Research Highlights in 2020

Ecotopic expression of three transcription factors induces reprogramming of the DNA methylation pattern of aged or injured retinal ganglion cells to a more ‘youthful’ state.

Downward homeostatic regulation of neuronal firing rate in the visual cortex occurs via synaptic scaling and is enabled by sleep.

In marmosets, overactivation of area 25 of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex alters neural and cardiac activity and behaviour in response to threat.

Optogenetic stimulation of place cells alters memory-guided spatial navigation in mice, providing evidence for a causal role for these cells in spatial cognition.

Following long-term potentiation, α5-subunit-containing GABA receptors relocalize to inhibitory synapses to amplify inhibition and suppress runaway potentiation.

Metabolites regulated by the microbiota of pregnant mice modulates the developing embryonic brain and influences thalamocortical axon formation and subsequent sensorimotor behaviour in adult offspring.

In mice, experience-dependent pauses in movement during exploration are mediated by a circuit in the amygdala.

A dissociative state is caused by slow rhythmic firing of deep neurons in the retrosplenial cortex in mice or the homologous posteromedial cortex in humans

In mice, neuronally expressed opsin 5 acts as a deep brain violet light detector that allows hypothalamic neuron-mediated inhibition of thermogenesis.

Strengthening of the developing retinogeniculate circuit in mouse pups is promoted by a neuronal receptor and locally restricted by the microglial release of the receptor’s ligand.

Juvenile social isolation in mice reduces a recruitment of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to posterior paraventricular thalamus social behaviour circuit and thereby reduces sociability in adulthood.

Glutamatergic neurons in the peri-locus coeruleus respond during ingestion of palatable food or drink and promote hedonic ingestion.

Progenitor cells in fetuses carrying Huntington disease-associated mutations show differences to controls, suggesting the disease may have a developmental component.

In rodents, hypothalamic network oscillations regulate a brain–endocrine circuit that influences paternal care.

In mice, loss of the autism risk gene Nlgn3 impairs oxytocin signalling and alters social behaviour.

In female rats, social touch activates parvocellular oxytocin neurons, leading to activation of the larger population of magnocellular oxytocin neurons and facilitating sociability.

In the hippocampus of adult mice, neuronally expressed interleukin-33 acts as a signal for microglial cell-mediated extracellular matrix remodelling, regulating synaptic plasticity and promoting memory consolidation.

Activation of mitochondrial cannabinoid 1 receptors in mouse astrocytes disrupts astrocyte metabolism, bioenergetic support for neurons and social behaviour.

Postnatal brain development is highly influenced by sensory experience, in part via de novo activation of enhancer sequences by inducible transcription factors.

The activity of a subset of projections neurons in the song premotor nucleus HVC of canaries depends on preceding steps in the bird’s song and can predict future song phrases.