Neuroscience articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Whether and how birds sleep during long-distance flights has remained a mystery. Here, Rattenborg and colleagues show for the first time that frigatebirds can sleep during flight, but do so in remarkably small amounts.

    • Niels C Rattenborg
    • , Bryson Voirin
    •  & Alexei L. Vyssotski

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Short-term memories (STM) can become long-term memories when occurring alongside novel experiences. Here, the authors investigate the neural mechanisms behind such 'behavioural tagging' and find STM neural populations are preferentially incorporated into the ensembles encoding novel experiences.

    • Masanori Nomoto
    • , Noriaki Ohkawa
    •  & Kaoru Inokuchi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Past experiences and future predictions both shape our decisions. Here, the authors trained participants in a foraging task in which reward rates varied systematically over time and find the dACC tracks both recent and past reward rates, leading to opposing effects on decisions about whether to stay or leave a reward environment.

    • Marco K. Wittmann
    • , Nils Kolling
    •  & Matthew F. S. Rushworth

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alcohol abuse is a risk factor for acute respiratory distress syndrome, flooding of the lungs due to compromised barrier function. Here the authors report that alcohol upregulates claudin-5 that is then recruited to tight junctions in alveolar epithelial cells, causing the displacement of claudin-18 from ZO-1 and diminished barrier function.

    • Barbara Schlingmann
    • , Christian E. Overgaard
    •  & Michael Koval

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biological activity can be photoswitched by light-regulated drugs, but so far only diffusible ligands have been shown to work on endogenous receptors. Here the authors develop targeted covalent photoswitches that couple to a protein target by ligand affinity, and demonstrate photocontrol of GluK1-expressing neurons.

    • Mercè Izquierdo-Serra
    • , Antoni Bautista-Barrufet
    •  & Pau Gorostiza

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mutations in the protein LRRK2 have been associated with Parkinson's disease but little is still known about the basic functions of the protein in the brain. Here the authors show that in fruit flies, LRRK2 regulates retrograde homeostatic synaptic compensation at the larval neuromuscular junction.

    • Jay Penney
    • , Kazuya Tsurudome
    •  & A. Pejmun Haghighi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The detection limit of human vision has remained unclear. Using a quantum light source capable of generating single-photon states of light, authors here report that humans can perceive a single photon incidence on the eye with a probability above chance.

    • Jonathan N. Tinsley
    • , Maxim I. Molodtsov
    •  & Alipasha Vaziri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Two-photon laser scanning microscopy allows functional calcium imaging of large neuronal populations in vivo, but the recorded signals typically suffer from low signal to noise. Here the authors develop an algorithm, MLspike, which estimates action potentials from noisy calcium signals, and benchmark it against existing methods.

    • Thomas Deneux
    • , Attila Kaszas
    •  & Ivo Vanzetta

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Default mode network (DMN) is strongly modulated by idiosyncratic internal processes, but its involvement in processing external stimuli is unclear. Here, Simony and colleagues use an inter-subject functional correlation approach to extract DMN states that track stimulus features and behaviour.

    • Erez Simony
    • , Christopher J Honey
    •  & Uri Hasson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The piriform cortex projects to multiple brain regions involved in diverse aspects of olfactory behavior but information about the organization of these outputs is lacking. Here the authors show that piriform neurons exhibit layer specific gene expression patterns that also define distinct projection targets.

    • Assunta Diodato
    • , Marion Ruinart de Brimont
    •  & Alexander Fleischmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The molecular mechanisms regulating myelination are only partially understood. Here authors show that Tsc1ablation in oligodendrocyte lineage activates ER stress and apoptotic programs in mice, and that enhancing PERK-eIF2α signalling partially rescues the myelination defects in Tsc1 mutants.

    • Minqing Jiang
    • , Lei Liu
    •  & Q. Richard Lu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In mature neurons the centrosome no longer functions as the main microtubule organizer and it is unclear how ordered microtubule arrays are assembled. Here, the authors show that in post-mitotic neurons this process depends on non-centrosomal nucleation mediated by the protein complex augmin and the nucleator gamma-TuRC.

