Article
Clinical Neurology
James M. Shine, Claire O'Callaghan, Ishan C. Walpola, Gabriel Wainstein, Natasha Taylor, Jaan Aru, Bryce Huebner, Yohan J. John
Summary: The neuromodulatory arousal system provides the nervous system with the flexibility and robustness required for adaptive behavior. This study argues that reframing neural serotonin as an extension of the gastrointestinal serotonergic system helps dissolve the mystery associated with the central serotonergic system. Central serotonin activity mimics the effects of a digestion/satiety circuit, facilitating cognitive performance.
Review
Neurosciences
Syanah C. Wynn, Erika Nyhus
Summary: The primary aim of this review is to examine the brain activity patterns related to subjectively perceived memory confidence. The study focuses on the main brain regions involved in episodic memory and discusses how their activity during the encoding and retrieval phases is related to memory confidence ratings. The study provides insight into the functional roles of these brain regions in memory processes and their importance for understanding brain-behavior relations and memory-guided decision making.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Kai-Yi Wang, Jei-Wei Wu, Jen-Kun Cheng, Chun-Chung Chen, Wai-Yi Wong, Robert G. Averkin, Gabor Tamas, Kazu Nakazawa, Cheng-Chang Lien
Summary: The study shows that increased activity of hippocampal mossy cells may reduce anxiety behaviors and could be a potential therapeutic target for anxiety disorders.
Article
Neurosciences
Jakob Kaiser, Roman Belenya, Wai-Ying Chung, Antje Gentsch, Simone Schuetz-Bosbach
Summary: The study showed that midfrontal theta oscillations and heart rate demonstrate different sensitivities to learning new behaviors and adjusting existing habits, with adjustments showing more pronounced effects; an increase in individual learning rates predicted lower impact of midfrontal theta power on performance feedback, but a higher impact on heart rate.
Article
Neurosciences
Johan Alsio, Olivia Lehmann, Colin McKenzie, David E. Theobald, Lydia Searle, Jing Xia, Jeffrey W. Dalley, Trevor W. Robbins
Summary: Across-species studies have found an evolutionarily conserved role for serotonin in flexible behavior, including reversal learning. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of serotonin in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to visual discrimination and reversal learning. The findings revealed differential effects of serotonin within the two prefrontal cortex subregions on cognitive flexibility during visual discrimination and reversal learning.
Article
Economics
Yang Zhou, Jean-Claude Thill, Yang Xu, Zhixiang Fang
Summary: This study uses metro smart card data as a proxy to highlight the variations in and between individual home-work activity patterns. By conducting the research in Wuhan, China, it was found that about 25% of the population has a sophisticated home-work activity pattern that deviates from the usual 1-home 1-workplace pattern.
JOURNAL OF TRANSPORT GEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Joanna Jacob, Molly Kent, Sarah Benson-Amram, Suzana Herculano-Houzel, Mary Ann Raghanti, Emily Ploppert, Jack Drake, Bilal Hindi, Nick R. Natale, Sarah Daniels, Rachel Fanelli, Anderson Miller, Tim Landis, Amy Gilbert, Shylo Johnson, Annie Lai, Molly Hyer, Amanda Rzucidlo, Chris Anchor, Stan Gehrt, Kelly Lambert
Summary: This study investigated the cytoarchitectural characteristics of raccoons in relation to their problem-solving abilities, revealing that high-solvers had more cells in the hippocampus and higher levels of elongated fusiform cells in the dentate gyrus. These findings suggest that variations in cytoarchitectural phenotypes may contribute to cognitive flexibility. Further research is needed to determine the translational value of these patterns on adaptive behavioral outcomes associated with cognitive performance and mental health.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Martina Brofiga, Marietta Pisano, Mariateresa Tedesco, Anna Boccaccio, Paolo Massobrio
Summary: The brain is a complex organ composed of billions of neurons. Its structure, which exhibits a modular topological organization, is influenced by network heterogeneity and the topological properties of the underlying connectivity. This study explores the functional and structural connections between interconnected subpopulations of cortical and hippocampal neurons, and their impact on the patterns of electrophysiological activity. The results reveal the differences in connectivity and activity patterns between the two types of neurons, and the influence of the physical environment on the development and maturation of neuronal networks.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Taekwan Kim, Minah Kim, Wi Hoon Jung, Yoo Bin Kwak, Sun-Young Moon, Silvia Kyungjin Lho, Junhee Lee, Jun Soo Kwon
Summary: This study aims to explore the relationship between cognitive inflexibility and ventrolateral prefronto-basal ganglia-thalamic subnetworks in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The results reveal that patients have hyperconnected fronto-external pallidal subnetworks in the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical network, which may contribute to behavioral inhibition and compensatory mechanisms for impaired set shifting.
