian regulation. Here the authors show that in theDrosophila brain, mir-92a suppresses the excitability of PDF neurons—key circadian pacemaker cells in Drosophila—via inhibiting the translation of its target sirt2.

    • Xiao Chen
    •  & Michael Rosbash

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Transcriptional changes occur in the dorsal root ganglion in response to nerve injury and may contribute to neuropathic pain. Here the authors show that the DNA methyltransferase DNMT3a is upregulated in rodents following nerve injury, and may contribute to pain-like behaviour by decreasing expression of the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.2.

    • Jian-Yuan Zhao
    • , Lingli Liang
    •  & Yuan-Xiang Tao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lysosomal acidification defects have been implicated in various neurodegenerative disorders. Baghet al. show that the V0a1 subunit of v-ATPase requires palmitoylation for correct sorting and trafficking to the lysosome membrane, and that such a process is impaired in a mouse model of a devastating neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disease, INCL.

    • Maria B. Bagh
    • , Shiyong Peng
    •  & Anil B. Mukherjee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The guidance cues regulating blood vessel patterning in the central nervous system remain unclear. Here, the authors show in mice and chicken developing spinal cord that motor neurons control blood vessel patterning by an autocrine mechanism titrating VEGF via the expression of its trapping receptor sFlt1.

    • Patricia Himmels
    • , Isidora Paredes
    •  & Carmen Ruiz de Almodóvar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is thought that, when goals are uncertain, actions are generated by averaging multiple possible movement plans. Here the authors show that movement planning under uncertainty instead varies flexibly depending on the speed of the movement in order to maximize success.

    • Aaron L. Wong
    •  & Adrian M. Haith

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Systematic analysis of the zebrafish synapse proteome has been lacking. Here the authors characterize the ultrastructure of zebrafish synapse and compare the proteomes of postsynaptic density in zebrafish and mice, offering a resource for future studies using zebrafish to model diseases.

    • Àlex Bayés
    • , Mark O. Collins
    •  & Seth G. N. Grant

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sexual dimorphism is likely the result of differential gene expression. Here, the authors examine the role of thedsxgene in beetles and find that this gene acts in a sex- and tissue-specific manner, either by regulating sex-specific targets or by acting in opposite directions in males and females.

    • C. C. Ledón-Rettig
    • , E. E. Zattara
    •  & A. P. Moczek

  • Editorial
    | Open Access

    The validity of conclusions drawn from functional MRI research has been questioned for some time now. Nature Neuroscience and Nature Communications are committed to working with neuroimaging researchers to improve the robustness and reproducibility of their work.

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Neuronal migration is vital for neuronal circuit morphogenesis and is thought to rely on microtubule-actomyosin crosstalk. Here, the authors use super-resolution imaging and the drebrin microtubule-actin crosslinking protein to show that microtubule-actomyosin coupling controls the direction of centrosome and somal motility.

    • Niraj Trivedi
    • , Daniel R. Stabley
    •  & David J. Solecki

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Unlike males, female mice are resistant to hypothalamic inflammation and weight gain when fed a high-fat diet. Here, the authors reveal sex-specific regulation of hypothalamic microglial activation through CX3CR1 signalling, providing a potential mechanism for differential susceptibility to diet-induced obesity.

    • Mauricio D. Dorfman
    • , Jordan E. Krull
    •  & Joshua P. Thaler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Some adolescents seek novelty, but it is unknown whether the brain circuits underlying this behaviour can be used to predict later, problematic behaviour. Here, authors show that diminished ventral striatal and prefrontal activity in response to anticipated rewards at age 14 in these individuals predicts problematic drug use at age 16.

    • Christian Büchel
    • , Jan Peters
    •  & Veronika Ziesch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Disruption of circadian rhythms leads to reduced healthspan, but the mechanisms by which the normal clock protects aging organisms are not known. Here, the authors show that a subset of genes becomes more rhythmically expressed in older flies, and these are enriched for response to oxidative stress.