    • Carlos Sánchez-Huertas
    • , Francisco Freixo
    •  & Jens Lüders

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mantis shrimps are known to display large pitch, yaw and torsional eye rotations. Here, the authors show that these eye movements allow mantis shrimp to orientate particular photoreceptors in order to better discriminate the polarization of light.

    • Ilse M. Daly
    • , Martin J. How
    •  & Nicholas W. Roberts

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Complex motions can be achieved by chunking together simple movements at the cost of producing smooth, efficient trajectories. Here the authors apply a new algorithm to monkeys learning complex motor sequences and show that optimization initially occurs within small chunks that are later combined.

    • Pavan Ramkumar
    • , Daniel E. Acuna
    •  & Konrad P. Kording

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Synaptic inhibition in the olfactory bulb (OB) is believed to play a role in odour processing. Here, the authors use a Pcdh21-driven Cre-line to disrupt KCC2 expression in OB mitral cells and find altered synaptic connectivity along with disrupted separation of odour-induced activity patterns.

    • Kathrin Gödde
    • , Olivier Gschwend
    •  & Thomas J. Jentsch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Laser capture microscopy (LCM) coupled with global transcriptome profiling requires relatively large numbers of cells. Here, the authors show that LCM coupled with full-length mRNA-sequencing (LCM-seq) can sequence single cells, and that LCM-seq can provide biological insight on highly similar neuronal populations.

    • Susanne Nichterwitz
    • , Geng Chen
    •  & Eva Hedlund

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Anatomical segmentation of high-resolution 3D microscopy datasets is necessary to map large samples at cellular resolution. Here the authors present a pipeline for automated mouse atlas propagation (aMAP) to segment fluorescence images of the adult mouse brain and validate it against human segmentations.

    • Christian J. Niedworok
    • , Alexander P. Y. Brown
    •  & Troy W. Margrie

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Episodic ataxia type 1 is caused by mutations in the potassium channel Kv1.1, which is found in cerebellar basket cells. Here, the authors use electrophysiology techniques to characterize these mutant channels, and observe that the changes result in decreased spontaneous Purkinje cell firing with no evidence for developmental compensation.

    • Rahima Begum
    • , Yamina Bakiri
    •  & Dimitri M. Kullmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is pathologically characterized by the accumulation of neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles but it is not known whether the neuritic plaque is necessary to drive the conversion of wild-type tau. Here the authors developed a mouse model in which wild-type tau is converted into pathological tau in a neuritic plaque-dependent manner.

    • Tong Li
    • , Kerstin E. Braunstein
    •  & Philip C. Wong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High-throughput imaging methods for brain-wide connectome mapping with precise location reference have been lacking. Here authors report a method that allows simultaneous acquisition of fluorescently labelled neurons and cytoarchitectural landmarks in the same mouse brain at the single-cell resolution.

    • Hui Gong
    • , Dongli Xu
    •  & Qingming Luo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Perceiving the size of objects is subjective. Here the authors show that these subjective differences in size perception can be explained by the individual variance in spatial tuning of neuronal populations in the primary visual cortex.

    • Christina Moutsiana
    • , Benjamin de Haas
    •  & D. Samuel Schwarzkopf

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Increasing progranulin (PGRN) levels is a promising approach for treating frontotemporal dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. Here Nicholson et al.show that the prosaposin (PSAP) locus is associated with plasma PGRN levels and demonstrate that PSAP can alter PGRN levels and its oligomerization.

    • Alexandra M. Nicholson
    • , NiCole A. Finch
    •  & Rosa Rademakers

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Microglia and monocytes contribute to neuropathic pain states, but the precise role of the two cell types is not clear. Here Peng et al.use temporally controlled ablation of monocytes and microglia in mice to show that these cells work together to initiate neuropathic-pain like behaviour, but are less important in the maintenance phase.

    • Jiyun Peng
    • , Nan Gu
    •  & Long-Jun Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cognitive performance is impaired after prolonged wakefulness, yet the contribution of circadian rhythms for proper brain function remains unclear. Here the authors show that cortical excitability measured using TMS exhibits robust circadian dynamics which is correlated with cognitive performance.

