In marmosets, overactivation of area 25 of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex alters neural and cardiac activity and behaviour in response to threat.

The nodes of Ranvier have clustered Na+ and K+ channels necessary for rapid and efficient axonal action potential conduction. However, detailed mechanisms of channel clustering have only recently been identified: they include two independent axon–glia interactions that converge on distinct axonal cytoskeletons. Here, we discuss how glial cell adhesion molecules and the extracellular matrix molecules

Optogenetic stimulation of place cells alters memory-guided spatial navigation in mice, providing evidence for a causal role for these cells in spatial cognition.

Over the past several decades, theories about cerebellar learning have evolved. A relatively simple view that highlighted the contribution of one major form of heterosynaptic plasticity to cerebellar motor learning has given way to a plethora of perspectives that suggest that many different forms of synaptic and non-synaptic plasticity, acting at various sites, can control multiple types of learning

Neuroscience research is undergoing a minor revolution. Recent advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence research have opened up new ways of thinking about neural computation. Many researchers are excited by the possibility that deep neural networks may offer theories of perception, cognition and action for biological brains. This approach has the potential to radically reshape our approach

Stroke induces a plastic state in the brain. This period of enhanced plasticity leads to the sprouting of new axons, the formation of new synapses and the remapping of sensory-motor functions, and is associated with motor recovery. This is a remarkable process in the adult brain, which is normally constrained in its levels of neuronal plasticity and connectional change. Recent evidence indicates that

Neuronal networks with strong recurrent connectivity provide the brain with a powerful means to perform complex computational tasks. However, high-gain excitatory networks are susceptible to instability, which can lead to runaway activity, as manifested in pathological regimes such as epilepsy. Inhibitory stabilization offers a dynamic, fast and flexible compensatory mechanism to balance otherwise

Traditional scientific conferences and seminar events have been hugely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, paving the way for virtual forms of scientific communication to take hold and be put to the test.

Following long-term potentiation, α5-subunit-containing GABA receptors relocalize to inhibitory synapses to amplify inhibition and suppress runaway potentiation.

Objects constitute the fundamental currency of our consciousness: they are the things that we perceive, remember and think about. One of the most important objects for a primate is a face. Research on the macaque face patch system in recent years has given us a remarkable window into the detailed processes underlying object recognition. Here, we review the macaque face patch system, including its anatomical

Metabolites regulated by the microbiota of pregnant mice modulates the developing embryonic brain and influences thalamocortical axon formation and subsequent sensorimotor behaviour in adult offspring.

In mice, experience-dependent pauses in movement during exploration are mediated by a circuit in the amygdala.

Recombinant viruses are the workhorse of modern neuroscience. Whether one would like to understand a neuron’s morphology, natural activity patterns, molecular composition, connectivity or behavioural and physiologic function, most studies begin with the injection of an engineered virus, often an adeno-associated virus or herpes simplex virus, among many other types. Recombinant viruses currently enable

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

Mounting evidence suggests that the gut microbiome impacts brain development and function. Gut–brain connections may be mediated by an assortment of microbial molecules that are produced in the gastrointestinal tract, which can subsequently permeate many organs, including sometimes the brain. Studies in animal models have identified molecular cues propagated from intestinal bacteria to the brain that

Throughout our lifespan, new sensory experiences and learning continually shape our neuronal circuits to form new memories. Plasticity at the level of synapses has been recognized and studied for decades, but recent work has revealed an additional form of plasticity — affecting oligodendrocytes and the myelin sheaths they produce — that plays a crucial role in learning and memory. In this Review, we

A dissociative state is caused by slow rhythmic firing of deep neurons in the retrosplenial cortex in mice or the homologous posteromedial cortex in humans

Critical features of human addiction are increasingly being incorporated into complementary animal models, including escalation of drug intake, punished drug seeking and taking, intermittent drug access, choice between drug and non-drug rewards, and assessment of individual differences based on criteria in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Combined

In mice, neuronally expressed opsin 5 acts as a deep brain violet light detector that allows hypothalamic neuron-mediated inhibition of thermogenesis.

Strengthening of the developing retinogeniculate circuit in mouse pups is promoted by a neuronal receptor and locally restricted by the microglial release of the receptor’s ligand.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a worldwide stressor. Considering the influence of stress on research participants during this time and beyond may provide new insights and benefit the broader field of human neuroscience. Considering the influence of stress on research participants during the pandemic and beyond may provide new insights and benefit the broader field of human neuroscience.

Juvenile social isolation in mice reduces a recruitment of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to posterior paraventricular thalamus social behaviour circuit and thereby reduces sociability in adulthood.

The locus coeruleus (LC), or ‘blue spot’, is a small nucleus located deep in the brainstem that provides the far-reaching noradrenergic neurotransmitter system of the brain. This phylogenetically conserved nucleus has proved relatively intractable to full characterization, despite more than 60 years of concerted efforts by investigators. Recently, an array of powerful new neuroscience tools have provided

Nature Reviews Neuroscience was first published in October 2000. In this issue, we therefore mark the 20th anniversary of the journal.

