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Fluorescent sensors of molecular activity have revolutionized our knowledge of the brain. However, their signals report a reaction between the target and the sensor molecules rather than the activity of interest per se. Thus, understanding the location, sensitivity and imaging environment of a sensor should help to avoid misinterpretation of its readout.
Barosensitive neurons in the medullary nucleus of the solitary tract can decrease wakefulness and increase non-REM sleep in mice through the same circuitry that regulates cardiovascular function.
The progenitor cell populations that establish the developing human cortex exhibit distinct forms of apical–basal polarity. Kriegstein and colleagues review the mechanisms that regulate human cortical progenitor polarity, its importance for cortical development and the consequences of its disruption in neurological disorders.
Understanding how brain circuits have been altered by evolution can provide insight into their development and function. Prieto-Godino and colleagues provide an overview of our current understanding of the principles of central circuit evolution, drawing on numerous examples from across the animal kingdom.
Attractor network dynamics can support several computations performed by the brain. In their Review, Khona and Fiete introduce different attractor dynamics and their computational utility, describe evidence of attractor networks across the brain and explain how such networks could be recombined to increase their flexibility and versatility.
