doi: 10.1038/s41583-023-00746-1pmid: 37740095
Two papers report the development of high performance brain–computer interfaces that can decode speech from cortical activity.
doi: 10.1038/s41583-023-00745-2pmid: 37730911
Increasing levels of glial-derived neurotrophic factor using a gene-therapy approach in a macaque model of alcohol use disorder resulted in a lower tendency to relapse into alcohol consumption after a period of abstinence.
doi: 10.1038/s41583-023-00753-2pmid: 37770623
During retinal development in the mouse, angiogenesis was unexpectedly found to depend on temporally restricted dopamine production by retinal ganglion cells, rather than by canonical retinal dopamine neurons.
doi: 10.1038/s41583-023-00754-1pmid: 37770621
A study reports that in the mouse hippocampus, the induction of long-term potentiation is dependent on the structural functions of CaMKII and not its enzymatic activity.
doi: 10.1038/s41583-023-00755-0pmid: 37770620
A juvenile hormone-degrading enzyme localized in the insect equivalent of the blood–brain barrier governs which social role, forager or soldier, worker carpenter ants fulfil.
doi: 10.1038/s41583-023-00751-4pmid: 37770622
A study identified two different blood biomarker profiles in people hospitalized for COVID-19 that predicted later cognitive deficits.
Tseng, Yu-Ting; Schaefke, Bernhard; Wei, Pengfei; Wang, Liping
doi: 10.1038/s41583-023-00736-3pmid: 37730910
Most animals live under constant threat from predators, and predation has been a major selective force in shaping animal behaviour. Nevertheless, defence responses against predatory threats need to be balanced against other adaptive behaviours such as foraging, mating and recovering from infection. This behavioural balance in ethologically relevant contexts requires adequate integration of internal and external signals in a complex interplay between the brain and the body. Despite this complexity, research has often considered defensive behaviour as entirely mediated by the brain processing threat-related information obtained via perception of the external environment. However, accumulating evidence suggests that the endocrine, immune, gastrointestinal and reproductive systems have important roles in modulating behavioural responses to threat. In this Review, we focus on how predatory threat defence responses are shaped by threat imminence and review the circuitry between subcortical brain regions involved in mediating defensive behaviours. Then, we discuss the intersection of peripheral systems involved in internal states related to infection, hunger and mating with the neurocircuits that underlie defence responses against predatory threat. Through this process, we aim to elucidate the interconnections between the brain and body as an integrated network that facilitates appropriate defensive responses to threat and to discuss the implications for future behavioural research.
Ma, Huan; Khaled, Houda G.; Wang, Xiaohan; Mandelberg, Nataniel J.; Cohen, Samuel M.; He, Xingzhi; Tsien, Richard W.
doi: 10.1038/s41583-023-00742-5pmid: 37773070
Excitation–transcription coupling (E–TC) links synaptic and cellular activity to nuclear gene transcription. It is generally accepted that E–TC makes a crucial contribution to learning and memory through its role in underpinning long-lasting synaptic enhancement in late-phase long-term potentiation and has more recently been linked to late-phase long-term depression: both processes require de novo gene transcription, mRNA translation and protein synthesis. E–TC begins with the activation of glutamate-gated N-methyl-d-aspartate-type receptors and voltage-gated L-type Ca2+ channels at the membrane and culminates in the activation of transcription factors in the nucleus. These receptors and ion channels mediate E–TC through mechanisms that include long-range signalling from the synapse to the nucleus and local interactions within dendritic spines, among other possibilities. Growing experimental evidence links these E–TC mechanisms to late-phase long-term potentiation and learning and memory. These advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of E–TC mean that future efforts can focus on understanding its mesoscale functions and how it regulates neuronal network activity and behaviour in physiological and pathological conditions.
Harris, Ilana; Niven, Efe C.; Griffin, Alex; Scott, Sophie K.
doi: 10.1038/s41583-023-00743-4pmid: 37783820
Is the singing voice processed distinctively in the human brain? In this Perspective, we discuss what might distinguish song processing from speech processing in light of recent work suggesting that some cortical neuronal populations respond selectively to song and we outline the implications for our understanding of auditory processing. We review the literature regarding the neural and physiological mechanisms of song production and perception and show that this provides evidence for key differences between song and speech processing. We conclude by discussing the significance of the notion that song processing is special in terms of how this might contribute to theories of the neurobiological origins of vocal communication and to our understanding of the neural circuitry underlying sound processing in the human cortex.
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