Pub Date : 2025-10-31DOI: 10.1038/s41583-025-00994-3
Katherine Whalley
Head-direction cells act as a stable ‘neural compass’ as bats navigate across a large natural outdoor environment.
当蝙蝠在广阔的自然户外环境中导航时，头部方向细胞就像一个稳定的“神经指南针”。
{"title":"A neural compass for real-world navigation","authors":"Katherine Whalley","doi":"10.1038/s41583-025-00994-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41583-025-00994-3","url":null,"abstract":"Head-direction cells act as a stable ‘neural compass’ as bats navigate across a large natural outdoor environment.","PeriodicalId":49142,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience","volume":"27 1","pages":"3-3"},"PeriodicalIF":26.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145411626","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}
Pub Date : 2025-10-31DOI: 10.1038/s41583-025-00990-7
Sanjay M. Sisodiya
Neuroscientists must engage with climate change now because its effects on their research are and will continue to be widespread and because neuroscience itself is a contributor to climate change. As evidence-driven, ethically concerned scientists, we have important roles to play in tackling this global challenge to health and wellbeing.
{"title":"Climate change matters to neuroscience","authors":"Sanjay M. Sisodiya","doi":"10.1038/s41583-025-00990-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41583-025-00990-7","url":null,"abstract":"Neuroscientists must engage with climate change now because its effects on their research are and will continue to be widespread and because neuroscience itself is a contributor to climate change. As evidence-driven, ethically concerned scientists, we have important roles to play in tackling this global challenge to health and wellbeing.","PeriodicalId":49142,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience","volume":"27 1","pages":"1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":26.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145412066","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}
Pub Date : 2025-10-27DOI: 10.1038/s41583-025-00982-7
Victor P. Mathis, Aliza T. Ehrlich, Emmanuel Darcq
The increasing prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) represents an important global public health crisis, often referred to as the ‘opioid epidemic’. Opioids are known for their potent pain-relieving effects, but also have serious side effects, including OUD and respiratory depression, which can lead to fatal overdoses. To address this growing concern, we require a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying OUD, which typically begins with either medical or recreational opioid use and evolves into a complex and chronic brain disorder. In this Review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of opioid receptors and the neural circuits in which they operate (including the broad network of circuits involved in reward and relief processing), focusing on the changes that follow long-term opioid exposure, abstinence and withdrawal. Additionally, we discuss recent findings that highlight the importance of the local cellular environment in shaping responses to these drugs. Overall, we aim to provide an updated overview of the field that may give us new insights into the multifaceted landscape of OUD. In many parts of the world, opioid use disorder presents a growing challenge to public health, reinforcing the need to decipher its underlying mechanisms. Mathis et al. provide an overview of our current understanding of the neural circuits and molecular signalling pathways involved in the transition from opioid use to opioid use disorder.
{"title":"The neural circuits and signalling pathways of opioid use disorder","authors":"Victor P. Mathis, Aliza T. Ehrlich, Emmanuel Darcq","doi":"10.1038/s41583-025-00982-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41583-025-00982-7","url":null,"abstract":"The increasing prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) represents an important global public health crisis, often referred to as the ‘opioid epidemic’. Opioids are known for their potent pain-relieving effects, but also have serious side effects, including OUD and respiratory depression, which can lead to fatal overdoses. To address this growing concern, we require a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying OUD, which typically begins with either medical or recreational opioid use and evolves into a complex and chronic brain disorder. In this Review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of opioid receptors and the neural circuits in which they operate (including the broad network of circuits involved in reward and relief processing), focusing on the changes that follow long-term opioid exposure, abstinence and withdrawal. Additionally, we discuss recent findings that highlight the importance of the local cellular environment in shaping responses to these drugs. Overall, we aim to provide an updated overview of the field that may give us new insights into the multifaceted landscape of OUD. In many parts of the world, opioid use disorder presents a growing challenge to public health, reinforcing the need to decipher its underlying mechanisms. Mathis et al. provide an overview of our current understanding of the neural circuits and molecular signalling pathways involved in the transition from opioid use to opioid use disorder.","PeriodicalId":49142,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience","volume":"26 12","pages":"778-797"},"PeriodicalIF":26.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145373900","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}
Pub Date : 2025-10-27DOI: 10.1038/s41583-025-00983-6
Jeffrey J. Colgren, Pawel Burkhardt
The question of how the first synapses and neurons evolved remains unanswered. Chemical synapses are highly organized functional assemblies, linking two cells between presynaptic and postsynaptic structures. The core set of proteins making these two structures are well conserved in animals, and many of them predate animal evolution. In order to reconstruct the history of how these components came together into a functional unit, it is important to study the conserved and unique functions of synaptic proteins across modern lineages. Here, we provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on the distribution and function of synaptic proteins in early branching animals and their closest protistan relatives. We propose a model in which the evolution of chemical synapses from specialized secretory cells was tightly linked to lifestyle and behaviour in early animals. Recent studies have shed further light on the evolutionary origins of chemical synapses, In this Review, Colgren and Burkhardt explore how ancient proteins were co-opted into functional assemblies and propose events that gave rise to true synapses from early sensory-secretory cells.
