Trends in NeurosciencesPub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2026-01-03DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.12.002
Gioia De Franceschi, Karl Farrow
{"title":"Evolution of collicular cell types, circuits, and modulatory pathways.","authors":"Gioia De Franceschi, Karl Farrow","doi":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.12.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.12.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A recent comparative transcriptomics study by Liu et al. highlights that conserved neuronal identity and synaptic gene expression in the superior colliculus of mice, tree shrews, and humans coexist with species-specific differences in primary cilia. These findings indicate that conserved circuit architecture is accompanied with specializations in signaling compartments that modulate circuit function.</p>","PeriodicalId":23325,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Neurosciences","volume":" ","pages":"1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12824441/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145896996","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}
Trends in NeurosciencesPub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-12-31DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.12.001
Aksheev Bhambri, Lu O Sun
{"title":"Choline transporters fueling the great myelin expansion.","authors":"Aksheev Bhambri, Lu O Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.12.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.12.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Myelin formation involves massive lipid production, which requires extensive choline uptake and metabolism. Highlighting two recent studies conducted by Liu et al. and Chen et al., we discuss the identification of Slc44a1 as the primary oligodendrocyte choline transporter. These findings establish choline import as an evolutionarily conserved checkpoint for oligodendrocyte differentiation and central nervous system myelination.</p>","PeriodicalId":23325,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Neurosciences","volume":" ","pages":"3-4"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145879082","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}
Trends in NeurosciencesPub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.11.001
Sarah R Heilbronner, R Clay Reid, Tanya K Casta, Franco Pestilli
{"title":"Reconstructing the human brain's wiring diagram from axons up.","authors":"Sarah R Heilbronner, R Clay Reid, Tanya K Casta, Franco Pestilli","doi":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.11.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.11.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The human brain's long-range axonal connections are the scaffolding for communication across functionally distinct areas. Yet knowledge of the human brain's wiring diagram remains limited, largely due to longstanding technological challenges. Recent innovations in microscopy may now enable mapping human brain connectivity at the mesoscale (groups of neurons and their axons). In this review we describe the challenges of generating the wiring diagrams of the human brain, avenues forward, and reasons why such an effort is so important. We argue for building a human mesoscale connectome via a multimodal, multi-species, axon-centric approach, focusing on where axons begin and end to reconstruct connectivity across spatial resolutions. Finally, we consider the utility of a potential exemplar connectome for both clinical applications and research.</p>","PeriodicalId":23325,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Neurosciences","volume":" ","pages":"8-19"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12695016/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145662046","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}
Trends in NeurosciencesPub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-10-18DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.001
Freek van Ede, Daniela Gresch, Anna C Nobre
{"title":"Disambiguating dimensions of external and internal brain processes.","authors":"Freek van Ede, Daniela Gresch, Anna C Nobre","doi":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Neural processing is often categorized as externally or internally focused. Though commonly treated as poles of a single dimension, we delineate how the terms 'external' and 'internal' refer to independent concepts at the levels of cognitive modes, representational contents, and sensory origins. Separating these levels brings theoretical clarity and opens unexplored questions.</p>","PeriodicalId":23325,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Neurosciences","volume":" ","pages":"5-7"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145330132","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}
Trends in NeurosciencesPub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-12-11DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.11.003
David A Vinson, Ian Maze
{"title":"Reimagining biogenic amine signaling in the brain and beyond.","authors":"David A Vinson, Ian Maze","doi":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.11.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.11.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Monoaminergic neurotransmission has long been recognized as essential for the development, maintenance, and plasticity of the nervous system, with classical models defining serotonin, dopamine, and histamine as extracellular messengers acting through cell surface receptors. Broadening this view, emerging evidence reveals that biogenic amines also covalently modify proteins, a process termed 'monoaminylation', to directly influence intracellular signaling. The discovery of non-canonical monoamine signaling across subcellular compartments offers new insights into brain-body communication. Here, we review the evolving signaling landscape of protein monoaminylations and highlight new chemical-biological tools for probing their impact on neural development, plasticity, and disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":23325,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Neurosciences","volume":" ","pages":"35-48"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12704813/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145744616","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}
Trends in NeurosciencesPub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-12-06DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.11.002
Anna Flury, Marie-Kim St-Pierre, Pinar Ayata, Marie-Ève Tremblay
