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Roy, Zhang et al. discuss how modern neuroscience is revealing underappreciated heterogeneity in thalamic cell types, which leads to the idea that ‘thalamic subnetworks’ provide a more appropriate level of functional description than thalamic nuclei.
Adult male rodents have long been known to show stronger hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and learning than females. Le et al. find that this sex difference is reversed in pre-pubescent animals, and identify a female-specific mechanism that increases LTP threshold and decreases spatial memory in females after puberty.
The duodenum distinguishes between sugar and sweeteners, but the cells involved in this process remain elusive. Buchanan and colleagues engineered a flexible optic fiber for optogenetic manipulation of gut cells in mice. Silencing duodenal CCK cells reduced the preference for sugar over sweetener intake. Gut optogenetics may elucidate how the gut–brain axis regulates feeding and glucose homeostasis.
Neuroscientists can measure activity from more neurons than ever before, garnering new insights and posing challenges to traditional theoretical frameworks. New frameworks may help researchers use these observations to shed light on brain function.