{"title":"The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins and their changing roles in different organisms across evolution","authors":"Jeffrey J. Colgren, Pawel Burkhardt","doi":"10.1038/s41583-025-00983-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41583-025-00983-6","url":null,"abstract":"The question of how the first synapses and neurons evolved remains unanswered. Chemical synapses are highly organized functional assemblies, linking two cells between presynaptic and postsynaptic structures. The core set of proteins making these two structures are well conserved in animals, and many of them predate animal evolution. In order to reconstruct the history of how these components came together into a functional unit, it is important to study the conserved and unique functions of synaptic proteins across modern lineages. Here, we provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on the distribution and function of synaptic proteins in early branching animals and their closest protistan relatives. We propose a model in which the evolution of chemical synapses from specialized secretory cells was tightly linked to lifestyle and behaviour in early animals. Recent studies have shed further light on the evolutionary origins of chemical synapses, In this Review, Colgren and Burkhardt explore how ancient proteins were co-opted into functional assemblies and propose events that gave rise to true synapses from early sensory-secretory cells.","PeriodicalId":49142,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience","volume":"27 1","pages":"7-22"},"PeriodicalIF":26.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145373909","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}
Pub Date : 2025-10-27DOI: 10.1038/s41583-025-00988-1
Katherine Whalley
The facial movements of mice provide a noninvasive readout of the 'hidden' cognitive processes taking place during decision-making.
老鼠的面部运动提供了一种非侵入性解读决策过程中发生的“隐藏”认知过程。
{"title":"Facial expressions reveal inner cognitive processes","authors":"Katherine Whalley","doi":"10.1038/s41583-025-00988-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41583-025-00988-1","url":null,"abstract":"The facial movements of mice provide a noninvasive readout of the 'hidden' cognitive processes taking place during decision-making.","PeriodicalId":49142,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience","volume":"26 12","pages":"735-735"},"PeriodicalIF":26.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145373901","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}
Pub Date : 2025-10-23DOI: 10.1038/s41583-025-00981-8
Yan-Gang Sun
Itch represents an important somatosensory defensive mechanism. Both mechanical and chemical pruritic stimuli evoke the sensation of itch, and the molecular mechanisms for its peripheral signal transduction have been revealed. Local neuronal networks in the spinal cord are essential for central processing and gating of these transduced itch signals, which are then transmitted to the brain via several types of spinal projection neuron. Both the thalamus and the parabrachial nucleus are essential for the central relay of itch information. In the brain, several neural circuits between brain areas can use this encoded information to alter affective states, which in turn motivate defensive responses such as scratching behaviour. Itch signal processing in the spinal cord is regulated by both neuromodulatory systems and descending pathways. In this Review, progress in the understanding of the neural circuits that underlie itch signal processing, transmission and encoding within the CNS is synthesized. Neural circuit mechanisms in the brain for itch perception and the modulation of itch processing in the spinal cord via descending and neuromodulatory pathways are also discussed. Itch has an important role as a somatosensory defensive mechanism. In this Review, Sun synthesizes CNS circuits underlying itch signal processing and its modulation in the spinal cord, transmission of processed itch information to the brain for encoding, and evoked sensory and affective components from the perception of itch.