    • Rachael C. Kuintzle
    • , Eileen S. Chow
    •  & David A Hendrix

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A point mutation in the gap-junction protein connexin 30 stops early onset age-related hearing loss. Here, the authors show that gap junctions contribute to cochlear micromechanics and that cochlear amplification is likely controlled by extracellular potentials in vicinity of the cochlear sensory cells.

    • Victoria A. Lukashkina
    • , Snezana Levic
    •  & Ian J. Russell

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is known to modulate anxiety-related behaviours. Here the authors show that excitatory inputs from infralimbic cortex and ventral subiculum/CA1 converge onto the same BNST neurons; stimulation of vSUB/CA1 triggers LTP in BNST and reduces anxiety in rats.

    • Christelle Glangetas
    • , Léma Massi
    •  & François Georges

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Environmental cues affect the way mouse hippocampal place cells respond, but whether this information is integrated versus segregated in distinct hippocampal cell populations is unclear. Here, the authors record neuronal activity in the hippocampus of mice on a treadmill enriched with visual-tactile landmarks, and show anatomically segregated cells with variable ties to the cues.

    • Tristan Geiller
    • , Mohammad Fattahi
    •  & Sébastien Royer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a leading cause of autism and neurons lacking FMRP show aberrant mRNA translation and intracellular signalling. Here, the authors show that neurons from Fmr1 knockout mice have increased levels of ADCY1 protein, producing abnormal ERK1/2 signalling, dysregulated protein synthesis and behavioural symptoms associated with FXS.

    • Ferzin Sethna
    • , Wei Feng
    •  & Hongbing Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hidden hearing loss (HHL) is an auditory neuropathy that impairs one’s ability to hear, particularly in a noisy environment. Here the authors show that in mice, transient loss of cochlear Schwann cells results in permanent disruption of the cochlear heminodal structure, leading to auditory deficits characteristic of HHL.

    • Guoqiang Wan
    •  & Gabriel Corfas

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Partial agonists weakly activate receptors even when occupying all available binding sites. Here the authors show that partial agonists of the AMPA receptor drive the adoption of multiple inactive forms, accounting for their limited efficacy.

    • Hector Salazar
    • , Clarissa Eibl
    •  & Andrew Plested

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels are crucial for action potential initiation in excitable cells. Here the authors present the complete structure of prokaryotic NavMs in a fully open state, providing structural insight into the opening and closure of the channel's intracellular gate.

    • Altin Sula
    • , Jennifer Booker
    •  & B. A. Wallace

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pain is affected by cerebral processes in addition to afferent nociceptive input. Here the authors develop an fMRI-based signature that predicts pain independent of the intensity of nociceptive signals and mediates the pain-modulating effects of several cognitive interventions.

    • Choong-Wan Woo
    • , Liane Schmidt
    •  & Tor D. Wager

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Huntington’s disease (HD) is caused by misfolding of mutant Htt protein. The authors find that in HD models, the decreased expression of heat shock transcription factor 1 that usually protects against protein misfolding, is in part caused by elevated CK2α’ kinase and Fbxw7 E3 ligase expression.

    • Rocio Gomez-Pastor
    • , Eileen T. Burchfiel
    •  & Dennis J. Thiele

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Emerging evidence suggests that spontaneous neurotransmitter release contributes to the maintenance of synaptic efficacy. Here the authors selectively reduce spontaneous glutamatergic transmission while leaving the stimulus-evoked responses intact and show that this leads to homeostatic scaling at the postsynaptic side in cultured neurons and alters synaptic plasticity in acute brain slices.

    • Devon C. Crawford
    • , Denise M. O. Ramirez
    •  & Ege T. Kavalali

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Core clock genes, such asBmal1, are expressed in astrocytes, but their contribution to the timekeeping system is unknown. Barca-Mayo et al. report that deletion of Bmal1in Glast+ astrocytes alters the neuronal clock through GABA signalling, leading to abnormal circadian locomotor behaviour and impaired cognition in mice.

    • Olga Barca-Mayo
    • , Meritxell Pons-Espinal
    •  & Davide De Pietri Tonelli

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Amygdala and hippocampus are involved in processing motivationally salient stimuli but the precise circuit dynamics of the interaction is not understood. Here the authors show that in response to fearful faces in humans, theta/alpha oscillations in the amygdala modulate hippocampal activity dynamics.

