Unlike olfaction, taste, touch, vision, and proprioception, which are widespread across animal phyla, hearing is found only in vertebrates and some arthropods. The vast majority of invertebrate species are thus considered insensitive to sound. Here, we challenge this conventional view by showing that the earless nematode C. elegans senses airborne sound at frequencies reaching the kHz range. Sound

We propose a framework that outlines several predominant cognitive biases of climate change, identifies potential causes, and proposes debiasing tools, with the ultimate goal of depolarizing climate beliefs and promoting actions to mitigate climate change.

The structured reactivation of hippocampal neuronal ensembles during fast synchronous oscillatory events, termed sharp-wave ripples (SWRs), has been suggested to play a crucial role in the storage and use of memory. Activity in both the CA2 and CA3 subregions can precede this population activity in CA1, and chronic inhibition of either region alters SWR oscillations. However, the precise contribution

Laboratories are the central workplace for academic scientists and can play a key role in supporting psychological safety, mental health, and well-being. We provide strategies to build inclusive structures within laboratories and support mental health for all members.

Epidemiological sex differences in anxiety disorders and major depression are well characterized. Yet the circuits and mechanisms that contribute to these differences are understudied, because preclinical studies have historically excluded female rodents. This oversight is beginning to be addressed, and recent studies that include male and female rodents are identifying sex differences in neurobiological

AbstractFacioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is one of the most prevalent muscular dystrophies characterized by considerable variability in severity, rates of progression and functional outcomes. Few studies follow FSHD cohorts long enough to understand predictors of disease progression and functional outcomes, creating gaps in our understanding which impacts clinical care and the design of

AbstractRepeat expansions in the C9orf72 gene are a common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar degeneration, two devastating neurodegenerative disorders. One of the proposed mechanisms of GGGGCC repeat expansion is their translation into non-canonical dipeptide repeats, which can then accumulate as aggregates and contribute to these pathologies. There are five different

Associative memories are stored in distributed networks extending across multiple brain regions. However, it is unclear to what extent sensory cortical areas are part of these networks. Using a paradigm for visual category learning in mice, we investigated whether perceptual and semantic features of learned category associations are already represented at the first stages of visual information processing

Almost 60 years have passed since the initial discovery by Hubel and Wiesel that changes in neuronal activity can elicit developmental rewiring of the central nervous system (CNS). Over this period, we have gained a more comprehensive picture of how both spontaneous neural activity and sensory experience-induced changes in neuronal activity guide CNS circuit development. Here we review activity-dependent

Earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease requires biomarkers sensitive to associated structural and functional changes. While considerable progress has been made in the development of structural biomarkers, functional biomarkers of early cognitive change, unconfounded by effort, practice and level of education, are still needed. We present Fastball, a new EEG method for the passive and objective measurement

Emerging evidence implicates experience-dependent myelination in learning and memory. However, the specific signals underlying this process remain unresolved. We demonstrate that the neuropeptide dynorphin, which is released from neurons upon high levels of activity, promotes experience-dependent myelination. Following forced swim stress, an experience that induces striatal dynorphin release, we observe

How the patterns of cortex folding are implemented during embryonic development is poorly understood. In this issue of Neuron, Han et al. (2021) establish that a population of neural progenitor cells co-expressing Neurog2 and Ascl1 are key in this process.

In this issue of Neuron, Izadifar et al. (2021) have identified a conserved molecule Wnk as a key regulator in both developmental axon branching and long-term survival of neurons, characterizing its interplay with axon destruction genes including Sarm. The discovery of Wnk will be important to our understanding of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases.

Cocaine triggers gene splicing in brain reward circuits, but the mechanisms and importance of this response are unclear. In this issue of Neuron, Xu et al. (2021) show that the histone modification H3K36me3 marks genes spliced in response to cocaine and, using epigenome editing, establish a causal relationship between gene splicing and addiction-related behavioral responses.

Microglial cells perform a plethora of functions in the central nervous system (CNS), involving them in brain development, maintenance of homeostasis in adulthood, and CNS diseases. Significant technical advancements have prompted the development of novel systems adapted to analyze microglia with increasing specificity and intricacy. The advent of single-cell technologies combined with targeted mouse

The human brain undergoes a prolonged period of cortical development that spans multiple decades. During childhood and adolescence, cortical development progresses from lower-order, primary and unimodal cortices with sensory and motor functions to higher-order, transmodal association cortices subserving executive, socioemotional, and mentalizing functions. The spatiotemporal patterning of cortical

