NeuronPub Date : 2025-01-22Epub Date: 2024-11-21DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.017
James C R Whittington, William Dorrell, Timothy E J Behrens, Surya Ganguli, Mohamady El-Gaby
{"title":"A tale of two algorithms: Structured slots explain prefrontal sequence memory and are unified with hippocampal cognitive maps.","authors":"James C R Whittington, William Dorrell, Timothy E J Behrens, Surya Ganguli, Mohamady El-Gaby","doi":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Remembering events is crucial to intelligent behavior. Flexible memory retrieval requires a cognitive map and is supported by two key brain systems: hippocampal episodic memory (EM) and prefrontal working memory (WM). Although an understanding of EM is emerging, little is understood of WM beyond simple memory retrieval. We develop a mathematical theory relating the algorithms and representations of EM and WM by unveiling a duality between storing memories in synapses versus neural activity. This results in a formalism of prefrontal WM as structured, controllable neural subspaces (activity slots) representing dynamic cognitive maps without synaptic plasticity. Using neural networks, we elucidate differences, similarities, and trade-offs between the hippocampal and prefrontal algorithms. Lastly, we show that prefrontal representations in tasks from list learning to cue-dependent recall are unified as controllable activity slots. Our results unify frontal and temporal representations of memory and offer a new understanding for dynamic prefrontal representations of WM.</p>","PeriodicalId":19313,"journal":{"name":"Neuron","volume":" ","pages":"321-333.e6"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142693227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuronPub Date : 2025-01-22Epub Date: 2024-11-25DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.026
Nicolas Gutierrez-Castellanos, Basma Fatima Anwar Husain, Inês C Dias, Kensaku Nomoto, Margarida A Duarte, Liliana Ferreira, Bertrand Lacoste, Susana Q Lima
{"title":"A hypothalamic node for the cyclical control of female sexual rejection.","authors":"Nicolas Gutierrez-Castellanos, Basma Fatima Anwar Husain, Inês C Dias, Kensaku Nomoto, Margarida A Duarte, Liliana Ferreira, Bertrand Lacoste, Susana Q Lima","doi":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.026","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Internal state-dependent behavioral flexibility, such as the ability to switch between rejecting and accepting sexual advances based on a female's reproductive capacity, is crucial for maintaining meaningful social interactions. While the role of the ventrolateral ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl) in sexual acceptance is well established, the neural mechanisms underlying sexual rejection remain unexplored. In this study, we identify progesterone receptor-expressing neurons in the anterior VMHvl (aVMHvl<sup>PR+</sup>) as key regulators of cyclical female sexual rejection behavior. In vivo recordings reveal that these neurons are active during sexual rejection but inactive during sexual acceptance. Slice electrophysiology demonstrates that aVMHvl<sup>PR+</sup> neurons receive a reduced excitatory-to-inhibitory synaptic input balance in receptive females. Furthermore, activating and inhibiting aVMHvl<sup>PR+</sup> neurons increases rejection in receptive females and reduces rejection in non-receptive females, respectively. Thus, aVMHvl<sup>PR+</sup> neurons constitute a critical neural substrate controlling female sexual behavior, providing an additional barrier to mating when fertilization is not possible.</p>","PeriodicalId":19313,"journal":{"name":"Neuron","volume":" ","pages":"277-290.e8"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142731148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuronPub Date : 2025-01-22Epub Date: 2024-12-17DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.11.008
Jieyu Zheng, Markus Meister
{"title":"The unbearable slowness of being: Why do we live at 10 bits/s?","authors":"Jieyu Zheng, Markus Meister","doi":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.11.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.11.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article is about the neural conundrum behind the slowness of human behavior. The information throughput of a human being is about 10 bits/s. In comparison, our sensory systems gather data at ∼10<sup>9</sup> bits/s. The stark contrast between these numbers remains unexplained and touches on fundamental aspects of brain function: what neural substrate sets this speed limit on the pace of our existence? Why does the brain need billions of neurons to process 10 bits/s? Why can we only think about one thing at a time? The brain seems to operate in two distinct modes: the \"outer\" brain handles fast high-dimensional sensory and motor signals, whereas the \"inner\" brain processes the reduced few bits needed to control behavior. Plausible explanations exist for the large neuron numbers in the outer brain, but not for the inner brain, and we propose new research directions to remedy this.</p>","PeriodicalId":19313,"journal":{"name":"Neuron","volume":" ","pages":"192-204"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11758279/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuronPub Date : 2025-01-22Epub Date: 2024-11-22DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.027
J Quinn Lee, Alexandra T Keinath, Erica Cianfarano, Mark P Brandon
