Lucas Struber, Laurent Lamalle, Pierre-Alain Barraud, Aurélien Courvoisier, Rafael Laboissière, Takayuki Ito, Vincent Nougier, David J Ostry, Fabien Cignetti
{"title":"Savings in visuomotor learning are associated with connectivity changes within a cerebello-thalamo-cortical network encoding movement errors.","authors":"Lucas Struber, Laurent Lamalle, Pierre-Alain Barraud, Aurélien Courvoisier, Rafael Laboissière, Takayuki Ito, Vincent Nougier, David J Ostry, Fabien Cignetti","doi":"10.1007/s00429-025-03013-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-025-03013-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Savings refer to faster relearning upon re-exposure to a previously experienced movement perturbation. One theory posits that the brain recognizes past errors, enabling more efficient learning from them. If this is the case, there should be a modification in the neural response to errors during re-exposure to the perturbation. To investigate this hypothesis, we used fMRI to measure brain activity as participants adapted to a visuomotor perturbation across two sessions spaced one day apart, focusing on neural responses to movement errors. The magnitude of the movement error was incorporated into different types of GLMs to study error-related activation and co-activation (or functional connectivity). We identified a cerebello-thalamo-cortical network involved in processing movement errors during adaptation. We observed strengthened connectivity within this network during re-adaptation, particularly between the cerebellar lobule VI and the ventrolateral thalamus, as well as between the primary somatosensory cortex and the rostral cingulate motor zone. Importantly, participants with the greatest increases in connectivity strength also exhibited the largest amounts of savings. These results establish a link between the brain's ability to represent errors and the phenomenon of savings.</p>","PeriodicalId":9145,"journal":{"name":"Brain Structure & Function","volume":"230 8","pages":"156"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145278954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Changwoo Lee, Changsu Woo, Jongseo Kim, Sukwoo Choi, Shin Jung Kang, Kyuhyun Choi, Ki Soon Shin
{"title":"Feed-forward inhibitory circuit from the anterior cingulate cortex regulates periaqueductal gray's panic-like responses.","authors":"Changwoo Lee, Changsu Woo, Jongseo Kim, Sukwoo Choi, Shin Jung Kang, Kyuhyun Choi, Ki Soon Shin","doi":"10.1007/s00429-025-03021-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-025-03021-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Threatening events elicit panic responses characterized by rapid movement, sympathetic arousal, and negative emotions-critical, instantaneous reactions that can determine survival in moments of acute danger. This study elucidates the neural circuit architecture underlying these responses, focusing on projections from the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to the dorsolateral periaqueductal gray (dlPAG) in male mice. We demonstrate that a subpopulation of GABAergic neurons (<sup>ACC→</sup>dlPAG neurons) in the dlPAG receives direct glutamatergic inputs from the ACC and provides feed-forward inhibition to surrounding dlPAG neurons, serving as crucial intermediaries in regulating PAG output. Optogenetic suppression of <sup>ACC→</sup>dlPAG neurons elicited immediate and robust flight responses and pupil dilation. Moreover, the inhibition of <sup>ACC→</sup>dlPAG neurons produced aversive states, as evidenced by conditioned place aversion and modified Pavlovian fear conditioning paradigms. Our findings reveal that <sup>ACC→</sup>dlPAG neurons function as a gate for panic-like emotional and behavioral responses. This circuit architecture might allow for fine-tuned control of defensive behaviors, balancing the need for rapid action in genuine threat scenarios with the suppression of inappropriate responses in non-threatening situations.</p>","PeriodicalId":9145,"journal":{"name":"Brain Structure & Function","volume":"230 8","pages":"155"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145278924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rafael Ignacio Gatica, Trinidad Montero, Navid Farassat, Pablo Henny
{"title":"Geometrical factors determining dendritic domain intersection between neurons: a modeling study.","authors":"Rafael Ignacio Gatica, Trinidad Montero, Navid Farassat, Pablo Henny","doi":"10.1007/s00429-025-03011-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-025-03011-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Modeling the structural basis of neuronal connectivity has advanced our understanding of organization and function of the nervous system. Research has focused on predicting synaptic connectivity from the geometry of intersecting axonal and dendritic trees. We extended this framework to examine how the dendritic domains of neighbouring neurons intersect, aiming to understand how shared afferences and projection system topography arise. We studied intersections in pairs of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopaminergic neurons (n = 15; 105 pairs), as if in