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 ability to target and manipulate specific neuronal populations is crucial for understanding brain function. In this report, the authors describe a novel virus that restricts gene expression to telencephalic GABAergic interneurons, allowing for morphological visualization, activity monitoring and functional manipulation of interneurons in mice and in non-genetically tractable species.
Silicon microelectrodes are a powerful technique for recording neuronal population activity. Increases in probe size and density make for larger recordable populations, but also require new techniques for processing the resulting data. The authors describe a suite of practical, open source software for spike sorting of large, dense electrode arrays.
Elucidation of structure–function relationships in the nervous system necessitates biological circuit control with genetic and temporal precision. Here the authors engineer a genetically encoded magnetically sensitive actuator, “Magneto,” and remotely manipulate behavior in live zebrafish and mice. The magnetogenetic control over neural activity promises greater access to previously intractable tissues.
Recurrent, reciprocal genomic disorders due to non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR) are a major cause of human disease. The authors developed a CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering method that directly targets segmental duplications and efficiently mimics the NAHR-mediated mechanism of microdeletion and microduplication that occurs in vivo using 16p11.2 and 15q13.3 as proof-of-principle models.