Article
Neurosciences
Jiang -Fan Chen, Doo-Sup Choi, Rodrigo A. Cunha
Summary: Dysfunction of goal-directed behaviors under stress or pathology leads to impaired decision-making and inflexible thoughts and behaviors, which are associated with various behavioral deficits. Caffeine, through targeting adenosine A2A receptors, could potentially improve goal-directed behavior and cognitive flexibility in psychiatric disorders.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marcia M. Aranha, Mani Ramaswami
Summary: Mammals and insects have emotional states similar to human depression, and a new study has identified a neural circuit involving serotonergic neurons that alleviate this depression-like state in fruit flies through sugar intake.
Article
Biology
Sarah E. Canetta, Emma S. Holt, Laura J. Benoit, Eric Teboul, Gabriella M. Sahyoun, R. Todd Ogden, Alexander Z. Harris, Christoph Kellendonk
Summary: In their study, Hubel and Wiesel identified sensitive periods where experience can have long-lasting effects on adult visual cortical functioning and behavior through changes in neuronal activity. They investigated whether similar sensitive periods exist for non-sensory cortices and found that inhibition of prefrontal parvalbumin (PV)-expressing interneurons during the juvenile and adolescent period leads to persistent impairments in adult prefrontal circuit connectivity, in vivo network function, and behavioral flexibility, which can be reversed by targeted activation of PV interneurons in adulthood.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rodi Topci, Mihai Alevra, Erik H. U. Rauf, Danielle de Jong-Bolm
Summary: This study investigated the activity of olfactory receptor neurons and their axon terminals in olfactory glomeruli using electrophysiological recordings and rapid 4D calcium imaging. While individual olfactory receptor neurons show diversity in their responses to the same odor stimulus at the soma level, the presynaptic calcium activity in the glomerulus is homogeneous. It was also found that by applying trains of olfactory stimuli with varying amino acid concentrations, it is possible to induce spatio-temporal presynaptic response inhomogeneities and visually distinguish different axon subgroups within the glomerulus.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Shama D. Karanth, Frederick A. Schmitt, Peter T. Nelson, Yuriko Katsumata, Richard J. Kryscio, David W. Fardo, Jordan P. Harp, Erin L. Abner
Summary: This study examined cognitive trajectories in late life using two independent datasets and identified four similar trajectories in the decade before death. Factors associated with declining trajectories included death age, Braak neurofibrillary tangles stage, TDP-43, and alpha-synuclein. Multiple pathologies were most common in trajectories with cognitive decline.
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Chenyan Zhang, Ann-Kathrin Stock, Moritz Mueckschel, Bernhard Hommel, Christian Beste
Summary: Higher-level cognitive functions are mediated through complex oscillatory activity patterns, but aperiodic activity also plays a role. This study investigated the relationship between aperiodic activity and metacontrol, finding that it increases during persistence-heavy processing and decreases during flexibility-heavy processing. These findings highlight the importance of aperiodic activity in understanding cognitive functions.
Article
History & Philosophy Of Science
Joana Rigato, Scott M. Rennie, Zachary F. Mainen
Summary: Despite controversies surrounding the use of first-person experience in scientific practice, studies show that reports of subjective experience are still widely used in various experimental paradigms in cognitive science. Researchers should reconsider how to best incorporate and utilize subjects' first-person knowledge in their investigations.
Article
Neurosciences
Pietro Vertechi, Eran Lottem, Dario Sarra, Beatriz Godinho, Isaac Treves, Tiago Quendera, Matthijs Nicolai Oude Lohuis, Zachary F. Mainen
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Behzad Iravani, Artin Arshamian, Aharon Ravia, Eva Mishor, Kobi Snitz, Sagit Shushan, Yehudah Roth, Ofer Perl, Danielle Honigstein, Reut Weissgross, Shiri Karagach, Gernot Ernst, Masako Okamoto, Zachary Mainen, Erminio Monteleone, Caterina Dinnella, Sara Spinelli, Franklin Marino-Sanchez, Camille Ferdenzi, Monique Smeets, Kazushige Touhara, Moustafa Bensafi, Thomas Hummel, Noam Sobel, Johan N. Lundstrom
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andre G. Mendonca, Jan Drugowitsch, M. Ines Vicente, Eric E. J. DeWitt, Alexandre Pouget, Zachary F. Mainen
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Review
Neurosciences
Adam S. Lowet, Qiao Zheng, Sara Matias, Jan Drugowitsch, Naoshige Uchida
TRENDS IN NEUROSCIENCES
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fanny Cazettes, Davide Reato, Joao P. Morais, Alfonso Renart, Zachary F. Mainen
Summary: Transient changes in pupil size under constant luminance are coupled to rapid changes in arousal state, which may be attributed to the phasic activity of the noradrenergic system. Additionally, serotonin modulation seems to affect pupil size and may be related to signaling unexpected events. The study shows a tight relationship between phasic activation of serotonin neurons and changes in pupil size.
Article
Neurosciences
Anne E. Urai, Valeria Aguillon-Rodriguez, Ines C. Laranjeira, Fanny Cazettes, Zachary F. Mainen, Anne K. Churchland
Summary: The study introduces an alternative method for motivating mice to perform specific behaviors by providing them with access to slightly sour water as a reward, which does not impact their willingness to engage in decision-making tasks.
