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In their flagship paper, the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN) describes the classification and analysis of cell types in the mammalian primary motor cortex.
Mapping promoter–enhancer interactions reveals that increased diversity of cell types in the vertebrate CNS coincides with the evolutionary expansion of complexity in noncoding regions of the genome
In mice, peripheral immune responses can be encoded by neurons in the insular cortex, and reactivation of these neurons can lead to retrieval of peripheral inflammation.
In the brain of the ant species Harpegnathos saltator, the switch from worker ant to gamergate is regulated by the steroid hormones JH3 and 20E, which induce expression of Kr-h1, a transcription factor that regulates caste-specific gene expression via transcriptional repression.
Numerous energy-demanding cellular processes contribute to synaptic activity and function. Li and Sheng describe the mechanisms that regulate presynaptic energy supply to ensure that neurons can meet these demands and maintain their functions during periods of intensive synaptic activity.
Fibroblasts in the CNS have been assigned a role in fibrotic scar formation in response to injury and inflammation but might perform additional roles attributed to other cell types. In this Review, Dorrier and colleagues discuss the available evidence regarding fibroblast functions in the CNS.
Environmental stressors, including extreme ambient temperature, the presence of pathogens or predators, and a lack of food, can profoundly influence animal behaviour. In this Perspective, Nakamura, Nakamura and Kataoka present a hypothalamomedullary network model for physiological responses to various environmental stressors.
The amyloid hypothesis has been the dominant model for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease for several decades. In this Perspective, Giovanni Frisoni and colleagues examine evidence for and against this hypothesis before outlining an alternative model, the probabilistic model of Alzheimer disease.