    • Julien Q. M. Ly
    • , Giulia Gaggioni
    •  & Gilles Vandewalle

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The accessory olfactory system (AOS) processes social chemosensory information and guides behaviors that are important for survival and reproduction in mammals. Here the authors report that mouse feces are a source of AOS neuronal activity and identify unconjugated bile acids in feces as a class of natural AOS ligands.

    • Wayne I. Doyle
    • , Jordan A. Dinser
    •  & Julian P. Meeks

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The ability to form associations between events is the hallmark of episodic memory and is thought to involve the hippocampus. Here the authors use a combination of multivariate pattern and graph theoretical network analyses of functional imaging data in humans, and show conjunctive coding and hub-like network attributes in the hippocampus.

    • Alexander R. Backus
    • , Sander E. Bosch
    •  & Christian F. Doeller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Information seeking is thought to rely on the brain's frontal cortex but which regions specifically control this drive remains unknown. Here the authors show that monkeys deciding to seek information on the current state of the environment showed specific neural dynamics in the lateral prefrontal cortex and midcingulate cortex.

    • Frederic M. Stoll
    • , Vincent Fontanier
    •  & Emmanuel Procyk

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Innate animal behaviours can be negatively regulated by environmental stressors. Jee et al. show that suppression of male C. eleganscopulation behaviour by noxious light can be overcome by activation of SEB-3, a homologue of the stress-associated mammalian corticotropin-releasing factor receptor family.

    • Changhoon Jee
    • , Jimmy F. Goncalves
    •  & L. Rene Garcia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Animals exhibit a number of complex behaviours following stressful events, although the underlying circuitry is undetermined. Here, the authors use optogenetic targeting to identify a role for corticotrophin releasing hormone cells in the paraventricular nucleus in regulating such behavioural responses to acute stress.

    • Tamás Füzesi
    • , Nuria Daviu
    •  & Jaideep S. Bains

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) are known to receive visceral signals from the gut during feeding. Here, the authors identify two populations of CCK- and DBH-expressing NTS neurons that work to suppress food intake when activated via opto- or chemogenetic stimulation.

    • Carolyn W. Roman
    • , Victor A. Derkach
    •  & Richard D. Palmiter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The CD36-related Sensory Neuron Membrane Protein 1 (SNMP1) facilitates pheromone detection by insect odorant receptors. Here Gomez-Diaz et al.show that the SNMP1 ectodomain is essential for function and propose that it forms a tunnel that transports pheromones from the extracellular fluid to their cognate receptors.

    • Carolina Gomez-Diaz
    • , Benoîte Bargeton
    •  & Richard Benton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Comparing oneself to others is inherently human but exactly how social comparison affects one's emotional state is unclear. Here the authors demonstrate that unequal social outcomes decrease happiness and these emotional impacts are proportional to individual levels of generosity.

    • Robb B. Rutledge
    • , Archy O. de Berker
    •  & Raymond J. Dolan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Functional imaging in awake head-fixed mice is a widely used technique to study neural responses. Here the authors report on an open source, fully automated unsupervised system for training mice to self initiate head fixation to enable stable mesoscopic functional imaging of cortical functional connectivity.

    • Timothy H. Murphy
    • , Jamie D. Boyd
    •  & Jeff M. LeDue

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fruit flies gain valuable information about their environment by sensing chemicals. Here, Arguello et al. show strong signals of recent selection on the chemosensory system of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, consistent with the adaptation of populations to their local chemical environment.

    • J. Roman Arguello
    • , Margarida Cardoso-Moreira
    •  & Richard Benton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Place cells in hippocampus encode a map of space, however the role of activity in place map stability is not known. Schoenenberger and colleagues optogenetically manipulate hippocampal firing rates within place fields and show lasting changes in spatial firing patterns through two separate mechanisms.

    • Philipp Schoenenberger
    • , Joseph O’Neill
    •  & Jozsef Csicsvari

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Episodic or declarative memory is thought to be encoded in the ensemble firing of spatially distributed neurons. Here the authors use high-density electrical recordings to show that some areas in the primate temporal cortex develop patterns of theta activity that are similar for pairs of remembered objects.

    • Kiyoshi Nakahara
    • , Ken Adachi
    •  & Isao Hasegawa

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