    • Jie Zheng
    • , Kristopher L. Anderson
    •  & Jack J. Lin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Frontal eye fields (FEF) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are coactivated during cognitive tasks, but the precise format of their interaction is not known. Here the authors show that phase coupling between ACC -FEF in theta and beta frequency bands better predicts behavioural performance.

    • Sahand Babapoor-Farrokhran
    • , Martin Vinck
    •  & Stefan Everling

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The engulfment receptor Draper is known to promote glial activation and phagocytosis of debris upon axonal injury. Luet al. identify TNF receptor associated factor 4 (TRAF4) as a binding partner of Draper, and map out the signalling cascade leading to reactive gliosis in Drosophila.

    • Tsai-Yi Lu
    • , Jennifer M. MacDonald
    •  & Marc R. Freeman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The transcription factor EB (TFEB) is a master regulator of lysosomal biogenesis. Here authors show that trehalose, an mTOR-independent autophagy inducer, alleviates the pathological phenotypes in a mouse model of neurodegenerative disease. Trehalose acts by inhibiting Akt, which normally suppresses TFEB via an mTORC1-independent mechanism.

    • Michela Palmieri
    • , Rituraj Pal
    •  & Marco Sardiello

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How sensory maps are formed in the brain is only partially understood. Here the authors describe spontaneous calcium waves that propagate across different sensory nuclei in the embryonic thalamus; disrupting the wave pattern triggers thalamic gene expression changes and eventually alters the size of cortical areas.

    • Verónica Moreno-Juan
    • , Anton Filipchuk
    •  & Guillermina López-Bendito

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alignment or anisotropic organisation within and between cells enables biological function but is challenging to engineer. Here, the authors align collagen fibres in a pre-strained polydimethylsiloxane mould to generate a 3D scaffold that guides hippocampal neuron axon growth to form CA3–CA1 neural circuits.

    • So Hyun Kim
    • , Sun-Kyoung Im
    •  & Eun-Mi Hur

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Parental care involves shifts in numerous behaviours related to mating, feeding, aggression and social interaction. Here, the authors show that, in burying beetles, parenting is associated with increased levels of neuropeptides known to mediate these precursor behaviours, suggesting co-option of existing genetic pathways.

    • Christopher B. Cunningham
    • , Majors J. Badgett
    •  & Allen J. Moore

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by hallucinations and delusions. Here the authors report a novel probabilistic inference task in which compared to healthy subjects, schizophrenia patients show greater degree of circular inference that matches the severity of their clinical symptoms.

    • Renaud Jardri
    • , Sandrine Duverne
    •  & Sophie Denève

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The dynamics of progenitor cells in human neocortex development has not been studied directly. Here, the authors timelapse image human neuroepithelial (NE) and radial glial (RG) cells in embryonic brain slices and find properties of NE cells and RG that are mimicked in cerebral organoids.

    • Lakshmi Subramanian
    • , Marina Bershteyn
    •  & Arnold R. Kriegstein

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Combination of optogenetics and BOLD fMRI is routinely used to map neuronal activity upon photostimulation. Here the authors show that light, shone at intensities used in optogenetic studies, dilates vessels and increases blood flow independently of exogenous light-sensitive proteins in the mouse brain.

    • Ravi L Rungta
    • , Bruno-Félix Osmanski
    •  & Serge Charpak

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cortical GABAergic interneurons are highly diverse in their gene expression, electrophysiological properties, and connectivity. Here the authors reveal three distinct subtypes of Htr3a-GFP+ interneurons using the single-cell RNA-seq approach, and identify MEIS2 as a marker for one such subtype.

    • Sarah Frazer
    • , Julien Prados
    •  & Alexandre Dayer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying food texture detection are poorly understood. Here the authors show thatDrosophilacan discriminate food texture when feeding, and that this ability depends on NOMPC, a mechanosensory channel expressed in gustatory sensilla neurons.

    • Juan Antonio Sánchez-Alcañiz
    • , Giovanna Zappia
    •  & Richard Benton

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