{"title":"Central neural circuits underlying itch sensation","authors":"Yan-Gang Sun","doi":"10.1038/s41583-025-00981-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41583-025-00981-8","url":null,"abstract":"Itch represents an important somatosensory defensive mechanism. Both mechanical and chemical pruritic stimuli evoke the sensation of itch, and the molecular mechanisms for its peripheral signal transduction have been revealed. Local neuronal networks in the spinal cord are essential for central processing and gating of these transduced itch signals, which are then transmitted to the brain via several types of spinal projection neuron. Both the thalamus and the parabrachial nucleus are essential for the central relay of itch information. In the brain, several neural circuits between brain areas can use this encoded information to alter affective states, which in turn motivate defensive responses such as scratching behaviour. Itch signal processing in the spinal cord is regulated by both neuromodulatory systems and descending pathways. In this Review, progress in the understanding of the neural circuits that underlie itch signal processing, transmission and encoding within the CNS is synthesized. Neural circuit mechanisms in the brain for itch perception and the modulation of itch processing in the spinal cord via descending and neuromodulatory pathways are also discussed. Itch has an important role as a somatosensory defensive mechanism. In this Review, Sun synthesizes CNS circuits underlying itch signal processing and its modulation in the spinal cord, transmission of processed itch information to the brain for encoding, and evoked sensory and affective components from the perception of itch.","PeriodicalId":49142,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience","volume":"26 12","pages":"765-777"},"PeriodicalIF":26.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145351713","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}
Pub Date : 2025-10-17DOI: 10.1038/s41583-025-00974-7
Katharina Scherschel, Hanna Wolf, Olujimi A. Ajijola, Kalyanam Shivkumar, Diana Lindner, Jose A. Gomez-Sanchez, Christian Meyer
The heart adapts to changing physiological demands through bidirectional interactions with the brain. These are mediated via extensive feedback loops of the cardiac autonomic nervous system, a complex network of neurons and glial cells. Although the presence of glia in the heart and its nervous system has been known for decades, only recently has an understanding of their contribution to cardiac physiology and pathophysiology emerged. As new types of cardiac glia are discovered, it becomes evident that they represent heterogeneous cell populations in distinct anatomical locations of the cardiac nervous system, contributing not only to autonomic control of the healthy heart but also to pathological changes in the diseased heart. Glia in the heart and its nervous system have long been overlooked, despite their potential importance for cardiac neural control. In this Review, Scherschel et al. explore insights into the identity, distribution and function of cardiac glia in health and disease.
{"title":"Glia of the heart’s nervous system","authors":"Katharina Scherschel, Hanna Wolf, Olujimi A. Ajijola, Kalyanam Shivkumar, Diana Lindner, Jose A. Gomez-Sanchez, Christian Meyer","doi":"10.1038/s41583-025-00974-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41583-025-00974-7","url":null,"abstract":"The heart adapts to changing physiological demands through bidirectional interactions with the brain. These are mediated via extensive feedback loops of the cardiac autonomic nervous system, a complex network of neurons and glial cells. Although the presence of glia in the heart and its nervous system has been known for decades, only recently has an understanding of their contribution to cardiac physiology and pathophysiology emerged. As new types of cardiac glia are discovered, it becomes evident that they represent heterogeneous cell populations in distinct anatomical locations of the cardiac nervous system, contributing not only to autonomic control of the healthy heart but also to pathological changes in the diseased heart. Glia in the heart and its nervous system have long been overlooked, despite their potential importance for cardiac neural control. In this Review, Scherschel et al. explore insights into the identity, distribution and function of cardiac glia in health and disease.","PeriodicalId":49142,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience","volume":"26 12","pages":"737-748"},"PeriodicalIF":26.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145311460","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}
The blood–brain barrier (BBB) performs intricate and dynamic functions that extend far beyond its traditional role as a static protective barrier, playing a pivotal role in maintaining CNS homeostasis. These multifaceted functions are rooted in its specialized architectural and cellular composition. In this Review, we examine the dynamic modulation of BBB function during physiological conditions and the hypothesis that such modulation contributes directly to neural and glial plasticity. We provide an integrated examination of the BBB’s diverse cellular components — endothelial cells, pericytes, astrocytes, microglia and vascular smooth muscle cells — across different CNS vascular segments. We discuss how physiological features and states, including circadian rhythms, physical activity, stress and hormonal fluctuations, dynamically alter BBB permeability and signalling, potentially shaping synaptic function, neuronal circuit dynamics and glial responsiveness. Understanding these mechanisms offers new insights into the neurovascular basis of synaptic plasticity and suggests that the BBB may be an under-recognized regulator and modulator of brain adaptability in both health and disease. The blood–brain barrier was conventionally seen as a static protective structure, but a more complex, dynamic view of this barrier has now emerged. In this Review, Friedman et al. discuss the dynamic modulation of the blood–brain barrier under physiological conditions.