The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying complex axon morphogenesis are still poorly understood. We report a novel, evolutionary conserved function for the Drosophila Wnk kinase (dWnk) and its mammalian orthologs, WNK1 and 2, in axon branching. We uncover that dWnk, together with the neuroprotective factor Nmnat, antagonizes the axon-destabilizing factors D-Sarm and Axundead (Axed) during axon

The role of the cerebellum in predictive motor control and coordination has been thoroughly studied during movements of a single body part. In the real world, however, actions are often more complex. Here, we show that a small area in the rostral anterior interpositus nucleus (rAIN) of the mouse cerebellum is responsible for generating a predictive motor synergy that serves to protect the eye by precisely

AbstractLanguage dysfunction is common in Alzheimer’s disease. There is increasing interest in the preclinical or asymptomatic phase of Alzheimer’s disease.Here we examined in 35 cognitively intact older adults (age range 52–78 years at baseline, 17 male) in a longitudinal study design the association between accumulation of amyloid over a five to six year period, measured using PET, and functional

Social feedback can selectively enhance learning in diverse domains. Relevant neurocognitive mechanisms have been studied mainly in healthy persons, yielding correlational findings. Neurodegenerative lesion models, coupled with multimodal brain measures, can complement standard approaches by revealing direct multidimensional correlates of the phenomenon. To this end, we assessed socially reinforced

High throughput DNA sequencing is increasingly employed to diagnose single gene neurological and neuromuscular disorders. Large volumes of data present new challenges in data interpretation and its useful translation into clinical and genetic counselling for families. Even when a plausible gene is identified with confidence, interpretation of the clinical significance and inheritance pattern of variants

How does the brain process continuous experiences so they can be remembered? Evidence suggests that people perceive their experience as a series of distinct and meaningful events. Information encountered within the same event shows greater temporal integration into memory as well as enhanced neural representational similarity. Although these data support the theory that the brain builds and maintains

Aversive and rewarding experiences can exert a strong influence on subsequent behavior. While decisions are often supported by the value of single past episodes, most research has focused on the role of well-learned value associations. Recent studies have begun to investigate the influence of reward-associated episodes, but it is unclear whether these results generalize to negative experiences, such

Visual object recognition relies on elaborate sensory processes that transform retinal inputs to object representations, but it also requires decision-making processes that read out object representations and function over prolonged time scales. The computational properties of these decision-making processes remain underexplored for object recognition. Here, we study these computations by developing

Current theories of visual consciousness disagree about whether it emerges during early stages of processing in sensory brain regions or later when a widespread frontoparietal network becomes involved. Moreover, disentangling conscious perception from task-related postperceptual processes (e.g., report) and integrating results across different neuroscientific methods remain ongoing challenges. The

Oscillatory networks underlie rhythmic behaviors (e.g., walking, chewing) and complex behaviors (e.g., memory formation, decision-making). Flexibility of oscillatory networks includes neurons switching between single- and dual-network participation, even generating oscillations at two distinct frequencies. Modulation of synaptic strength can underlie this neuronal switching. Here we ask whether switching

The principal neurons of the striatum, the spiny projection neurons (SPNs), make inhibitory synaptic connections with each other via collaterals of their main axon, forming a local lateral inhibition network. Serotonin, acting via the 5-HT1B receptor, modulates neurotransmitter release from SPN terminals in striatal output nuclei, but the role of 5-HT1B receptors in lateral inhibition among SPNs in

Negative afterimages are perceptual phenomena that occur after physical stimuli disappear from sight. Their origin is linked to transient post-stimulus responses of visual neurons. The receptive fields (RFs) of these subcortical ON- and OFF-center neurons exhibit antagonistic interactions between central and surrounding visual space, resulting in selectivity for stimulus polarity and size. These two

The spatial organization and dynamic interactions between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs that define the receptive field (RF) of simple cells in the cat primary visual cortex (V1) still raise the following paradoxical issues: (1) stimulation of simple cells in V1 with drifting gratings supports a wiring schema of spatially segregated sets of excitatory and inhibitory inputs activated in

Aging, disease, and trauma can lead to loss of vestibular hair cells and permanent vestibular dysfunction. Previous work showed that, following acute destruction of ~95% of vestibular hair cells in adult mice, ~20% regenerate naturally (without exogenous factors) through supporting cell transdifferentiation. There is, however, no evidence for the recovery of vestibular function. To gain insight into

We recently identified an autism spectrum disorder/intellectual disability (ASD/ID)-related de novo mutation hotspot in the Rac1-activating GEF1 domain of the protein Trio. Trio is a Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (RhoGEF) that is essential for glutamatergic synapse function. An ASD/ID-related mutation identified in Trio's GEF1 domain, Trio D1368V, produces a pathologic increase in glutamatergic