{"title":"Identifying representational structure in CA1 to benchmark theoretical models of cognitive mapping.","authors":"J Quinn Lee, Alexandra T Keinath, Erica Cianfarano, Mark P Brandon","doi":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.027","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Decades of theoretical and empirical work have suggested the hippocampus instantiates some form of a cognitive map. Yet, tests of competing theories have been limited in scope and largely qualitative in nature. Here, we develop a novel framework to benchmark model predictions against observed neuronal population dynamics as animals navigate a series of geometrically distinct environments. In this task space, we show a representational structure in the dynamics of hippocampal remapping that generalizes across brains, discriminates between competing theoretical models, and effectively constrains biologically viable model parameters. With this approach, we find that accurate models capture the correspondence in spatial coding of a changing environment. The present dataset and framework thus serve to empirically evaluate and advance theories of cognitive mapping in the brain.</p>","PeriodicalId":19313,"journal":{"name":"Neuron","volume":" ","pages":"307-320.e5"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142695655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuronPub Date : 2025-01-22Epub Date: 2024-11-07DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.014
Antonella Ruggiero, Leore R Heim, Lee Susman, Dema Hreaky, Ilana Shapira, Maxim Katsenelson, Kobi Rosenblum, Inna Slutsky
{"title":"NMDA receptors regulate the firing rate set point of hippocampal circuits without altering single-cell dynamics.","authors":"Antonella Ruggiero, Leore R Heim, Lee Susman, Dema Hreaky, Ilana Shapira, Maxim Katsenelson, Kobi Rosenblum, Inna Slutsky","doi":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding how neuronal circuits stabilize their activity is a fundamental yet poorly understood aspect of neuroscience. Here, we show that hippocampal network properties, such as firing rate distribution and dimensionality, are actively regulated, despite perturbations and single-cell drift. Continuous inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) ex vivo lowers the excitation/inhibition ratio and network firing rates while preserving resilience to perturbations. This establishes a new network firing rate set point via NMDAR-eEF2K signaling pathway. NMDARs' capacity to modulate and stabilize network firing is mediated by excitatory synapses and the intrinsic excitability of parvalbumin-positive neurons, respectively. In behaving mice, continuous NMDAR blockade in CA1 reduces network firing without altering single-neuron drift or triggering a compensatory response. These findings expand NMDAR function beyond their canonical role in synaptic plasticity and raise the possibility that some NMDAR-dependent behavioral effects are mediated by their unique regulation of population activity set points.</p>","PeriodicalId":19313,"journal":{"name":"Neuron","volume":" ","pages":"244-259.e7"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142604624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuronPub Date : 2025-01-22Epub Date: 2024-11-11DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.016
Ye Zhang, Wei Duan, Lingchao Chen, Junrui Chen, Wei Xu, Qi Fan, Shuwei Li, Yuandong Liu, Shidi Wang, Quansheng He, Xiaohui Li, Yang Huang, Haibao Peng, Jiaxu Zhao, Qiangqiang Zhang, Zhixin Qiu, Zhicheng Shao, Bo Zhang, Yihua Wang, Yang Tian, Yousheng Shu, Zhiyong Qin, Yudan Chi
{"title":"Potassium ion channel modulation at cancer-neural interface enhances neuronal excitability in epileptogenic glioblastoma multiforme.","authors":"Ye Zhang, Wei Duan, Lingchao Chen, Junrui Chen, Wei Xu, Qi Fan, Shuwei Li, Yuandong Liu, Shidi Wang, Quansheng He, Xiaohui Li, Yang Huang, Haibao Peng, Jiaxu Zhao, Qiangqiang Zhang, Zhixin Qiu, Zhicheng Shao, Bo Zhang, Yihua Wang, Yang Tian, Yousheng Shu, Zhiyong Qin, Yudan Chi","doi":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The central nervous system (CNS) is increasingly recognized as a critical modulator in the oncogenesis of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), with interactions between cancer and local neuronal circuits frequently leading to epilepsy; however, the relative contributions of these factors remain unclear. Here, we report a coordinated intratumor shift among distinct cancer subtypes within progenitor-like families of epileptic GBM patients, revealing an accumulation of oligodendrocyte progenitor (OPC)-like subpopulations at the cancer-neuron interface along with heightened electrical signaling activity in the surrounding neuronal networks. The OPC-like cells associated with epilepsy express KCND2, which encodes the voltage-gated K<sup>+</sup> channel K<sub>V</sub>4.2, enhancing neuronal excitability via accumulation of extracellular K<sup>+</sup>, as demonstrated in patient-derived ex vivo slices, xenografting models, and engineering organoids. Together, we uncovered the essential local circuitry, cellular components, and molecular mechanisms facilitating cancer-neuron interaction at peritumor borders. KCND2 plays a crucial role in mediating nervous system-cancer electrical communication, suggesting potential targets for intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":19313,"journal":{"name":"Neuron","volume":" ","pages":"225-243.e10"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142624645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuronPub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.12.022