their actual brain locations, using intersection of their 3D convex hulls polyhedra (CHPs) as proxies of domain intersection. Proximity increased intersection probability, but substantial data spreading suggested additional factors. We hypothesized that similarities in domain volume, orientation, somatic eccentricity, and shape increase intersection too. After independently normalizing each factor based on a common value or structural principle, we found that eccentricity homogenization most strongly increased intersection and model accuracy. Combining normalization of two or more factors further enhanced both metrics, though effects were factor dependent; simultaneous normalization of eccentricity and shape produced the greatest increases. We replicated the analysis with nigral dopaminergic neurons and found eccentricity to be the strongest determinant of intersection. This result held when systematically spacing CHPs and when using α-shapes for closer representation of dendritic architecture. Interestingly, VTA CHP pairs intersected more than nigral pairs at equal distances, suggesting greater geometrical heterogeneity in the latter. These findings suggest that differences in neuronal geometry contribute to segregated connectivity in topographically arranged neural circuits.</p>","PeriodicalId":9145,"journal":{"name":"Brain Structure & Function","volume":"230 8","pages":"154"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145278929","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Postnatal plasticity in the olfactory system of the juvenile swine brain.","authors":"Júlia Freixes, Fatma ElZahraa S Abdel-Rahman, Roberto Nebbia, Loreta Medina, Ester Desfilis","doi":"10.1007/s00429-025-03008-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00429-025-03008-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Swine have an excellent sense of smell and highly complex olfactory brain structures, which play a crucial role in their complex social interactions. In other mammals the olfactory system is known to exhibit significant plasticity, even during adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate postnatal plasticity in olfactory areas of juvenile swine brains by studying immature cells immunoreactive for the microtubule-associated protein doublecortin (DCX). Using immunofluorescence, we studied DCX coexpression with the cell proliferation marker Ki-67, and different neuronal markers. Our results show the existence of numerous DCX + cells throughout the olfactory pallial areas. In some of them, we found DCX+/Ki-67 + coexpressing cells, suggesting that they were proliferating. Some of these proliferating cells were grouped in tangentially-oriented migratory-like chains, forming the rostral migratory stream to anterior olfactory area and olfactory bulb. Moreover, chains of DCX + cells were found in the external capsule and white matter adjacent to the temporal horn of the ventricle. Chains of DCX + cells were observed crossing the internal layers of the piriform and entorhinal cortices. In layer II of these cortices, DCX + cells of varying maturity degrees and neuronal phenotypes (including NeuN expression) were present. This suggests the existence of multiple migratory streams along the anteroposterior axis. Most DCX + immature cells in the migratory chains and in the anterior olfactory area, piriform and entorhinal cortices expressed the transcription factor Brn2 (Pou3f2), suggesting the incorporation of new glutamatergic neurons in these areas. Together, these results highlight the interest of swine to study the role of postnatal brain plasticity and their potential for regeneration in large, gyrencephalic brains.</p>","PeriodicalId":9145,"journal":{"name":"Brain Structure & Function","volume":"230 8","pages":"152"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12500763/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145231430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Authors' response to letter to the editor: Sex differences in neuropathological response to traumatic brain injury: increased neuronal loss and astrogliosis in females.","authors":"Zuzanna Rauk, Zuzanna Setkowicz","doi":"10.1007/s00429-025-03019-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-025-03019-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The present correspondence constitutes a response to the Letter to the Editor regarding our publication Sex Differences in Neuropathological Response to Traumatic Brain Injury: Increased Neuronal Loss and Astrogliosis in Females. We are pleased that our paper has attracted attention and hereby provide comments on the authors' observations and suggestions. In this reply, we clarify our rationale for analysing the cerebral cortex, the absence of behavioural data, and the choice of the 30-day post-injury timeframe, which was based on prior experience with this model of brain injury. Furthermore, we include information on the evaluation of the oestrous cycle as well as details of the image processing applied during the morphological analysis of glial cells. Finally, we outline our plans to broaden the scope of the study through the investigation of an alternative therapeutic approach to traumatic brain injury, incorporating multiple in vitro and in vivo methodologies, including histological, biochemical, and imaging techniques.