Article
Biology
Valeria Aguillon-Rodriguez, Dora Angelaki, Hannah Bayer, Niccolo Bonacchi, Matteo Carandini, Fanny Cazettes, Gaelle Chapuis, Anne K. Churchland, Yang Dan, Eric Dewitt, Mayo Faulkner, Hamish Forrest, Laura Haetzel, Michael Hausser, Sonja B. Hofer, Fei Hu, Anup Khanal, Christopher Krasniak, Ines Laranjeira, Zachary F. Mainen, Guido Meijer, Nathaniel J. Miska, Thomas D. Mrsic-Flogel, Masayoshi Murakami, Jean-Paul Noel, Alejandro Pan-Vazquez, Cyrille Rossant, Joshua Sanders, Karolina Socha, Rebecca Terry, Anne E. Urai, Hernando Vergara, Miles Wells, Christian J. Wilson, Ilana B. Witten, Lauren E. Wool, Anthony M. Zador
Summary: Research on measuring mouse behavior has yielded reproducible results across multiple laboratories, showing that once training is complete, there are no significant differences in behavior across labs. Additionally, mice in different labs adopted similar strategies for decision-making.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Romain Fayat, Viviana Delgado Betancourt, Thibault Goyallon, Mathieu Petremann, Pauline Liaudet, Vincent Descossy, Lionel Reveret, Guillaume P. Dugue
Summary: Inertial sensors are increasingly being used in rodent research to estimate head orientation and tilt, with the potential for accurate tilt estimates during movement when combined with sensor calibration and appropriate filter and parameter choices. Additionally, these sensors can be applied in studying vestibular functions and behavioral analysis in rodents.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Cindy Poo, Gautam Agarwal, Niccolo Bonacchi, Zachary F. Mainen
Summary: The study demonstrates that posterior piriform cortex neurons can carry a spatial representation of the environment, showing features of a learned cognitive map that is stable across behavioral contexts and independent of olfactory drive or reward availability. The accuracy of spatial information carried by individual piriform neurons is predicted by their functional coupling strength to the hippocampal theta rhythm, and ensembles of piriform neurons concurrently represent odor identity and spatial locations of animals.
Article
Neurosciences
Stefano Recanatesi, Ulises Pereira-Obilinovic, Masayoshi Murakami, Zachary Mainen, Luca Mazzucato
Summary: In this study, we trained rats to perform self-initiated actions and recorded neural ensemble activity. We found that a combination of high-dimensional recurrent network and low dimensional feedforward network can generate metastable attractors with both reliable sequential structure and large transition timing variability. These transitions between attractors rely on correlated variability in this mesoscale feedback loop.
Article
Psychology, Biological
Romain Ligneul, Zachary Mainen, Verena Ly, Roshan Cools
Summary: The human brain estimates task controllability by comparing predictive models and exposure to uncontrollable stress leads to distortion in this process. Different brain regions play different roles in controllability estimation, and anxiety symptoms influence the direction of controllability estimation.
NATURE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Ryunosuke Amo, Sara Matias, Akihiro Yamanaka, Kenji F. Tanaka, Naoshige Uchida, Mitsuko Watabe-Uchida
Summary: The authors have discovered that dopamine signals gradually move from the time of reward to the time of cue, similar to the evaluation signals used in temporal difference learning. This finding bridges the gap between computational theories and the brain, and provides fundamental insights into how the brain associates cues and rewards that are separated in time.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Editorial Material
Neurosciences
Christof Koch, Karel Svoboda, Amy Bernard, Michele A. Basso, Anne K. Churchland, Adrienne L. Fairhall, Peter A. Groblewski, Jerome A. Lecoq, Zachary F. Mainen, Mackenzie W. Mathis, Shawn R. Olsen, John W. Phillips, Alexandre Pouget, Shreya Saxena, Josh H. Siegle, Anthony M. Zador
Summary: This article proposes the establishment of centralized brain observatories for large-scale recordings of neural activity in animals, aiming to advance reproducible systems neuroscience and democratize access to advanced tools and data.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Kobi Snitz, Danielle Honigstein, Reut Weissgross, Aharon Ravia, Eva Mishor, Ofer Perl, Shiri Karagach, Abebe Medhanie, Nir Harel, Sagit Shushan, Yehudah Roth, Behzad Iravani, Artin Arshamian, Gernot Ernst, Masako Okamoto, Cindy Poo, Niccolo Bonacchi, Zachary Mainen, Erminio Monteleone, Caterina Dinnella, Sara Spinelli, Franklin Marino-Sanchez, Camille Ferdenzi, Monique Smeets, Kazushige Touhara, Moustafa Bensafi, Thomas Hummel, Johan N. Lundstrom, Noam Sobel
Summary: An olfactory screening tool based on household odorants has been developed to determine the COVID-19 status, providing a potential first line of defense in the fight against the pandemic.
COMMUNICATIONS MEDICINE
(2022)