Comment

Far from being a niche concern, women’s brain health is a global issue, affecting more than half of the world’s population. Despite this, the unique aspects of how the female brain adapts, reorganizes and ages, particularly those shaped by hormonal transitions across the lifespan, have not received proportionate attention in research agendas, funding priorities or clinical guidelines.

The scientific enterprise depends on attracting and retaining the very best talent, yet barriers persist that perpetuate inequities in the scientific workforce. Here I discuss the efforts of the ALBA Network to help anyone to work effectively to maximize scientific progress by making their communities more equitable and inclusive.

The goal of theoretical neuroscience is to uncover principles of neural computation through careful design and interpretation of mathematical models. Here, I examine the use of top-down conceptual and bottom-up mechanistic models in theoretical neuroscience, exploring how they connect with experimental practice and where there is room for future growth.

High-throughput volume electron microscopy and deep learning-driven automated segmentation have revolutionized the mapping of neural circuits at the level of individual neurons and synapses, revealing new cell types and unexpected network architectures in diverse species. Although prospects for continued progress in connectomics are excellent, substantial technical and conceptual hurdles remain.

Neuroscience has inspired artificial intelligence (AI) for decades but, in recent years, AI tools have begun to revolutionize neuroscience research. The emerging field of NeuroAI has the potential to transform large-scale neural modelling and data-driven neuroscience discovery. The field must balance exploiting AI’s power while maintaining interpretability and biological insight.

As scientists, we want solid answers, but we also want to answer questions that matter. Yet, the brain’s complexity forces trade-offs between these desiderata, bringing about two distinct research approaches in neuroscience that we describe as ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’. Recognizing the validity of both approaches dispels misunderstandings and unnecessary tension and promotes constructive interactions.

Brain cell atlases are revolutionizing neuroscience by using single-cell and spatial genomics to reveal the brain’s cellular diversity across development, function and disease. Fully realizing the potential of these atlases requires continued technology improvement, multimodal data integration and strategies to address ethical challenges, paving the way for transformative discoveries in neuroscience and clinical applications.

The balance between neural excitation (E) and inhibition (I) shapes cognition, development and brain-based disorders. Electroencephalography and magnetic resonance spectroscopy allow non-invasive quantification of the E/I ratio but yield discrepancies that challenge their use in this context. Addressing these differences is essential for advancing biomarkers and brain-based therapies.

Despite a global push to recognize Indigenous knowledge systems in research, neuroscience remains embedded in Euro-Western ways of means and methods. Authentic capacity-building will bring Indigenous ways of knowing and doing to the neuroscience workforce, to research and to training, and will lead to diversified and strengthened approaches to discovery and clinical care strategies.

Fluorescent indicators can provide quantitative insights into the spatiotemporal dynamics of signalling molecules released by brain circuits. However, a mismatch between the experimental context and the experimental imaging settings often introduces unexpected errors and biases in such measurements. Appreciating this mismatch should help to arrive at unbiased estimates.

Data sharing is an essential component of open science practice. The Brain Imaging Data Structure project has pioneered a way to organize neuroimaging and behavioural data that enables easy sharing and reuse. We present experiences from the BIDS project and highlight how standards can promote open science.

A growing body of epidemiological evidence linking air pollution to multiple brain disorders suggests that these adverse effects are produced by mechanisms that are shared across these disorders. More stringent, targeted regulatory policies may therefore be required to ensure public health protection.

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.

What’s the point of public engagement? Why can’t we just be neuroscience researchers? In this Comment I will argue that communicating our science is a key aspect of being a neuroscientist and that our science can be enriched by this.

In this Comment, Linzie Taylor and Karen Rommelfanger argue that white Western individualist bias is impeding progress in neuroscience and present a relational rubric of principles to mitigate this bias.

When designing neurotechnologies to assist people with communication disabilities, neuroscientists and engineers must consider both the speaker’s perspective and the listeners’ ability to judge the voluntariness and accuracy of decoded communication. This is particularly important in personally significant communication contexts for which there are profound legal and societal implications.

In this Comment, Riquelme and Gjorgjieva describe why and how individual researchers and the broader neuroscientific community should aim to improve code readability in the field.

In this open letter, co-founders of the Black In Neuro initiative thank previous mentors and advise future mentors on how to effectively encourage the next generation of Black researchers.

Traditional scientific conferences and seminar events have been hugely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, paving the way for virtual forms of scientific communication to take hold and be put to the test.

Considering the influence of stress on research participants during the pandemic and beyond may provide new insights and benefit the broader field of human neuroscience.