Two studies identify a mechanism linking TDP-43 pathology with genetic variants associated with increased risk of neurodegenerative disorders.

Temporarily reducing inhibition in CA1 of the mouse hippocampus enables stimulation-induced over-representation of rewarded locations.

Neuropeptide Y released in the rat spleen by neurons of the suprarenal and coeliac ganglia can regulate immune-cell activation.

Food craving-like behaviours in pregnant mice are associated with changes in dopamine signalling.

The enzymatic pathway has been characterized for the production of ketocarotenoids: the red pigment in some birds’ feathers and in eye cells that detect red light.

group of thalamic neurons in mice promote arousal and defensive behaviours in response to threat and enable sleep adaptations in the face of long-term predatory stress.

In flies, neurons that are common to both sexes regulate aggressive approach, whereas other, sex-specific neurons control attack behaviours.

nalyses of recurrent neural networks and neural data show how the concept of magnitude is generalized across different contexts.

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

In mice, temporally patterned inputs to the motor cortex that controls the forelimb are required for a well-trained reaching behaviour.

Research suggests that papers by women tend to get cited less than those by men; however, the factors driving this gendered citation behaviour are not clear.Here, the authors used a probabilistic algorithm to assign genders to the first and last authors of 54,225 papers from five neuroscience journals since 1995 and found that papers with male first and last authors (man/man written papers) were cited 11.6% more than would be expected if randomly drawn references were cited, whereas woman/woman papers were cited 30.2% less than expected.The authors found that this imbalanced citation behaviour seems to be gradually increasing over time, and that it is mostly driven by the citation practice of man/man author teams.

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

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.

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

NATuRe RevIewS | NeuroscieNceThis discovery implies that the differentiation of B cells in the spleen may be enhanced by acetyl choline.Indeed, the authors demonstrate the expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) sub units by spleen B cells.To examine the contribution of acetylcholine signalling to B cell responses, they transplanted bone marrow cells from animals in which the α9 nAChR subunit gene was deleted into irradiated mice.In these reconstituted animals, all B cells lacked α9-containing nAChRs.The capacity of these animals to produce SPPCs following NP-KLH immunization was impaired, indicating that splenic nerve activity enhances SPPC production through the activation of B cell nAChRs.Many autonomic responses are subject to top-down modula tion by the brain.Through viral-mediated retrograde tracing, optogenetic stimulation and electrophysiological recordings, the authors showed that the splenic nerve is functionally connected to corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH)-producing neurons originating in two parti cular forebrain areas known to be involved

Research suggests that papers by women tend to get cited less than those by men; however, the factors driving this gendered citation behaviour are not clear.Here, the authors used a probabilistic algorithm to assign genders to the first and last authors of 54,225 papers from five neuroscience journals since 1995 and found that papers with male first and last authors (man/man written papers) were cited 11.6% more than would be expected if randomly drawn references were cited, whereas woman/woman papers were cited 30.2% less than expected.The authors found that this imbalanced citation behaviour seems to be gradually increasing over time, and that it is mostly driven by the citation practice of man/man author teams.