Volume 21 Issue 2, February 2020

Functional deficits in a cortical–brainstem circuit predict which rats are likely to develop compulsive drinking behaviour.

Transcriptomic analysis of susceptible and resilient subtypes of retinal ganglion cells following injury reveal resilience-associated genes, which when overexpressed in susceptible types increase survival.

Gut-innervating sensory neurons drive host defensive responses against Salmonella infection in mice.

Tissue-clearing methods are now allowing 3D imaging of intact tissues and some entire mammals. In this Review, Ueda and colleagues discuss the various tissue-clearing methods, related techniques and data analysis and management, as well as the application of these methods in neuroscience.

Changes in cortical gain enable neurons to respond adaptively to changing inputs. In this Review, Ferguson and Cardin describe the mechanisms that modulate cortical gain, and its effects on and relevance for cognition and behaviour.

Cell-extrinsic changes in the systemic environment, transported to the site of action by the blood, have recently been shown to contribute to brain ageing. In this Review, Pluvinage and Wyss-Coray discuss how circulating molecules in the blood modulate brain function in health, ageing and disease.

There has been considerable interest in cell-replacement strategies for the treatment of Parkinson disease. In this Review, Parmar, Grealish and Henchcliffe highlight some of the key developments in this field, with a focus on therapies based on dopamine neurons derived from human pluripotent stem cells.