Perspectives in 2019

Dopamine signals are implicated in not only reporting reward prediction errors but also various probabilistic computations. In this Opinion article, Gershman and Uchida propose that these different roles for dopamine can be placed within a common reinforcement learning framework.

A major challenge in neuroscience is the definition of neuronal types. Here, Paul and Huang give an overview of efforts to classify GABAergic cell types, and propose a framework in which cell types are transcriptionally defined communication elements with characteristic input–output properties.

Successful learning and decision-making require estimates of expected uncertainty and unexpected uncertainty. Soltani and Izquierdo define these concepts, describe proposed models of how they may be computed and discuss their neural substrates.

Studies that examine brain activity during real-time social interactions may advance our understanding of human social behaviour. Redcay and Schilbach describe progress in ‘second-person’ neuroscience and discuss the insights into the brain mechanisms of social behaviour that have been gained.

In this Opinion article, Martijn van den Heuvel and Olaf Sporns examine alterations in structural and functional brain connectivity across brain disorders. They propose a common landscape for such alterations that is based on principles of network organization.

How is the processing of auditory information by the cortex organized? Scott and colleagues describe differences in the connectivity and properties of the rostral and caudal auditory cortex and propose links to the functional specializations of the rostral and caudal auditory streams.

In this Opinion, Yonelinas et al. propose that the hippocampus binds together item-related and content-related information to form memories. They compare the evidence for this contextual binding theory with that for another theory of memory, standard systems consolidation theory.

Environmental enrichment is a classical experimental paradigm for the study of the interaction between genes and the environment. In this Opinion, Kempermann discusses how this paradigm can be further developed in order to capture the essence of interindividual differences in brain function.

How does the brain generate positive or negative hedonic or motivational reactions (such as liking or disgust) to particular stimuli or events? In this Opinion article, Berridge evaluates two proposed mechanisms for the generation of affective valance in the brain.