The timing of action determines reward prediction signals in identified midbrain dopamine neurons

The timing of action determines reward prediction signals in identified midbrain dopamine neurons, Published online: 15 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0245-7

As naive mice learn a stimulus–reward association, DA neuron activity first reflects the timing of reward-seeking actions relative to predictable stimuli & rewards. As actions are refined by learning, DA neuron activity can reflect prediction errors.

Volitional social interaction prevents drug addiction in rat models

Volitional social interaction prevents drug addiction in rat models, Published online: 15 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0246-6

Venniro et al. report that drug-addicted rats reliably choose contact with another rat over drugs, even when group-housed between tests. They also do not show the increase in drug craving that normally occurs during forced abstinence.

CNS infection and immune privilege

CNS infection and immune privilege, Published online: 11 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41583-018-0070-8

Traditionally, the CNS is described to have immune privilege, largely because of its immunological barriers. Here, Forrester, McMenamin and Dando describe how this immune privilege may sometimes not be beneficial, as it enables invading pathogens to exist as latent CNS infections.

Maintenance, reserve and compensation: the cognitive neuroscience of healthy ageing

Maintenance, reserve and compensation: the cognitive neuroscience of healthy ageing, Published online: 10 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41583-018-0068-2

Age-related changes in cognitive ability are the focus of a growing field of research. Cabeza, Rajah and colleagues aim to promote clarity in the field by agreeing upon consensual definitions for three widely discussed concepts: maintenance, compensation and reserve.

Imaging-based parcellations of the human brain

Imaging-based parcellations of the human brain, Published online: 09 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41583-018-0071-7

The brain can be parcellated into areas or networks with different structural or functional properties. Eickhoff, Yeo and Genon describe various imaging-based strategies to parcellate the human brain, including those based on local properties, such as cytoarchitecture, and global properties, such as connectivity.

The neural mechanisms and circuitry of the pair bond

The neural mechanisms and circuitry of the pair bond, Published online: 09 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41583-018-0072-6

Recent research advances have yielded fresh insights into the fundamental neural processes underlying pair bonding. In this Review, Walum and Young discuss how neural representations of a partner become inherently rewarding, providing intriguing insights into the neural origins of love.

A position on vision

A position on vision, Published online: 09 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41583-018-0076-2

A new study finds that, in mice, location-related signals affect activity in the primary visual cortex.

Integration of gene expression and brain-wide connectivity reveals the multiscale organization of mouse hippocampal networks

Integration of gene expression and brain-wide connectivity reveals the multiscale organization of mouse hippocampal networks, Published online: 08 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0241-y

Bienkowski et al. have created a new subregional atlas of the mouse hippocampus that integrates gene expression with anatomical connectivity to reveal the multiscale organization of the hippocampus and its connections throughout the brain.

Author Correction: The emerging field of epigenetics in neurodegeneration and neuroprotection

Author Correction: The emerging field of epigenetics in neurodegeneration and neuroprotection, Published online: 05 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41583-018-0065-5

Author Correction: The emerging field of epigenetics in neurodegeneration and neuroprotection

Rewarding gut feeling

Rewarding gut feeling, Published online: 05 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41583-018-0075-3

Vagal afferents projecting from the gut to the brainstem and then relayed on to the midbrain carry reward signals that trigger dopamine release in the dorsal striatum.

Number crunching

Number crunching, Published online: 05 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41583-018-0073-5

Number neurons encoding symbolic and nonsymbolical representations of numerical value are identified in the human medial temporal lobe

In or out of synch

In or out of synch, Published online: 05 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41583-018-0074-4

In a genetic mouse model related to schizophrenia, restoring the excitability of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in hippocampal CA1 ameliorates network dysfunction and behavioural deficits.

It’s about time

It’s about time, Published online: 01 October 2018; doi:10.1038/s41583-018-0066-4

Study shows that population activity in the rat lateral entorhinal cortex can encode the passage of time, which may contribute to temporal aspects of episodic memory.

Imaging the evolution and pathophysiology of Alzheimer disease

Imaging the evolution and pathophysiology of Alzheimer disease, Published online: 28 September 2018; doi:10.1038/s41583-018-0067-3

Various techniques can be used to image aspects of the pathophysiology of Alzheimer disease in humans, notably protein deposition and neurodegeneration. In this Review, William Jagust discusses how human neuroimaging studies have shaped our understanding of this disease.

Maladaptive cortical hyperactivity upon recovery from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Maladaptive cortical hyperactivity upon recovery from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, Published online: 26 September 2018; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0193-2

The authors report TNFα-dependent hyperactivity in cortical microcircuits during remission in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis, a maladaptive response to the immune attack with behavioral changes.

Propagation and spread of pathogenic protein assemblies in neurodegenerative diseases

Propagation and spread of pathogenic protein assemblies in neurodegenerative diseases, Published online: 26 September 2018; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0238-6

Many neurodegenerative diseases involve the seeded propagation and spread of abnormally shaped proteins within the nervous system. The resulting disease reflects the interaction between the misfolded proteins and the host milieu.

Double threat in striatal dopamine signaling

Double threat in striatal dopamine signaling, Published online: 26 September 2018; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0243-9

In this issue of Nature Neuroscience, Menegas et al. demonstrate a role for midbrain dopamine neurons projecting to the tail of the striatum in encoding stimulus novelty and threat avoidance. From this study emerges a model whereby distinct dopaminergic projections to striatum influence behavior along at least two axes, one representing value and one representing threat.

Microglia in neurodegeneration

Microglia in neurodegeneration, Published online: 26 September 2018; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0242-x

Microglia are the sentinels, housekeepers, and defenders of the brain. In this review we consider the immune checkpoints that control microglial functions and discuss how their imbalance and subsequent neuroinflammation leads to neurodegeneration.

Triple dissociation of attention and decision computations across prefrontal cortex

Triple dissociation of attention and decision computations across prefrontal cortex, Published online: 26 September 2018; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0239-5

Hunt, Malalasekera et al. recorded populations of prefrontal neurons from monkeys performing a visual attention-guided-choice task. The results revealed that distinct computations in three PFC subregions as information was sampled guided the eventual decision.

Deconstructing and targeting the genomic architecture of human neurodegeneration

Deconstructing and targeting the genomic architecture of human neurodegeneration, Published online: 26 September 2018; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0240-z

Older people often have more than one form of neuropathology. The authors describe how insights from the genomic architecture of syndromically defined neurodegenerative diseases can be integrated to inform person-specific trajectories of brain aging.