Rab-interacting molecule (RIM)-binding protein 2 (BP2) is a multidomain protein of the presynaptic active zone (AZ). By binding to RIM, bassoon (Bsn), and voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (CaV), it is considered to be a central organizer of the topography of CaV and release sites of synaptic vesicles (SVs) at the AZ. Here, we used RIM-BP2 knock-out (KO) mice and their wild-type (WT) littermates of either

Chronic itch is a troublesome condition and often difficult to cure. Emerging evidence suggests that the periaqueductal gray (PAG)-rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) pathway may play an important role in the regulation of itch, but the cellular organization and molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we report that a group of RVM neurons distinctively express the G-protein-coupled

Injury responses require communication between different cell types in the skin. Sensory neurons contribute to inflammation and can secrete signaling molecules that affect non-neuronal cells. Despite the pervasive role of translational regulation in nociception, the contribution of activity-dependent protein synthesis to inflammation is not well understood. To address this problem, we examined the

Throughout the body, lymphatic fluid movement supports critical functions including clearance of excess fluid and metabolic waste. The glymphatic system is the analog of the lymphatic system in the CNS. As such, the glymphatic system plays a key role in regulating directional interstitial fluid movement, waste clearance, and, potentially, brain immunity. The glymphatic system enables bulk movement

First-in-line benzodiazepine treatment fails to terminate seizures in about 30% of epilepsy patients, highlighting a need for novel antiseizure strategies. Impaired GABAergic inhibition is key to the development of such benzodiazepine-resistant seizures, as well as the pathophysiology of status epilepticus (SE). It is emerging that reduced or impaired neuronal K+/Cl– cotransporter 2 (KCC2) activity

We recently showed that patients with different chronic pain conditions (such as chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia, migraine, and Gulf War Illness) demonstrated elevated brain and/or spinal cord levels of the glial marker 18 kDa translocator protein, which suggests that neuroinflammation might be a pervasive phenomenon observable across multiple etiologically heterogeneous pain disorders. Interestingly

Michael Zech, Annette Seibt, Barbara Zumbaum, Dirk Klee, Thomas Meitinger, Juliane Winkelmann, Ertan Mayatepek, Matias Wagner, Felix Distelmaier. MATR3 haploinsufficiency and early-onset neurodegeneration. Brain. 2021; awab240. doi:10.1093/brain/awab240

Cerebral small vessel disease is one of the most common causes of cognitive decline and stroke. While several lines of evidence have established a relationship between inflammation and cerebrovascular pathology, the mechanistic link has not yet been elucidated. Recent studies suggest activation of immune mediators, including the soluble form of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2)

Sarcoglycanopathies include four subtypes of autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMDR3, LGMDR4, LGMDR5 and LGMDR6) that are caused, respectively, by mutations in the SGCA, SGCB, SGCG and SGCD genes. Delta-sarcoglycanopathy (LGMDR6) is the least frequent and is considered an ultra-rare disease. Our aim was to characterize the clinical and genetic spectrum of a large international

The phenomenon of "prion-like propagation" in which aggregates of abnormal amyloid-fibrilized protein propagate between neurons and spread pathology, is attracting attention as a new mechanism in neurodegenerative diseases. There is a strong correlation between the accumulation or spread of abnormal tau aggregates and the clinical symptoms of tauopathies. Microtubule-associated protein of tau contains

Tracking longitudinal tau tangles accumulation across the Alzheimer’s disease continuum is crucial to better understand the natural history of tau pathology and for clinical trials. Although the available first-generation tau PET tracers detect tau accumulation in symptomatic individuals, their nanomolar affinity offers limited sensitivity to detect early tau accumulation in asymptomatic subjects.

Neural representations of visual working memory (VWM) are noisy, and thus, decisions based on VWM are inevitably subject to uncertainty. However, the mechanisms by which the brain simultaneously represents the content and uncertainty of memory remain largely unknown. Here, inspired by the theory of probabilistic population codes, we test the hypothesis that the human brain represents an item maintained

A central goal of neuroscience is to understand the representations formed by brain activity patterns and their connection to behaviour. The classic approach is to investigate how individual neurons encode stimuli and how their tuning determines the fidelity of the neural representation. Tuning analyses often use the Fisher information to characterize the sensitivity of neural responses to small changes

Placental allopregnanolone affects oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelination in the developing cerebellum. Male mice deprived of allopregnanolone in utero show impaired sociability and communication in later life; their female littermates are unaffected. Allopregnanolone replacement restores normal myelination and behavior.