Various aspects of human cognition are shaped and enriched by abstract rules, which help to describe, link and classify discrete events and experiences into meaningful concepts. However, where and how these entities emerge in the primate brain and the neuronal mechanisms underlying them remain the subject of extensive research and debate. Evidence from imaging studies in humans and single-neuron recordings

Renewed interest in the use of psychedelics in the treatment of psychiatric disorders warrants a better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effects of these substances. After a hiatus of about 50 years, state-of-the art studies have recently begun to close important knowledge gaps by elucidating the mechanisms of action of psychedelics with regard to their effects on receptor

Glutamatergic neurons in the peri-locus coeruleus respond during ingestion of palatable food or drink and promote hedonic ingestion.

Scientific meetings are an opportunity to promote research and researchers. However, despite best intentions, scientific conferences can fall short of reflecting the gender balance and diversity of the communities they serve. Here we discuss initiatives to enhance gender balance and diversity at Cosyne 2020. Scientific meetings are an opportunity to promote research and researchers. Anne-Marie M. Oswald

Although hormones such as glucocorticoids have been broadly accepted in recent decades as general neuromodulators of memory processes, sex steroid hormones such as the potent oestrogen 17β-oestradiol have been less well recognized by the scientific community in this capacity. The predominance of females in studies of oestradiol and memory and the general (but erroneous) perception that oestrogens are

The first issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience was published 20 years ago, in 2000. To mark this anniversary, in this Viewpoint article we asked a selection of researchers from across the field who have authored pieces published in the journal in recent years for their thoughts on notable and interesting developments in neuroscience, and particularly in their areas of the field, over the past two decades

Astrocytes functionally interact with neurons and with other brain cells. Although not electrically excitable, astrocytes display a complex repertoire of intracellular Ca2+ signalling that evolves in space and time within single astrocytes and across astrocytic networks. Decoding the physiological meaning of these dynamic changes in astrocytic Ca2+ activity has remained a major challenge. This Review

Progenitor cells in fetuses carrying Huntington disease-associated mutations show differences to controls, suggesting the disease may have a developmental component.

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a framework of particular importance to psychology, neuroscience and machine learning. Interactions between these fields, as promoted through the common hub of RL, has facilitated paradigm shifts that relate multiple levels of analysis in a singular framework (for example, relating dopamine function to a computationally defined RL signal). Recently, more sophisticated

In rodents, hypothalamic network oscillations regulate a brain–endocrine circuit that influences paternal care.

Brain-wide circuits that coordinate affective and social behaviours intersect in the amygdala. Consequently, amygdala lesions cause a heterogeneous array of social and non-social deficits. Social behaviours are not localized to subdivisions of the amygdala even though the inputs and outputs that carry social signals are anatomically restricted to distinct subnuclear regions. This observation may be

In mice, loss of the autism risk gene Nlgn3 impairs oxytocin signalling and alters social behaviour.

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

In female rats, social touch activates parvocellular oxytocin neurons, leading to activation of the larger population of magnocellular oxytocin neurons and facilitating sociability.

Several types of neurons involved in spatial navigation and memory encode the distance and direction (that is, the vector) between an agent and items in its environment. Such vectorial information provides a powerful basis for spatial cognition by representing the geometric relationships between the self and the external world. Here, we review the explicit encoding of vectorial information by neurons

It is still widely thought that cortical projections to distant brain areas derive by and large from glutamatergic neurons. However, an increasing number of reports provide evidence that cortical GABAergic neurons comprise a smaller population of ‘projection neurons’ in addition to the well-known and much-studied interneurons. GABAergic long-range axons that derive from, or project to, cortical areas

In the hippocampus of adult mice, neuronally expressed interleukin-33 acts as a signal for microglial cell-mediated extracellular matrix remodelling, regulating synaptic plasticity and promoting memory consolidation.

Studies over the past several decades have identified numerous epigenetic mechanisms associated with pathological states in psychiatric and neurological disease. Until recently, studies investigating chromatin-regulatory proteins, using overexpression or knockdown approaches, did not establish causal roles for epigenetic modifications at specific genes because these techniques typically affect hundreds

The shuttering of labs across nations during the COVID-19 pandemic created significant complexities related to remote lab management and ongoing research. The lessons learned may provide opportunities for new ways of working in the post-pandemic era. Gina Poe and Denise Cai reflect on the challenges to research team management presented by the widespread closure of laboratories during the COVID-19

Satellite glial cells (SGCs) closely envelop cell bodies of neurons in sensory, sympathetic and parasympathetic ganglia. This unique organization is not found elsewhere in the nervous system. SGCs in sensory ganglia are activated by numerous types of nerve injury and inflammation. The activation includes upregulation of glial fibrillary acidic protein, stronger gap junction-mediated SGC–SGC and neuron–SGC

Activation of mitochondrial cannabinoid 1 receptors in mouse astrocytes disrupts astrocyte metabolism, bioenergetic support for neurons and social behaviour.

Postnatal brain development is highly influenced by sensory experience, in part via de novo activation of enhancer sequences by inducible transcription factors.

The activity of a subset of projections neurons in the song premotor nucleus HVC of canaries depends on preceding steps in the bird’s song and can predict future song phrases.