</p>","PeriodicalId":9145,"journal":{"name":"Brain Structure & Function","volume":"230 8","pages":"153"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145231506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sex differences in neuropathological response to traumatic brain injury: increased neuronal loss and astrogliosis in females.","authors":"Rukhsana, Shumaila, Muhammad Irfan","doi":"10.1007/s00429-025-03020-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-025-03020-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":9145,"journal":{"name":"Brain Structure & Function","volume":"230 8","pages":"150"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145184587","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Association between brain connectivity and renal pathophysiology: a multi-trait Mendelian randomization analysis.","authors":"Zihui Xu, Manyu Ma, Ran An, Yanqing Wang","doi":"10.1007/s00429-025-03014-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-025-03014-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To investigate the potential bidirectional causal relationships between resting-state functional brain activity and major kidney diseases. We accessed genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data of 191 resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) phenotypes. Summary-level GWAS data for seven kidney diseases-diabetic nephropathy, chronic kidney disease, glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome, cystic kidney disease, IgA nephropathy, and kidney cyst-were obtained from the FinnGen consortium or the Kiryluk Lab, all based on European ancestry (sample sizes ranging up to 11,265 cases and 436,208 controls). We employed inverse variance weighted (IVW) analysis as the primary MR approach, supplemented by MR-Egger, Weighted Median, Weighted Mode, and Robust Adjusted Profile Score (RAPS) to evaluate pleiotropy and heterogeneity. Forward MR demonstrated that certain brain networks, such as the central executive network, default mode network, limbic network, and other interconnected circuits, appear to influence susceptibility to various kidney diseases. Reverse MR indicated that disrupted kidney function, particularly CKD, may adversely affect key brain functional networks, including those responsible for sensory-motor processing and cognitive integration. Although the observed effect sizes were modest, our results provide evidence that kidney diseases and brain functional activity may be interlinked, aligning with clinical observations of neurological-urinary system correlations and emerging data on cortical structural changes in chronic kidney disease. The \"kidney-brain axis\" could be relevant to both renal and neurological pathophysiology.</p>","PeriodicalId":9145,"journal":{"name":"Brain Structure & Function","volume":"230 8","pages":"151"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145184592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ciara Treacy, Sophie C Andrews, Jacob M Levenstein
{"title":"Relationships between GABA + and Glx concentrations with age and inhibition in healthy older adults.","authors":"Ciara Treacy, Sophie C Andrews, Jacob M Levenstein","doi":"10.1007/s00429-025-03017-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00429-025-03017-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Inhibition represents a core executive function which underlies the ability to suppress interfering or distracting stimuli, thereby building resistance against task-irrelevant information. However, the impact of ageing on inhibitory functioning and the role of neuroplasticity - largely driven by predominant excitatory (glutamatergic) and inhibitory (GABAergic) neurochemicals - remains poorly understood. This study investigated age relationships with neurochemical concentrations (GABA + and Glx) and their associations with inhibitory sub-components in healthy ageing. Participants completed three inhibition tasks (flanker, Stroop, go/no-go), each measuring a different sub-component process, via the PsyToolkit platform. MRS data were acquired in the sensorimotor (SM1; n = 71, mean age (SD) = 68.3 (± 9.7) years, 39 females) and prefrontal (PFC; n = 58, mean age (SD) = 67.6 (± 9.6) years, 30 females) regions using a HERMES sequence and analysed using OSPREY's pipeline. After correcting for gender and education, semi-partial correlations revealed no significant relationships between age and GABA + or Glx concentrations in either the SM1 or PFC. Furthermore, after correcting for age, gender and education, partial correlations identified a significant negative relationship between SM1 Glx concentrations and go/no-go error rates, such that greater concentrations of SM1 Glx were associated with greater go/no-go accuracy. The null age-neurochemical results suggest that GABA + and Glx may not uniformly decline during healthy ageing, indicating a more nuanced relationship than previously reported. In addition, our neurochemical-behavioural findings provide neurochemically-and-spatially specific evidence that SM1 Glx concentrations may be important for response inhibition. This result indicates a role for the glutamatergic system in supporting inhibition, independent of age.</p>","PeriodicalId":9145,"journal":{"name":"Brain Structure & Function","volume":"230 8","pages":"149"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12476448/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145173596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jui-To Wang, Ching-Po Lin, Huei-Min Liu, Carlo Pierpaoli, Chun-Yi Zac Lo
