{"title":"What’s the occasion? Phasic dopamine signaling and interoception","authors":"Mitchell F. Roitman , James E. McCutcheon","doi":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103074","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103074","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phasic dopamine is critically important in reward-related learning and assigns value to actions triggered by cues. Outcomes of actions in turn adjust the probability that a behavior will be repeated. That is, outcomes reinforce behavior—a process that also involves phasic dopamine. The value of actions and their outcomes, though, is ever fluctuating. Internal state—from physiological need through satiation—gates or applies gain to cue-evoked actions and the evaluation of their outcomes. We focus on how interoceptive signals may influence dopamine neurons to modify the phasic signaling underlying cue and reward-directed behaviors. We focus on interoceptive signals that arise from food or fluid deficit since the peripheral hormonal responses to such needs are relatively well established. A puzzle for the field is understanding how slowly accumulating and more tonic-like physiological signals are integrated to tune the brief and tightly time-locked phasic dopamine responses to environmental stimuli.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10999,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology","volume":"93 ","pages":"Article 103074"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The different roles of learning recent and accumulative statistics","authors":"Aviel Sulem , Merav Ahissar","doi":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103072","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103072","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We perceive key aspects of familiar environments almost immediately, while perception in unfamiliar environments is slower. In this review, we examine the distinct roles of recent versus accumulative long-term exposure in enabling this efficiency. Accumulative statistics underlie the formation of stable categories (e.g. syllables in our native language), whereas recent events bias our online predictions toward the current context. Typically developing individuals place greater weight on recent events than single earlier events, but also weight accumulative statistics. However, individuals with developmental atypicalities show atypical patterns of statistical learning: individuals with dyslexia tend to assign less weight to long-term statistics, which affects their long-term categories. By contrast, autistics utilize long-term statistics like neurotypicals, but are slower in updating their priors and motor plans by recent events, which reduces their flexibility. These observations suggest that the dynamics of statistical learning impact the strengths and weaknesses of people's social and cognitive skill acquisition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10999,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology","volume":"93 ","pages":"Article 103072"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144501645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Aggression across sexes from a contextual- and circuit-based perspective","authors":"Catherine E. Schretter","doi":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103071","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103071","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Often referred to as a ‘fight,’ survival involves intense competition over resources. Threat displays and high-intensity attacks are just a few of the aggressive actions exhibited during these contests. Certain motor programs are species-specific, like the vibration of a rattlesnake tail. However, conserved behavioral features are found across species, which appear to be mirrored within the brain. Further parallels have been found across sexes between aggression-promoting contexts and the underlying neuronal circuits. Unraveling the complex web of conserved and variable circuit mechanisms has been considerably advanced by the generation of brain-wiring diagrams in adult female and male <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>. Here, I will summarize current research, primarily in <em>Drosophila</em>, on how contexts, sensory cues, and internal states regulate aggression across sexes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10999,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology","volume":"93 ","pages":"Article 103071"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144481308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nicholas S. Bourdon , Sarah Y. Dickinson , Joseph F. Bergan
{"title":"Aromatase and its role in shaping sex-differentiated brain networks","authors":"Nicholas S. Bourdon , Sarah Y. Dickinson , Joseph F. Bergan","doi":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103066","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103066","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Steroid hormone signaling drives sex-differentiated brain development and function, with the social behavior network (SBN) as a primary site of these differences. Aromatase, densely expressed in the SBN, is essential for estrogen production in the brain, shaping brain organization during development and dynamically regulating neural function and behavior throughout life. This review explores how aromatase-dependent mechanisms establish sex differences at multiple anatomical levels, from gene expression and cellular morphology to brain-wide differences in the connectivity of neural circuits. These structural differences, in cooperation with dynamic estrogen signaling, are thought to mediate sex-differences in social behavior. Advancing our understanding of how aromatase-dependent sex differences shape brain function will require grounding both new and existing findings within the heterogeneous and interconnected circuitry of the SBN.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10999,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology","volume":"93 ","pages":"Article 103066"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144491632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Renal interoception: form, function, and open questions","authors":"Rose Z. Hill","doi":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103067","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103067","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The kidneys filter the blood and balance fluid and electrolytes to keep the composition of the internal environment within the narrow parameters essential for life. A perturbation to the internal state, such as a sudden loss of blood or dehydration, engages autonomic efferent and neuroendocrine pathways to adjust kidney function rapidly and robustly. The mechanisms of these multiorgan pathways are extensively studied. By contrast, the roles of sensory afferent nerves in regulating renal function are just beginning to be understood. In this review, we examine recent advances in understanding the morphology, identity, and functions of the renal sensory nerves that form the first node in the interoceptive pathways that update the kidney on its own internal state. We end by highlighting open questions in the field, influenced by recent work in other areas of interoception neuroscience, and the outstanding gaps in our knowledge of kidney biology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10999,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology","volume":"93 ","pages":"Article 103067"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144470338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yoko Brigitte Wang , Sandy E. Saunders , John N. Campbell , Carie R. Boychuk
