In flies, mutant TRPV4 causes mitochondrial transport deficits, axonal degeneration and neuronal dysfunction.

Two studies shed light on the neural bases of torpor and a hibernation-like state not usually observed in mice.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Globally, 50 million people live with dementia, with Alzheimer disease (AD) being responsible for two-thirds of the total cases. As ageing is the main risk factor for dementia-related neurodegeneration, changes in the timing or nature of the cellular hallmarks of normal ageing might be key to understanding the events that convert normal ageing into neurodegeneration. Cellular senescence is a candidate

Neuronal silencing drives homeostatic plasticity by regulating the alternative splicing of potassium channels.

The human motor cortex comprises a microcircuit of five interconnected layers with different cell types. In this Review, we use a layer-specific and cell-specific approach to integrate physiological accounts of this motor cortex microcircuit with the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases affecting motor functions. In doing so we can begin to link motor microcircuit pathology to specific disease

The temporal association cortex, a higher cortical area, of mother mice becomes tuned to pups’ ultrasonic vocalizations.

Spinal cord injury remains a scientific and therapeutic challenge with great cost to individuals and society. The goal of research in this field is to find a means of restoring lost function. Recently we have seen considerable progress in understanding the injury process and the capacity of CNS neurons to regenerate, as well as innovations in stem cell biology. This presents an opportunity to develop

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Although neuroscientists focus on only very few animal species today, there are many important reasons to take advantage of model system diversity and embrace (anew) a comparative approach in modern brain research. Recent technological advances make this increasingly possible.

In a rat model of spinal cord injury, inhibiting calmodulin-mediated relocalization of aquaporin 4 to the blood–spinal cord barrier after injury reduced CNS oedema and promoted functional recovery.

Context-dependent biological variation presents a unique challenge to the reproducibility of results in experimental animal research, because organisms’ responses to experimental treatments can vary with both genotype and environmental conditions. In March 2019, experts in animal biology, experimental design and statistics convened in Blonay, Switzerland, to discuss strategies addressing this challenge

A step function opsin with extreme light sensitivity has been developed that can be activated with an external light source.

Although most patients with chronic pain are women, the preclinical literature regarding pain processing and the pathophysiology of chronic pain has historically been derived overwhelmingly from the study of male rodents. This Review describes how the recent adoption by a number of funding agencies of policies mandating the incorporation of sex as a biological variable into preclinical research has

A pathway connecting the brain and spleen allows neural activity to modulate adaptive immune responses.

Dendrites have always fascinated researchers: from the artistic drawings by Ramon y Cajal to the beautiful recordings of today, neuroscientists have been striving to unravel the mysteries of these structures. Theoretical work in the 1960s predicted important dendritic effects on neuronal processing, establishing computational modelling as a powerful technique for their investigation. Since then, modelling

Neuroscience laboratories can take steps to ‘go green’ in a number of ways, including curbing unnecessary energy usage and reducing plastic waste. Such measures often rely on behavioural changes but need not affect scientific output.

The recognition of spoken language has typically been studied by focusing on either words or their constituent elements (for example, low-level features or phonemes). More recently, the 'temporal mesoscale' of speech has been explored, specifically regularities in the envelope of the acoustic signal that correlate with syllabic information and that play a central role in production and perception processes

The presence of sugar in the gut is signalled via the vagus nerve to neurons in the caudal nucleus of the solitary tract, which help to mediate the formation of the preference for sugar over sweeteners.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.