{"title":"Evolving insights into the identity and function of dark microglia.","authors":"Anna Flury, Marie-Kim St-Pierre, Pinar Ayata, Marie-Ève Tremblay","doi":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.11.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.11.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microglia are the brain's primary innate immune cells, which maintain neural homeostasis through surveillance, debris clearance, and synaptic remodeling. Dark microglia represent a distinct state of microglia that came into recent focus due to their excessive physical contact with synapses in contexts of pathological synapse loss, predominantly in neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease. Dark microglia are identified by their unique ultrastructural features, exhibiting a dark, condensed appearance under electron microscopy. They display signs of cellular stress and appear to be engaged in synaptic pruning. Here, we review recent advances in understanding these intriguing cells in the mammalian brain, from new molecular insights into their origin to their emerging functional roles across the lifespan, in both health and disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":23325,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Neurosciences","volume":" ","pages":"20-34"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12695070/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145701936","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}
Trends in NeurosciencesPub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-11-20DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.011
Xiaojing Chen, Liming Tan, Cheng Wang
{"title":"Developmental perspectives on spatial navigation: sensory development, experience, and neuronal heterogeneity.","authors":"Xiaojing Chen, Liming Tan, Cheng Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Spatial cognition in mammals relies on various spatially tuned cell types in the hippocampus and associated brain regions. Recent studies have increasingly explored the developmental timelines of these cells, their characteristics during early life, and the developmental origins of their functional heterogeneity in adulthood. In this review we discuss these findings and propose that the emergence and properties of spatially tuned cells across various developmental stages are shaped by the sequential maturation of multiple sensory and motor systems, as well as by the maturation of local inhibitory circuits. In addition, sensory and navigation experiences crucially influence the development of spatial navigation and episodic memory circuits. Finally, we highlight the diversity of cell types during development, and discuss how this diversity contributes to the functional heterogeneity of spatially tuned cells in adulthood.</p>","PeriodicalId":23325,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Neurosciences","volume":" ","pages":"49-62"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145565501","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}
Trends in NeurosciencesPub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-11-24DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.012
Chloe A Mickels, Maxwell H Turner
{"title":"How neural feedback enables flexible visual processing in Drosophila.","authors":"Chloe A Mickels, Maxwell H Turner","doi":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The visual system can function across variable scene statistics and behavioral contexts. This flexibility arises in part from neural feedback, which shapes visual processing to align with prevailing stimulus conditions and behavioral goals. In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, extensive genetic and connectome resources allow feedback connections of identified cells to be linked to their functions in the visual system. Here, we review key mechanisms and functions of feedback in the Drosophila visual system, drawing parallels to vertebrate models, where feedback also plays an important role in visual processing. We conclude by arguing that connectomes are critical in this task and that cracking feedback circuits in flies can help guide our understanding of feedback in larger brains.</p>","PeriodicalId":23325,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Neurosciences","volume":" ","pages":"63-75"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145606159","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}
Trends in NeurosciencesPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-11-28DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.003
Richard A Kammerer, Volodymyr M Korkhov
{"title":"Molecular insights into anticonvulsant and botulinum neurotoxin binding of synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2.","authors":"Richard A Kammerer, Volodymyr M Korkhov","doi":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2 (SV2) isoforms are crucial for synaptic function and neurotransmission. Although their precise physiological roles remain unclear, SV2 proteins serve as receptors for several botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) and are also the targets of anticonvulsants. Recent cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) studies have greatly advanced our understanding of the structure and function of both SV2 proteins and BoNTs. The findings unveiled the molecular architectures of BoNTs, their receptors SV2A and SV2B, and how anticonvulsants bind to SV2A and how these interactions can be modulated allosterically. Additionally, the studies revealed a conserved binding mode in the interaction between BoNT/A and SV2 proteins, which involves significant conformational changes in the toxin. In this review, we will discuss these findings and their implications.</p>","PeriodicalId":23325,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Neurosciences","volume":" ","pages":"1039-1053"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145640150","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}
Trends in NeurosciencesPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-11-06DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.007
Qian Li, Yufeng Pan, Xia-Jing Tong
{"title":"Sexual dimorphism in pheromone perception across worms, flies, and rodents.","authors":"Qian Li, Yufeng Pan, Xia-Jing Tong","doi":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tins.2025.10.007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sex-specific chemosensory behaviors arise from differences in how males and females detect and process environmental chemical cues, including pheromones, which drive sex-appropriate behaviors essential for reproduction across many species. This review compares neural circuits in Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, and rodents that generate sexually dimorphic pheromone responses, spanning peripheral detection, relay centers, and central integration. Recent connectomic and circuit-level analyses reveal how internal states modulate these pathways, adding an additional layer of context-dependent, sex-specific modulation. By synthesizing mechanisms across species, we highlight conserved principles and lineage-specific adaptations, offering an integrative framework for understanding how sex differences are embedded in chemosensory neural systems and setting the stage for future work on sexually dimorphic behaviors.</p>","PeriodicalId":23325,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Neurosciences","volume":" ","pages":"1009-1022"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145472118","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}