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Channelrhodopsins are light-gated ion channels for optogenetics. Here, authors report the 2.7 Å cryo-EM structure of a blue-shifted channelrhodopsin from Klebsormidium nitens, revealing a 6-s-cis retinal configuration and unique C-terminal modulation.

Many conventional two-photon microscopes restrict the size of the imaging field-of-view and the specific shape of the effective excitation volume. The authors present a low-cost non-telecentric optical design that expands the 3D field of view and permits the bending of imaging planes to follow natural curvatures in biological structures.

Calcium-permeable AMPA receptors are identified to have a role in maintaining low feature selectivity in a specific population of inhibitory interneurons, and this function is conserved across ferrets, rodents, marmosets and humans.

The neural circuits that transmit cool signals remain not fully understood. Here, authors identify a spinal circuit in mice that transmits cool sensations from the skin to the brain, revealing a dedicated neural pathway for detecting innocuous cool temperatures.

Genetically-encoded indicators with more red-shifted excitation and emission wavelengths are advantageous for in vivo imaging. Here, Dalangin et al. report the engineering of far-red fluorescent Ca2+ indicators and demonstrate their utility for monitoring of all-optical cardiac pacing in embryonic zebrafish.

The authors show that mitochondria can chronically hyperpolarize under normal or disease conditions and be induced by environmental exposures. This triggers phospholipid remodeling, which in turn affects the epigenome to regulate transcription.

Neural mechanisms underlying cross-modal generalization of learned sensorimotor associations are not fully understood. Here authors show that mice use a specialized cortical circuit to generalize learned behaviors between vision and touch. A single region in the dorsal cortex is essential for forming abstract spatial representations that enable cross-modal flexibility.

A comprehensive analysis of the cell-specific molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying post-traumatic stress disorder in the human prefrontal cortex.

Manual injection, which remains low-throughput and labor-intensive, is a technical bottleneck for large-scale genetic studies of C. elegans. Here, the authors report a robotic microinjection system which facilitates injection speed while maintaining injection quality which is comparable to experienced experts.

GABAB receptors contribute to complex inhibition that regulates cortical neurons in a translationally relevant manner over adult life. Here, authors show stronger presynaptic inhibition in humans than rats, and a role for GABAB receptors in the anti-seizure profile of levetiracetam.

Caregiving behavior is critical for infant survival. Here we show that projections from galanin neurons of medial preoptic area to perifornical area of hypothalamus are anatomically similar between males and females but have sex-specific functional roles in caregiving and stress responses.

Actin is crucial for nervous system function yet the role of microexons in its modulation is unclear. Here, the authors show that a microexon in DAAM1 has a role in actin dynamics, neuronal function and memory formation in mice.

Kodo et al. show that patient-specific iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes recapitulate the proliferative defects associated with the disease, which are a result of TBX20 mutations and abnormal TGF-β signalling.

CRISPR/Cas9-based homing gene drives have emerged as a potential new approach to mosquito control. Here the authors use transgenic lines with germline-specific regulatory elements to express Cas9 and achieve up to 94% inheritance bias, closing the gap between A. aegyptidrives and the highly efficient drives observed in Anopheles species.

The structure of the human NALCN channelosome and a model of the gating mechanism are determined.

Current methods to measure extracellular pH are often limited in resolution and response times. Here the authors present a label-free nanoprobe, consisting of a zwitterionic nanomembrane at the tip of a nanopipette, which enables high spatiotemporal resolution pH measurements and topography-pH 3D mapping in live cancer cells.

Transmembrane channels have inspired the development of biomimetic channels. Here, the authors present a class of artificial nanochannels based on DNAzyme-functionalized glass nanopipettes to allow for the control of channel permeability.

Periventricular heterotopia (PH) is associated with neurodevelopmental delay. Here authors report patient-derived organoids with FAT4 and DCHS1 mutations mimic PH features, showing hyperactivity, synaptic changes and cell morphological alterations.

Catalytic metals dissolved in a liquid gallium solvent remain atomically dispersed. Alignments among the liquid atoms and reactants facilitate selective propylene synthesis from various hydrocarbon feedstocks.

In this study, the authors use selective silencing of specific subsets of afferent neurons and stimulation with pruritogens or algogens to show that histaminergic and non-histaminergic itch is mediated by functionally distinct sets of sensory fibers. These findings provide further evidence for the labeled line theory of sensory perception.

Monosynaptic cerebellar projections to the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) increase the activity of SNc neurons and striatal dopamine levels. These projections may convey information related to movement initiation, vigor and reward processing.

A disease model using cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells of patients with mutated LMNA-related dilated cardiomyopathy reveals that the abnormal activation of the PDGF pathway is associated with the arrhythmic phenotypes of patients.

