NeuroPaperBot

Neural basis of cooperative behavior in biological and artificial intelligence systems Cooperation, the process through which individuals work together to achieve common goals, is fundamental to human and animal societies and increasingly critical in artificial intelligence. Here, we in...

- ACC neurons selectively encode cooperative events (correct vs. miss pokes, approach, waiting, interaction).
- Population activity separates cooperative from non-cooperative actions.
- Partner’s position is strongly represented, predicting cooperation success.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Intercellular communication in the brain through a dendritic nanotubular network Intercellular nanotubular networks mediate material exchange, but their existence in neurons remains to be explored in detail. We identified long, thin dendritic filopodia forming direct dendrite–dend...

- Dendritic nanotubes (DNTs) link neurons beyond synapses.
- DNTs carry Ca²⁺ and Aβ; actin disruption blocks transfer.
- DNTs rise early in AD, before plaques, aiding spread.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Transient reactivation of small ensembles of adult-born neurons during REM sleep supports memory consolidation in mice - Nature Communications This study shows that fear memory formation is supported by reactivating as few as three new neurons during sleep. The key is precise timing: the neurons must fire in sync with specific brain waves (t...

-New neurons in the hippocampus can “replay” memories during REM sleep.
-Only small groups of these neurons reactivate at a time.
-This reactivation helps stabilize and strengthen memories.
-Sleep-linked replay may be key to learning and long-term memory.
doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Layer-specific changes in sensory cortex across the lifespan in mice and humans - Nature Neuroscience The principal layer architecture of the sensory cortex is altered with aging. The authors show that overall thinning of the primary somatosensory cortex is driven by deep layer degeneration but that l...

-Sensory brain regions change with age in both mice and humans.
-Different cortical layers show unique aging patterns.
-Some layers lose connections, while others remain stable.
-These shifts may explain why hearing and vision decline with age.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Competitive integration of time and reward explains value-sensitive foraging decisions and frontal cortex ramping dynamics Patch foraging is a ubiquitous decision-making process in which animals decide when to abandon a resource patch of diminishing value to pursue an alte…

-Mice balance waiting time and rewards to decide when to move on.
-Their choices shift with a hidden “patience” level.
-Brain signals in the frontal cortex rise and fall with time and rewards.
-These signals may guide everyday decisions about when to stay or leave
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...

Fos labels a distinct excitatory neuron ensemble for memory retrieval Experience-triggered expression of Fos has been extensively used as a marker representing memory engram. It is generally assumed that Fos-positive neurons are preferentially excited by the experience,...

- Fos-positive neurons show elevated calcium but are initially unresponsive to stimuli
- Calcium rise alone doesn’t predict Fos expression
- Silencing them doesn’t impair retrieval
- Inhibitory neurons may recruit them
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Inter-brain neural dynamics in biological and artificial intelligence systems - Nature Shared inter-brain neural dynamics, reflecting aspects of social interaction including self and other’s behaviours, arise in GABAergic neurons of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex of socially interact...

• Social interaction splits dmPFC activity into shared vs. individual patterns
• GABAergic neurons show stronger shared dynamics
• Shared activity reflects self and partner behavior and enables social behavior
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A unifying mechanism for presynaptic homeostatic plasticity at mammalian peripheral and central synapses Chipman and colleagues identify Sema3a-PlexinA4-ITGB1 as a unifying, trans-synaptic signaling mechanism for presynaptic homeostatic plasticity (PHP) at both the cholinergic mouse NMJ and glutamatergic...

• Sema3a is essential for presynaptic homeostatic plasticity at the neuromuscular junction and adult hippocampal pyramidal neurons
• Sema3a Signals via PlexinA4 and ITGB1 to mediate PHP
• Shifts synaptic vesicles into the release-ready pool for stable output
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

Stimulus-specific and adaptive value representations in the basolateral amygdala in male mice - Nature Communications How basolateral amygdala represents the specific value of rewards remains unclear. Here the authors find that basolateral amygdala neurons assign stimulus-specific values to different rewards and rapi...

