Reduced mitochondrial fusion and Huntingtin levels contribute to impaired dendritic maturation and behavioral deficits in Fmr1-mutant mice

Reduced mitochondrial fusion and Huntingtin levels contribute to impaired dendritic maturation and behavioral deficits in <i>Fmr1</i>-mutant mice, Published online: 18 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-019-0338-y

Shen et al. show that FMRP promotes mitochondrial fusion through HTT. FMRP loss caused fragmented mitochondria and oxidative stress in immature neurons, and enhancing mitochondrial fusion rescued neuronal and behavioral deficits in Fmr1-mutant mice.

Author Correction: Neural computations of threat in the aftermath of combat trauma

Author Correction: Neural computations of threat in the aftermath of combat trauma, Published online: 13 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-019-0356-9

Author Correction: Neural computations of threat in the aftermath of combat trauma

The neural mechanisms and consequences of paternal caregiving

The neural mechanisms and consequences of paternal caregiving, Published online: 13 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41583-019-0124-6

Recent years have seen a growing interest in the neurobiological basis of paternal caregiving. Feldman and colleagues review studies that have shed light on the circuits that underlie paternal care in mammals and the consequences of this care for fathers and their offspring.

Mitophagy inhibits amyloid-β and tau pathology and reverses cognitive deficits in models of Alzheimer’s disease

Mitophagy inhibits amyloid-β and tau pathology and reverses cognitive deficits in models of Alzheimer’s disease, Published online: 11 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0332-9

The authors report that mitophagy is impaired in Alzheimer’s disease. Stimulation of mitophagy reverses cognitive deficits in nematode and mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting a potential therapeutic intervention.

Spinal stretch reflexes support efficient hand control

Spinal stretch reflexes support efficient hand control, Published online: 11 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-019-0336-0

Weiler et al demonstrate that the fastest spinal feedback pathway can integrate information from the elbow and wrist, and take into account the arm’s orientation to produce corrective responses that help to maintain the hand’s position in space.

Neutrophil adhesion in brain capillaries reduces cortical blood flow and impairs memory function in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models

Neutrophil adhesion in brain capillaries reduces cortical blood flow and impairs memory function in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models, Published online: 11 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0329-4

The authors found that white blood cells plug about 2% of capillaries in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease mouse models. When the adhesion of these cells was blocked, cerebral blood flow immediately increased and cognitive performance rapidly improved.

Whither variability?

Whither variability?, Published online: 11 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-019-0344-0

Variability is a ubiquitous aspect of neural recordings. In an influential paper, Churchland et al. (2010) compiled data from many cortical areas to demonstrate that variability generally decreases upon presentation of a stimulus. What are the implications of this finding?

Author Correction: Inflammasome signalling in brain function and neurodegenerative disease

Author Correction: Inflammasome signalling in brain function and neurodegenerative disease, Published online: 11 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41583-019-0137-1

Author Correction: Inflammasome signalling in brain function and neurodegenerative disease

Sat nav for the spinal cord

Sat nav for the spinal cord, Published online: 11 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41583-019-0135-3

During nervous system development, secretion of netrin 1 from both the floorplate and the ventricular zone is shown to be important for guidance of commissural axons towards the ventral midline of the spinal cord.

Oxidative stress, dysfunctional glucose metabolism and Alzheimer disease

Oxidative stress, dysfunctional glucose metabolism and Alzheimer disease, Published online: 08 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41583-019-0132-6

Oxidative damage plays a key role in the development of Alzheimer disease. In this Review, Butterfield and Halliwell discuss how this damage relates to impaired brain glucose metabolism and proteostasis defects and how knowledge of it may suggest potential therapies.

Revealing a receptor for secreted APP

Revealing a receptor for secreted APP, Published online: 07 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41583-019-0136-2

The secreted fragment of the amyloid precursor protein binds to a subunit of GABAB receptors to modulate neurotransmission.

Publisher Correction: A diverse range of factors affect the nature of neural representations underlying short-term memory

Publisher Correction: A diverse range of factors affect the nature of neural representations underlying short-term memory, Published online: 06 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-019-0348-9

Publisher Correction: A diverse range of factors affect the nature of neural representations underlying short-term memory

Environmental enrichment, new neurons and the neurobiology of individuality

Environmental enrichment, new neurons and the neurobiology of individuality, Published online: 05 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41583-019-0120-x

Environmental enrichment is a classical experimental paradigm for the study of the interaction between genes and the environment. In this Opinion, Kempermann discusses how this paradigm can be further developed in order to capture the essence of interindividual differences in brain function.

Increased synapse elimination by microglia in schizophrenia patient-derived models of synaptic pruning

Increased synapse elimination by microglia in schizophrenia patient-derived models of synaptic pruning, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0334-7

Postmortem studies indicate reduced synaptic density in schizophrenia. Sellgren et al. show increased synaptic pruning in patient-derived cell models and provide evidence that C4 risk variants increase engulfment, while minocycline decreases it.

Differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into neurons or cortical organoids requires transcriptional co-regulation by UTX and 53BP1

Differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into neurons or cortical organoids requires transcriptional co-regulation by UTX and 53BP1, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0328-5

An interaction between UTX and 53BP1, which occurs in humans but not mice, promotes neurogenic gene expression that underlies neuronal differentiation and cortical development, perhaps providing insight into human-specific neurodevelopment.

Concurrent visual and motor selection during visual working memory guided action

Concurrent visual and motor selection during visual working memory guided action, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0335-6

van Ede et al. show that both sensory qualities and motor responses associated with information held in mind are accessed simultaneously to guide behavior. The findings help bridge the fields of visual working memory and action planning.

Genome-wide meta-analysis of depression identifies 102 independent variants and highlights the importance of the prefrontal brain regions

Genome-wide meta-analysis of depression identifies 102 independent variants and highlights the importance of the prefrontal brain regions, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0326-7

The authors conducted a genetic meta-analysis of depression and found 269 associated genes. These genes highlight several potential drug repositioning opportunities, and relationships with depression were found for neuroticism and smoking.

Dorsolateral septum somatostatin interneurons gate mobility to calibrate context-specific behavioral fear responses

Dorsolateral septum somatostatin interneurons gate mobility to calibrate context-specific behavioral fear responses, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0330-y

Besnard et al. uncover functional heterogeneity of somatostatin interneurons (SST-INs) in the dorsolateral septum and reveal a role for a subpopulation of SST-INs as hippocampal relays that govern mobility to calibrate adaptive fear responses.

Affective valence in the brain: modules or modes?

Affective valence in the brain: modules or modes?, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41583-019-0122-8

How does the brain generate positive or negative hedonic or motivational reactions (such as liking or disgust) to particular stimuli or events? In this Opinion article, Berridge evaluates two proposed mechanisms for the generation of affective valance in the brain.

Lost in ruptures

Lost in ruptures, Published online: 30 January 2019; doi:10.1038/s41583-019-0134-4

In a mouse model of multiple sclerosis, calcium enters neurons via ‘nanoruptures’ in the cell membrane and accumulates in the cytoplasm of axons, driving axonal degeneration.