BRCA2 plays a central role in facilitating DNA repair by homologous recombination (HR). Here the authors describe how BRCA2 forms a complex with the protein phosphatase PP2A-B56 in response to DNA damage, which is required for HR.

Silicon-based materials have the ability to support bioelectrical activity. Here the authors show how injectable silicon carbide nanowires reduce arrhythmias and rapidly restore conduction in a myocardial infarction model.

Image-seq isolates cells from specific tissue locations under image guidance for analysis by single-cell RNA sequencing. The technique can be combined with in vivo imaging to document the temporal and dynamic history of the cells prior to sequencing.

Human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes are a powerful model for cardiogenesis and disease in vitro. Here the authors comprehensively map cardiac differentiation using multiple modalities, including single-cell RNA seq and CyTOF, in cells with a gain  or loss of function in key cardiac transcription factors.

Conventional upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) cannot activate multiple neuron populations independently using optogenetics. Here the authors report trichromatic UCNPs with excitation-specific luminescence to allow activation of three distinct neuronal populations in the brain of awake mice.

Aedes aegypti is the main vector of several major pathogens including dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses. Here the authors find that a CRISPR/Cas9 based split gene drive in Aedes aegypti could successfully bias inheritance up to 89% over successive generations in a multi-cage trial with further deep sequencing suggesting that the multiplexing design could mitigate resistance allele formation.

The protein SLITRK2 plays an important role in synaptic communication. This study identifies X-linked SLITRK2 variants that underlie neurodevelopmental disorders by impairing excitatory synapses.

Whether and how slow wave activity (SWA) and the underlying membrane potential UP and DOWN states initiate mechanisms that augment memory functions in humans are not fully understood. Here authors used multineuron patch-clamp in alive human brain tissue, resected during neurosurgeries, to show that membrane potential UP/DOWN states, which mimic neural sleep activity, modulate axonal action potentials to boost synaptic strength and plasticity.

Song and colleagues show that FDA-approved cough suppressant dextromethorphan could be used as an agonist of sigma non-opioid intracellular receptor 1 (SIGMAR1) to normalize the action potential in human cellular models and a mouse model of Timothy syndrome, a congenital disease with no available treatment. The researchers also show that dextromethorphan normalizes the action potential in human cellular models of two additional inherited cardiac arrhythmias: long QT syndrome types 1 and 2, which are caused by mutations in different genes.

Discovering that nociceptive sensory neurons express the receptor for anthrax toxin, Yang et al. show that anthrax toxin can induce potent analgesia in mice and facilitate the delivery of potentially analgesic cargo proteins into nociceptive neurons.

To date, no Ca2 + -selective channelrhodopsins have been characterized. In this study, Fernandez Lahore et al. report two calcium-permeable channelrhodopsins (CapChR1 and 2) for the photocontrol of calcium signalling in excitable tissue.

A study leveraging transsynaptic tracing demonstrates rapid and extensive integration of human glioblastoma organoids into the mouse brain.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the three-dimensional organization of chromatin within the nucleus plays a role in regulating gene expression. Here, Ito et al.demonstrate that the disruption of chromocenter clustering in mature neuronal cells results in specific transcriptional and behavioural defects in mice.

Nanoelectrodes for measuring intracellular action potentials suffer from issues with success rate, signal strength and fabrication. Here, the authors report on a scalable technique which creates robust nanocrown electrodes with high success rates by electroporation and demonstrate the advance towards preclinical drug evaluation.

Genetically encoded voltage indicators (GEVIs) allow visualisation of fast action potentials in neurons but most are bright at rest and dimmer during an action potential. Here, the authors engineer electrochromic FRET GEVIs with fast, bright and positive-going fluorescence signals for in vivo imaging.

Determining how to respond to others in distress is central to social cognition. In a new model, male rats approach stressed juveniles but avoid stressed adults; these behaviors require excitatory action of oxytocin within the insular cortex.

Prevailing models have suggested that grid cell firing in the entorhinal cortex for spatial navigation relies on theta rhythmic inputs from head direction cells. Here, the authors show how head direction cells can skip theta cycles in a regular and organized manner in which two head direction cells will alternate theta skipping in opposing cycles. This so-called theta skipping is dependent on the input from the septum, and these results propose a possible mechanism of spatial computation.

Rocks and dust from the asteroid Bennu contain some of the molecular building blocks of life on Earth, such as amino acids and nucleobases. They also carry ammonia that formed billions of years ago in cold, distant regions of our Solar System.

Mutations in the gene, GBA1, cause Gaucher’s disease, and are a strong risk factor for the development of Parkinson’s disease. Here the authors use cells derived from Parkinson’s patients with GBA1mutations to model the disease, and reveal changes in cellular recycling systems that may promote neurodegeneration.

Mice are able to discriminate colors, at least in the upper visual field. Here, the authors provide a comprehensive characterization of retinal circuits underlying this behavior.