- Basolateral amygdala (BLA) encodes stimulus-specific value signals.
- BLA neurons adaptively update value based on learning.
- Positive and negative value representations are distinct.
- Neurons remap value when contingencies change.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Dendritic inhibition terminates plateau potentials in CA1 pyramidal neurons In CA1 pyramidal neurons (CA1-PYRs), plateau potentials control synaptic plasticity and the emergence of place cell identity. Here, we show that dendritic inhibition terminates plateaus in an all-or-n...

- Plateau potentials in CA1 pyramidal neurons are terminated by dendritic inhibition.
- SST+ interneurons are key regulators of this inhibition.
- Termination occurs locally at the dendritic site of the plateau.
- Blocking SST+ cells prolongs plateau duration.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Formation of an expanding memory representation in the hippocampus - Nature Neuroscience Multiday imaging of CA1 neurons during learning reveals that the representation stabilizes as the number of readily retrievable, information-rich and stable place cells increases and suggests novel me...

- CA1 memory ensembles expand over days with learning.
- New neurons join the memory trace while initial ones remain active.
- Ensemble expansion predicts memory strength.
- Inhibition of expanding cells impairs memory recall.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Homeostasis of a representational map in the neocortex - Nature Neuroscience This study investigates how homeostatic mechanisms endow sensory representations in the auditory cortex with resilience against neuron loss. The map of sounds has the ability to recover after microabl...

-Neocortical maps maintain stable representations via homeostatic plasticity.
-Sensory perturbation leads to temporary changes but map structure recovers.
-It involves balanced excitation-inhibition across layers.
-Recurrent activity stabilizes identity.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Distinct spatially organized striatum-wide acetylcholine dynamics for the learning and extinction of Pavlovian associations - Nature Communications Functional roles of natural acetylcholine (ACh) dynamics are not fully understood. This study reveals dynamic changes in ACh release across the mouse striatum during learning and extinction, identifyi...

- ACh signals during learning and extinction are spatially organized across striatum.
- aDS ACh dips and late peaks encode opposing reward prediction errors.
- Silencing ACh in aDS impairs extinction but not learning.
- ACh and DA show opposite cue responses in aDS.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Social rank modulates methamphetamine-seeking in dominant and subordinate male rodents via distinct dopaminergic pathways - Nature Neuroscience Social status mediates individual differences in methamphetamine-seeking by modulating dopaminergic pathways. In subordinate rodents, the mesolimbic pathway is stronger, and the mesocortical pathway i...

- Dominant males show less methamphetamine (METH) seeking via strong mesocortical DA
- Subordinates show more METH seeking via mesolimbic DA
- Activating mesocortical DA reduces drug seeking, boosts dominance
- Females, regardless of rank, remain METH-vulnerable.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Bilateral integration in somatosensory cortex is controlled by behavioral relevance - Nature Neuroscience How sensory signals from both sides of the body are integrated into a single percept is not well understood. Park et al. show that callosal signaling supports the integration of bilateral tactile stim...

-Task relevance enhances bilateral integration in mouse S1
-Reward-driven whisker input boosts contralateral S1 responses
-No enhancement in naïve or disengaged mice
- Corpus callosum is essential for interhemispheric coordination
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Aversion-induced dopamine reductions predict drug-taking and escape behaviors - Neuropsychopharmacology Neuropsychopharmacology - Aversion-induced dopamine reductions predict drug-taking and escape behaviors

-Aversive noise lowers NAcC dopamine.
-This predicts more drug use and escape.
-Shared dopamine dip drives escape and promotes drug-seeking behavior.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Human lifespan changes in the brain’s functional connectome - Nature Neuroscience Sun et al. report human lifespan changes in the brain’s functional connectome in 33,250 individuals, which highlights critical growth milestones and distinct maturation patterns and offers a normative...

-Global mean connectivity peaks at age 38; variance peaks at age 28.
-VIS and SM networks reach adult-like patterns at birth; DM and FP mature by ages 4–6.
-Regional connectivity peaks around age 31.4, aligned with sensorimotor–association axis.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The neurobiology of overeating Obesity rates are rapidly rising, driven by overeating because of easy access to ultra-processed foods. We discuss the dichotomy of hedonic and homeostatic feeding circuits and how palatable food impa...

- Overeating is driven by neural circuits that regulate hunger, satiety, and reward, involving the hypothalamus, brainstem, and limbic system.
- Dysregulation in these circuits can lead to excessive food intake and obesity.
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

Psilocybin’s lasting action requires pyramidal cell types and 5-HT2A receptors - Nature A pyramidal cell type and the 5-HT2A receptor in the medial frontal cortex have essential roles in psilocybin’s long-term drug action.