{"title":"Beyond tractography in brain connectivity mapping with dMRI morphometry and functional networks.","authors":"Jui-To Wang, Ching-Po Lin, Huei-Min Liu, Carlo Pierpaoli, Chun-Yi Zac Lo","doi":"10.1007/s00429-025-03016-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00429-025-03016-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Traditional brain connectivity studies have focused mainly on structural connectivity, often relying on tractography with diffusion MRI (dMRI) to reconstruct white matter pathways. In parallel, studies of functional connectivity have examined correlations in brain activity using fMRI. However, emerging methodologies are advancing our understanding of brain networks. Here we explore advanced connectivity approaches beyond conventional tractography, focusing on dMRI morphometry and the integration of structural and functional connectivity analysis. dMRI morphometry enables quantitative assessment of white matter pathway volumes through statistical comparison with normative populations, while functional connectivity reveals network organization that is not restricted to direct anatomical connections. More recently, approaches that combine diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with functional correlation tensor (FCT) analysis have been introduced, and these complementary methods provide new perspectives into brain structure-function relationships. Together, such approaches have important implications for neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders as well as brain plasticity. The integration of these methods with artificial intelligence techniques have the potential to support both basic neuroscience research and clinical applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":9145,"journal":{"name":"Brain Structure & Function","volume":"230 8","pages":"148"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12476413/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145173609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yanbin Niu, M Catalina Camacho, Kurt G Schilling, Kathryn L Humphreys
{"title":"In vivo mapping of infant brain microstructure with neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging.","authors":"Yanbin Niu, M Catalina Camacho, Kurt G Schilling, Kathryn L Humphreys","doi":"10.1007/s00429-025-03007-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00429-025-03007-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that measures the displacement of water molecules in tissue over time. Due to its sensitivity to micron-scale water movement, which is influenced by cellular structures like membranes, axons, and myelin, dMRI is a unique method for probing tissue microstructure. Among dMRI analysis approaches, neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) is a biophysical modeling technique that enables the characterization of cytoarchitectural and myeloarchitectural features in the brain. The early postnatal period is characterized by rapid and dynamic biological processes such as axonal growth, dendritic arborization, and synaptogenesis-changes that alter the microstructural environment in ways that are detectable by NODDI. Thus, NODDI presents a promising approach for characterizing early brain development, offering biologically specific markers of tissue organization that are responsive to these maturational events. This review presents emerging literature on NODDI applications during early infancy, demonstrating its utility in mapping normative developmental trajectories, investigating alterations in preterm populations, and linking microstructural properties to environmental influences and emerging behavioral outcomes. While current literature offers initial insights into early microstructural development patterns, NODDI applications in infancy remain limited, and existing studies are constrained by small sample sizes, limited age coverage, and lack of longitudinal data. Nonetheless, initial evidence suggests that NODDI can complement conventional diffusion metrics and may provide novel insights into early neural maturation and plasticity. Continued application and methodological refinement of NODDI in infancy may help delineate sensitive periods of brain development and improve the interpretation of emerging neurobehavioral phenotypes.</p>","PeriodicalId":9145,"journal":{"name":"Brain Structure & Function","volume":"230 8","pages":"147"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12464100/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145136586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}