New issue of Neuron is now online! This week's issue is a mini Special Issue on AI. It features Perspectives from Srini Narayanan and colleagues, Blake Richards and colleagues, as well as Q&As with Danilo Bzdok and David Sussillo.
www.cell.com/neuron/current
Kim et al. introduce POINTseq, a high-throughput barcoded connectomics method for mapping brain-wide single-neuron projections of a specific cell population defined by common viral-genetic tools. Applying POINTseq to mouse midbrain dopamine neurons reveals diverse connectomic cell types and stereotyped collateral wiring patterns that may underlie distinct dopamine functions.
Phensy et al. show that prefrontal gamma activity is composed of multiple, cell-type-specific synchrony patterns that differentially manifest during decision-making and outcome periods and track changes in behavioral strategies. These patterns offer a new framework for understanding cognitive flexibility and its disruption in disorders such as schizophrenia.
By exploiting Drosophila to study glial regulation of synapse development and maintenance across the lifespan and performing an in vivo genetic screen, Jay et al. reveal new molecular pathways required for changes in synapse numbers. They characterize the scavenger receptor Crq in detail and show that it is required for developmental and age-related synapse elimination.
Microglia-mediated neuroinflammation drives Alzheimer’s disease progression. In this article, Liu et al. show that the histone acetyltransferase KAT7 promotes mitochondrial DNA-dependent inflammation in microglia. Inhibiting KAT7 reduces β-amyloid accumulation, neuroinflammation, and cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s mouse models, revealing a potential epigenetic target to counteract disease-associated inflammation.
Fatima et al. identify a specialized sensory pathway in mice in which Piezo2-expressing TLR5Calb1 Aβ-LTMRs innervate vellus-like hairs to drive both acute and chronic mechanical itch, revealing a dedicated hair organ for touch-evoked pruritus.
Walker, Lowenstein, et al. demonstrate that hunger neurons in the mouse hypothalamus are rapidly activated not only by actual energy deficit but also by environmental cues predicting future fasting. This predictive hunger signal is conveyed by upstream Sim2-expressing neurons, revealing that the brain proactively anticipates energy shortfalls before they occur.
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The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience (SCENE) seeks to uncover general principles of brain function through an ecological perspective: studying perception, cognition, and action in the context of the affordances available to different agents. Here, Angelaki et al. introduce SCENE’s goals, hypotheses, and approaches outlining a collaborative vision for the next decade.
McKnight et al. demonstrate that hypothalamic AgRP neurons distinguish between fructose and glucose rather than responding simply to caloric value. Further, fructose engages a distinct gut-brain pathway and inhibits AgRP neurons to a lesser extent than glucose. These differences contribute to food preference and reveal how specific nutrients uniquely influence feeding behavior.
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Drug cues drive addiction, but the underlying cognitive mechanisms are unknown. Hoang et al. reveal that drug use amplifies the sensory-specific control that cues have over decision making. This is correlated with the strengthening of dopamine projections to the lateral hypothalamus that govern learning and decision making in the same manner.