{"title":"Dynamic modulation of the blood–brain barrier in the healthy brain","authors":"Alon Friedman, Ofer Prager, Yonatan Serlin, Daniela Kaufer","doi":"10.1038/s41583-025-00976-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41583-025-00976-5","url":null,"abstract":"The blood–brain barrier (BBB) performs intricate and dynamic functions that extend far beyond its traditional role as a static protective barrier, playing a pivotal role in maintaining CNS homeostasis. These multifaceted functions are rooted in its specialized architectural and cellular composition. In this Review, we examine the dynamic modulation of BBB function during physiological conditions and the hypothesis that such modulation contributes directly to neural and glial plasticity. We provide an integrated examination of the BBB’s diverse cellular components — endothelial cells, pericytes, astrocytes, microglia and vascular smooth muscle cells — across different CNS vascular segments. We discuss how physiological features and states, including circadian rhythms, physical activity, stress and hormonal fluctuations, dynamically alter BBB permeability and signalling, potentially shaping synaptic function, neuronal circuit dynamics and glial responsiveness. Understanding these mechanisms offers new insights into the neurovascular basis of synaptic plasticity and suggests that the BBB may be an under-recognized regulator and modulator of brain adaptability in both health and disease. The blood–brain barrier was conventionally seen as a static protective structure, but a more complex, dynamic view of this barrier has now emerged. In this Review, Friedman et al. discuss the dynamic modulation of the blood–brain barrier under physiological conditions.","PeriodicalId":49142,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience","volume":"26 12","pages":"749-764"},"PeriodicalIF":26.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145296126","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}
Pub Date : 2025-10-09DOI: 10.1038/s41583-025-00984-5
Chenyan Zhang
In this Journal Club, Chenyan Zhang highlights a 2005 study that showed that the amplification of task-relevant information makes a key contribution to cognitive control.
{"title":"Amplifying the signal: how the brain resolves cognitive conflict","authors":"Chenyan Zhang","doi":"10.1038/s41583-025-00984-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41583-025-00984-5","url":null,"abstract":"In this Journal Club, Chenyan Zhang highlights a 2005 study that showed that the amplification of task-relevant information makes a key contribution to cognitive control.","PeriodicalId":49142,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience","volume":"26 12","pages":"736-736"},"PeriodicalIF":26.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145254794","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}
Pub Date : 2025-10-07DOI: 10.1038/s41583-025-00980-9
Simon Haziza
In this Tools of the Trade article, Simon Haziza describes the development of USMAART, an optical tool for the detection of high-frequency electrical oscillations in specific neuron types during natural behaviour.
{"title":"Optical detection of high-frequency electrical oscillations in freely behaving animals","authors":"Simon Haziza","doi":"10.1038/s41583-025-00980-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41583-025-00980-9","url":null,"abstract":"In this Tools of the Trade article, Simon Haziza describes the development of USMAART, an optical tool for the detection of high-frequency electrical oscillations in specific neuron types during natural behaviour.","PeriodicalId":49142,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience","volume":"26 12","pages":"733-733"},"PeriodicalIF":26.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145241091","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}
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