Yannik Hilla, Charline Peylo, Paul Sauseng
{"title":"Prefrontal working memory activity slots support sequence memory similar to hippocampal long-term memory position recall.","authors":"Yannik Hilla, Charline Peylo, Paul Sauseng","doi":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.12.022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2024.12.022","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Prefrontal cortex and medial temporal lobe information processing might not be that different after all. In this issue of Neuron, Whittington et al.<sup>1</sup> show that prefrontal cortex working memory slot activity enables sequence memorizing similar to hippocampal long-term memory. Here, this approach is outlined and its implications are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":19313,"journal":{"name":"Neuron","volume":"113 2","pages":"189-191"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143029244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuronPub Date : 2025-01-22Epub Date: 2024-11-18DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.020
Daniel D Kato, Randy M Bruno
{"title":"Stability of cross-sensory input to primary somatosensory cortex across experience.","authors":"Daniel D Kato, Randy M Bruno","doi":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.020","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Merging information across sensory modalities is key to forming robust percepts, yet how the brain achieves this feat remains unclear. Recent studies report cross-modal influences in the primary sensory cortex, suggesting possible multisensory integration in the early stages of cortical processing. We test several hypotheses about the function of auditory influences on mouse primary somatosensory cortex (S1) using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging. We found sound-evoked spiking activity in an extremely small fraction of cells, and this sparse activity did not encode auditory stimulus identity. Moreover, S1 did not encode information about specific audio-tactile feature conjunctions. Auditory and audio-tactile stimulus encoding remained unchanged after both passive experience and reinforcement. These results suggest that while primary sensory cortex is plastic within its own modality, the influence of other modalities is remarkably stable and stimulus nonspecific.</p>","PeriodicalId":19313,"journal":{"name":"Neuron","volume":" ","pages":"291-306.e7"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11757082/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142676217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuronPub Date : 2025-01-22Epub Date: 2024-11-18DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.018
Bin Wu, Ling Meng, Yan Zhao, Junjie Li, Qiuyun Tian, Yayan Pang, Chunguang Ren, Zhifang Dong
{"title":"Meningeal neutrophil immune signaling influences behavioral adaptation following threat.","authors":"Bin Wu, Ling Meng, Yan Zhao, Junjie Li, Qiuyun Tian, Yayan Pang, Chunguang Ren, Zhifang Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.018","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Social creatures must attend to threat signals from conspecifics and respond appropriately, both behaviorally and physiologically. In this work, we show in mice a threat-sensitive immune mechanism that orchestrates psychological processes and is amenable to social modulation. Repeated encounters with socially cued threats triggered meningeal neutrophil (MN) priming preferentially in males. MN activity was correlated with attenuated defensive responses to cues. Canonical neutrophil-specific activation marker CD177 was upregulated after social threat cueing, and its genetic ablation abrogated male behavioral phenotypes. CD177 signals favored meningeal T helper (Th)1-like immune bias, which blunted neural response to threatening stimuli by enhancing intrinsic GABAergic inhibition within the prelimbic cortex via interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). MN signaling was sensitized by negative emotional states and governed by socially dependent androgen release. This male-biased hormone/neutrophil regulatory axis is seemingly conserved in humans. Our findings provide insights into how immune responses influence behavioral threat responses, suggesting a possible neuroimmune basis of emotional regulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":19313,"journal":{"name":"Neuron","volume":" ","pages":"260-276.e8"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142676214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuronPub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.12.021
Christopher W Mount, Mario L Suvà
{"title":"Like, share, and spike: Glioblastoma progenitors influence neuronal excitability at the glioma-neural interface.","authors":"Christopher W Mount, Mario L Suvà","doi":"10.1016/j.neuron.2024.12.021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2024.12.021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Writing in Neuron, Zhang et al. identify a subpopulation of glioblastoma cells from patient tumor samples with progenitor-like features that expresses the potassium ion channel KCND2.<sup>1</sup> In mouse and organoid models, these cells enhance neural activity at the glioma-neural interface.</p>","PeriodicalId":19313,"journal":{"name":"Neuron","volume":"113 2","pages":"185-186"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143029242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}