Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
The extent and contribution of maternal influence to the developing hypothalamus to later feeding behaviour remain controversial. In this Opinion, Zeltser proposes that crosstalk between developing circuits regulating different modalities of food intake shapes susceptibility to environmental challenges.
During low-vigilance states, thalamic neurons exhibit diverse rhythmic activities that contribute to specific parts of the electroencephalogram rhythm. In this perspective, Crunelli and colleagues propose that thalamic oscillations of these low-vigilance states also have a plasticity function that modifies the strength of excitatory and inhibitory synapses in local neuronal assemblies.