-Psilocybin increases dendritic spine density in both pyramidal tract (PT) and intratelencephalic (IT) neurons in mPFC. 
-Silencing PT neurons negates psilocybin’s stress-related behavioral benefits. 
-5-HT₂A receptor mediates psilocybin’s effects.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Nonlinear recurrent inhibition through facilitating serotonin release in the raphe - Nature Neuroscience The authors uncover slow, facilitating inhibitory connections between serotonin neurons in the dorsal raphe, refuting autoinhibition theories. This recurrence drives winner-take-all effects and nonlin...

-DRN neurons use nonlinear recurrent inhibition via serotonin to regulate their own activity based on firing history.
-Serotonin release is facilitated by prior activity, strengthening inhibition with continued use.
-This mechanism allows flexible control of output.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Changes in neurotensin signalling drive hedonic devaluation in obesity - Nature In mice, prolonged consumption of a high-fat diet decreases interest in calorie-rich foods as a result of reduced neurotensin expression and signalling, which uncouples hedonic feeding behaviour linke...

-Mice on a high-fat diet showed less motivation for calorie-rich foods despite preferring them.
-NAcLat→VTA activity was impaired.
-Neurotensin expression and release decreased in high-fat diet mice.
-Boosting neurotensin restored feeding behavior and weight balance.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A human brain map of mitochondrial respiratory capacity and diversity - Nature The ability to physically partition the human brain at a spatial resolution comparable to neuroimaging methods enabled the development of a brain-wide atlas of mitochondrial content, specialization an...

A human brain map of mitochondrial respiratory capacity and diversity
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

- The brain was divided into 703 voxels to analyze mitochondrial phenotypes.
- Grey matter has 50% more mitochondria than white matter, optimized for energy use.

Absolute measurement of fast and slow neuronal signals with fluorescence lifetime photometry at high temporal resolution The concentrations of extracellular and intracellular signaling molecules, such as dopamine and cAMP, change over both fast and slow timescales and impact downstream pathways in a cell-type specific m...

Absolute measurement of fast and slow neuronal signals with fluorescence lifetime photometry at high temporal resolution
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Synaptic architecture of a memory engram in the mouse hippocampus Memory engrams are formed through experience-dependent plasticity of neural circuits, but their detailed architectures remain unresolved. Using three-dimensional electron microscopy, we performed nano...

Synaptic architecture of a memory engram in the mouse hippocampus
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A hippocampal population code for rapid generalization Generalizing from experience and applying prior knowledge to new situations is essential for intelligent behavior. Traditional models attribute this generalization to gradual statistical learning in t...

A hippocampal population code for rapid generalization
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Spatial genomics of AAV vectors reveals mechanism of transcriptional crosstalk that enables targeted delivery of large genetic cargo - Nature Biotechnology Profiling transcriptional crosstalk between promoters and cell-type-specific enhancers allows large gene cargo delivery.

Spatial genomics of AAV vectors reveals mechanism of transcriptional crosstalk that enables targeted delivery of large genetic cargo
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Study-phase reinstatement predicts subsequent recall - Nature Neuroscience How can the brain improve memory for an experience after it has occurred? Halpern et al. use intracranial EEG to show that, even while processing current experiences, people reactivate old ones and re...

Study-phase reinstatement predicts subsequent recall
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Spike inference from calcium imaging data acquired with GCaMP8 indicators Neuroscience can only be reproducible when its key methods are quantitative and interpretable. Calcium imaging is such a key method which, however, records neuronal activity only indirectly and is the...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Mapping the landscape of social behavior Computer vision and machine learning approaches map a multi-scale social behavioral landscape, revealing ASD signatures and establishing an atlas of rodent sociality.

Mapping the landscape of social behavior
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Reviving-like prosocial behavior in response to unconscious or dead conspecifics in rodents Whereas humans exhibit emergency responses to assist unconscious individuals, how nonhuman animals react to unresponsive conspecifics is less well understood. We report that mice exhibit stereotypic b...

Reviving-like prosocial behavior in response to unconscious or dead conspecifics in rodents
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...