{"title":"Cardiac vagal motor neurons","authors":"Yoko Brigitte Wang , Sandy E. Saunders , John N. Campbell , Carie R. Boychuk","doi":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103068","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103068","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Since their discovery five decades ago, cardiac vagal motor neurons (CVNs) have been studied for their roles in autonomic control of cardiac function. However, it is only within the past decade that our understanding of CVNs has rapidly progressed. Driven by technological advances in neuroscience, novel findings are revealing genetic markers of CVN’s subpopulation in the nucleus ambiguus (CVN<sup>NA</sup>), resolving controversial roles of CVN in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (CVN<sup>DMV</sup>), and dissecting the complexity of CVN-related neural circuitry. The roles of CVNs have also expanded in the mechanisms of disease pathophysiology beyond the typical autonomic disorders, highlighting the therapeutic potential of targeting CVNs. In this review, we discuss recent advances in CVNs subtypes, neural circuits, and roles in cardiometabolic disease and mental health-related disorders pathophysiology. We also present current challenges and a prospective outlook on the field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10999,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology","volume":"93 ","pages":"Article 103068"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144470339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inês C. Dias , Nicolas Gutierrez-Castellanos , Constanze Lenschow , Susana Q. Lima
{"title":"Ready or not: Neural mechanisms regulating female sexual behavior","authors":"Inês C. Dias , Nicolas Gutierrez-Castellanos , Constanze Lenschow , Susana Q. Lima","doi":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103069","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103069","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Female sexual behavior is essential for reproduction and species survival. It is orchestrated by hormonal and neuronal mechanisms that coordinate sexual maturation, reproductive cycle, and the copulatory sequence, preparing the female for pregnancy. These mechanisms synchronize behavioral receptivity with reproductive capacity, ensuring that copulation occurs during optimal reproductive windows while actively suppressing sexual behavior outside fertile periods.</div><div>This review explores recent advances in neural mechanisms that integrate sensory, hormonal, and social cues in the female brain. We examine the main phases of sexual behavior: appetitive, consummatory, and refractory, focusing on the neural basis of sexual rejection during non-fertile periods. We also discuss studies using intersectional genetics and neural activity analysis to uncover the circuits underlying sexual receptivity and recent findings on how the female brain processes male ejaculation to trigger the refractory period. Altogether, this review sheds light on the orchestration of mating and reproductive readiness in female mice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10999,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology","volume":"93 ","pages":"Article 103069"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144364951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Novel insights into the mechanisms of growth cone dynamics during axon pathfinding","authors":"Isabel Pérez-Ferrer, Eloísa Herrera","doi":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103073","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103073","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growth cone (GC), a highly specialized and dynamic structure located at the tip of neuronal axons, plays a pivotal role in directing axon elongation and guidance during the formation of neural circuits. The GC's extraordinary ability to navigate toward target cells in a constantly changing environment relies on intricate mechanisms that operate at multiple levels, including cytoskeletal dynamics, activation of membrane proteins, transcriptional regulation, and local protein translation. These processes are finely coordinated, enabling neurons to respond rapidly to external cues, reach their intended targets, and establish functional connections. Dysregulation of these mechanisms can lead to errors in neuronal wiring, potentially contributing to nervous system disorders. This review highlights recent advances in understanding the regulatory mechanisms that orchestrate GC remodeling during axon pathfinding, with a focus on cytoskeletal components, membrane proteins sensing external cues, transcription factors influencing axonal decisions, and local protein synthesis within the GC.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10999,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology","volume":"93 ","pages":"Article 103073"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144364797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interactions between homeostatic plasticity and statistical learning: A role for inhibition","authors":"Elisa Galliano , Tara Keck","doi":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103065","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.conb.2025.103065","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Statistical learning, sensory-driven unsupervised learning of repeating patterns, must coexist with ongoing homeostatic plasticity that is responsible for the necessary balance of activity in the brain; however, the mechanisms that facilitate these interactions are not clear. While models of both statistical learning, a form of associative plasticity, and homeostatic plasticity have primarily focused on excitatory cells and their synaptic changes, inhibition may play a key role in facilitating the balance between homeostatic plasticity and statistical learning. Here, we review the inhibitory synaptic, cellular, and network mechanisms underlying homeostatic and associative plasticity in rodents and propose a model in which localized inhibition, provided by diverse interneuron types, supports both statistical learning and homeostatic plasticity, as well as the interactions between them.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10999,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology","volume":"93 ","pages":"Article 103065"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144330145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}