Reviews & Analysis

A full understanding of the biology and function of the numerous cell types that comprise the nervous system requires analysis of their transcriptional and translational profiles. In this Review article, the authors discuss the methods for overcoming the challenges that accompany the collection of large proteomic datasets and their integration with other data modalities.

Due to recent technological developments in acquisition techniques, the field of electron microscopy-based connectomics now produces colossal amounts of data. Here, the authors discuss the practical and analytical challenges associated with such large amounts of data and propose some solutions to surmount them.

The tactile sensors in our fingers have variable sensitivity across the skin. Does this variability harm or help the CNS in touch perception? Work now shows that this variability may provide the CNS with more information about micropositioning and stimulus orientation.

As we learn through visual experience, where does that memory form? A study now shows that neural responses at even the earliest stage of visual cortex get reshaped in a way that faithfully reflects ongoing learning.

How do enhancers facilitate transcription of plasticity-related genes in response to synaptic stimulation? A study implicates a specific histone modification and suggests that FOS regulates enhancer function.

Long axonal projections seem to be metabolically coupled to ensheathing glial cells. Targeting LKB1, a regulator of energy homeostasis, specifically in Schwann cells causes a loss of predominantly small unmyelinated fibers.

Navratilova and Porreca discuss recent advances in our understanding of brain mechanisms of pain in animal models and humans, focusing on the role of the meso-corticolimbic system in processing pain and pain relief. The authors also present their views on how such knowledge can be leveraged to generate new therapies.

Orexins (hypocretins) are involved in a large variety of behaviors and physiological processes including feeding, sleep/wake regulation, and reward. In this perspective, the authors propose a unifying function for orexins in translating motivational activation into sets of processes that support adaptive behaviors.

Olfaction has often been described as a 'synthetic' sense. A study now reveals a surprising capacity to resolve individual odorants in complex mixtures, with implications for how the nervous system recognizes objects.

Polyglutamine expansion in the androgen receptor, causing X-linked spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy, impairs its function as a transcriptional coactivator regulating an extensive network of proteins involved in protein clearance.

In this issue, Shenhav et al. critically evaluate the idea that neural correlates of value actually represent value. They describe how, in many situations, value correlates can reflect other cognitive factors, such as decisional difficulty.

Two independent epigenome-wide association studies of Alzheimer's disease cohorts have identified overlapping methylation signals in four loci, ANK1, RPL13, RHBDF2 and CDH23, not previously associated with Alzheimer's disease. These studies also suggest that epigenetic changes contribute more to Alzheimer's disease than expected.

In this review, the authors discuss the role of the lateral habenula in processing reward, both in the healthy brain and in models of depression, drawing on work in non-human primates and rodents.

Many recent studies have adopted dimensionality reduction to analyze neural population activity and to find features that are not apparent at the level of individual neurons. The authors describe the scientific motivation for population analyses and the dimensionality reduction methods commonly applied to population activity. They also offer practical advice about selecting methods and interpreting their outputs.

Molecular orchestration mediated by Fezf2, a master transcriptional regulator of a particular type of cortical neurons, directly determines both their identity and axonal routing, and thus their connectivity.

Brain–machine interfaces provide not only potential therapies, but also new tools for studying neuronal processing. A study now uses them to investigate how learning affects sleep activity in motor cortex.

Neural activity up to 3 mm deep in mouse brain can now be inhibited optogenetically through the intact cranium with a red-shifted opsin called Jaws.

Does cell-to-cell spreading of misfolded proteins occur in all neurodegenerative disorders? A study in this issue of Nature Neuroscience now demonstrates propagation of mutant huntingtin in brain slice cultures and in vivo, thereby extending the process of cell-to-cell propagation of misfolded proteins to Huntington's disease.