The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives

Today’s action potentials

WHAT WE ARE READING
“Neurovascular dynamics in the spinal cord from development to pathophysiology”
By Carmen Ruiz de Almodovar et al. in Neuron
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QUOTE

It resembled a molecular piñata—tiny, spherical and absolutely bursting with surprises inside and out—so densely packed it looked like one tap could trigger an exocytic meltdown. I was captivated. — SANDRA JURADO, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, SPANISH NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

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NEW RESEARCH
JANUARY
26-27
2026
SINGAPORE
AAAI 2026 Workshop on Neuro for AI & AI for Neuro
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Illustration of a neuron.

New questions around motor neurons and plasticity

A researcher’s theory hangs muscle degeneration on a broken neural circuit.

By David Adam
10 October 2025 | 11 min listen
Judit Pungor and Angelique Allen stand in front of a saltwater tank.
Vision Microphone

Cephalopods, vision’s next frontier

For decades, scientists have been teased by the strange but inaccessible cephalopod visual system. Now, thanks to a technological breakthrough from a lab in Oregon, data are finally coming straight from the octopus brain.

By Calli McMurray
27 May 2025 | 14 min listen
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Nachum Ulanovsky sits against a black background with one bat in his hands and another with its wings spread above his head.
Neuroethology Microphone

Diving in with Nachum Ulanovsky

By Claudia López Lloreda
16 October 2025 | 14 min listen
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Illustration of a hand drawing lines between different points on the outline of a brain.

Beyond Newtonian causation in neuroscience: Embracing complex causality

The traditional mechanistic framework must give way to a richer understanding of how brains actually generate behavior over time.

By Luiz Pessoa
22 September 2025 | 25 min listen
Hands arrange various shapes over a color background.

Emotion research has a communication conundrum

In 2025, the words we use to describe emotions matter, but their definitions are controversial. Here, I unpack the different positions in this space and the rationales behind them—and I invite 13 experts to chime in.

By Nicole Rust
5 September 2025 | 37 min listen
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