Research articles

Brain clearance mechanisms are challenging to visualize in humans. Using magnetic resonance imaging, the authors noninvasively mapped cerebrospinal fluid motion across the brain, showing region-specific drivers in healthy participants and altered dynamics in cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

This study shows that C9orf72 mutations impair immune activation in ALS, affecting how brain cells communicate, and highlights key differences in the cellular and molecular pathways underlying sporadic and genetic forms of the disease.

Padawer-Curry et al. show that the hallucinogenic 5-HT2A receptor agonist DOI alters neurovascular coupling in mice, with implications for the interpretation of human fMRI studies of psychedelics.

Lai et al. show a function of astrocytic Ca²⁺ in preventing synaptic depotentiation by reducing repetitive dendritic activity in the motor cortex during motor training, thereby contributing to learning-dependent neuronal circuit modification.

Glioblastoma—the deadliest form of brain cancer—alters the calvarial bone and its marrow components, pushing it toward producing more myeloid cells and contributing to an immunosuppressive environment.

Ionescu, Ankol et al. show that, in ALS mouse and iPSC models, TDP-43 aggregation at NMJs stems from aberrant axonal translation, normally repressed by muscle EV-derived miR126. Loss of miR126 in ALS increases TDP-43 buildup, impairs local synthesis and triggers degeneration.

Hammo et al. show that a single dose of psilocybin rapidly and sustainably relieves both chronic pain and anxiodepressive-like behaviors in mice by restoring prefrontal activity through partial agonism at 5-HT_2A and 5-HT_1A receptors.

The face reveals more than just emotion. Cazettes, Reato and colleagues show that subtle facial movements reveal hidden cognitive states, reflecting the brain’s ongoing computations and offering a noninvasive window into unexpressed thoughts and decisions.

Heller et al. showed dense longitudinal imaging in four females, including one with endometriosis and one using oral contraceptives, and the finding that different hormonal milieus influence widespread brain volume changes linked to progesterone or estradiol.

Xu et al. reveal that a bottom-up neural circuit from the medial septum to the subfornical organ prevents overhydration in mice by integrating oral and gastrointestinal signals before osmolality changes, demonstrating precise drinking control mechanisms.

Temporal integration throughout the human auditory cortex is predominantly locked to absolute time and does not vary with the duration of speech structures such as phonemes or words.

Using two-photon optogenetics, electrical recordings and sparse signal reconstruction, the authors demonstrate in vivo synaptic connectivity mapping in the mouse visual cortex.

The authors develop a new computational system for high-throughput mapping of synaptic connectivity using two-photon holographic optogenetics and intracellular recordings.

Neurons that respond emergently to illusory contours drive pattern completion in V1. Pattern completion in lower cortical areas may therefore mediate perceptual inference by selectively reinforcing activity patterns that match prior expectations.

Hachem et al. show that AMPAR signaling drives the acute activation of ependymal-derived neural stem/progenitor cells after spinal cord injury and that this mechanism can be targeted therapeutically to harness the endogenous regenerative potential of the spinal cord.

Grid cells do not maintain a stable pattern during a self-motion-based task, but track animal movement in multiple local reference frames and reanchor to task-relevant objects, thus estimating local rather than global position.

The human brain cycles through a repertoire of brain networks on a 1-second timescale during rest and tasks. This cycling appears to allow periodic engagement of essential cognitive functions, with the speed of cycling linked to genetics and age.

Using a virtual reality apparatus in rats that dissociates external landmarks from self-motion cues, the authors describe how the two modes of theta phase coding in the hippocampus during navigation are controlled via distinct computations.

The authors developed an adeno-associated virus-based high-throughput in vivo CRISPR screening platform for endogenous mouse brain cell types. Using this platform, they define genes and pathways essential for neuronal survival.

Chronic brain infection and IL-1 exposure impair spatial memory by triggering DNA double-strand break signaling in hippocampal neurons. Blocking this pathway prevents memory deficits, suggesting new therapeutic prospects for various brain diseases.