Cellular neuroscience

Recent articles

Research image of tau proteins in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Supersized version of Alzheimer’s protein avoids clumping in brain

“Big tau” may explain why some brain regions, such as the cerebellum and brainstem, are largely spared from neurodegeneration, even though tau is expressed throughout the nervous system.

By Charles Q. Choi
16 August 2024 | 6 min read
Research image of a brain chimera containing neurons from rats and mice.
Ethics Microphone

Is it time to worry about brain chimeras?

Brains made of neurons from two species raise new concerns.

By Joshua R. Sanes
5 August 2024 | 9 min listen

Widely used calcium imaging protocol can lead to spurious results, new paper cautions

The technique, which measures calcium currents as a proxy for neuronal firing, sometimes reports unusual and potentially misleading waves of activity in the hippocampus.

By Angie Voyles Askham
19 June 2024 | 0 min watch
-A playful “cellular map” features top-down and bottom-up views of the human brain arranged side-by-side as if they were the earth’s two hemispheres in an old-fashioned map of the world. The brains are colored to suggest land masses and bodies of water.

Knowledge graphs can help make sense of the flood of cell-type data

These tools, widely used in the technology industry, could provide a foundation for the study of brain circuits.

By Michael Hawrylycz
28 May 2024 | 7 min read

Rat neurons thrive in a mouse brain world, testing ‘nature versus nurture’

Neurons from the two rodents can wire up together to form functional circuits—all while maintaining some species-specific properties, two new studies show.

By Angie Voyles Askham
17 May 2024 | 5 min read
A flourescent blue and green brain picture

New genetic tools usher amphibian neuroscience research into modern age

Harmless viruses that ferry genes into the brain cells of rodents and monkeys also work in frogs, newts and axolotls, according to two new preprints.

By Angie Voyles Askham
23 April 2024 | 6 min read
Illustration of neurons against a blue background.

Where do cell states end and cell types begin?

High-throughput transcriptomics offers powerful new methods for defining different types of brain cells. But we need to think more explicitly about how we use these data to distinguish a cell’s permanent identity from its transient states.

By Anne E. West
22 April 2024 | 6 min read
An illustration of a gold circle and wavy blue plants.

Building a brain: How does it generate its exquisite diversity of cells?

High-throughput technologies have revealed new insights into how the brain develops. But a truly comprehensive map of neurodevelopment requires further advances.

By Tomasz Nowakowski, Karthik Shekhar
18 March 2024 | 6 min read
Human head drawn in profile, brain area is red and connected to words spelled out in connected lines with nodes.

Individual neurons tune to complex speech sounds and cues

Neuropixels arrays implanted in people reveal nuances of speech perception and production that confirm results from brain-surface recordings and can even predict what someone is about to say.

By Elissa Welle
15 March 2024 | 7 min read
A photograph of a crab

In hot water: Climate change tests limits of neuronal resilience in crabs

Warming seas disrupt the function of neurons — and could seed permanent changes in marine species, according to studies of a circuit that controls digestion in crustaceans.

By Angie Voyles Askham
12 February 2024 | 7 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Cell population in brainstem coordinates cough, new study shows

The work also adds to a growing body of evidence showing that mice, and their genetic toolbox, can be used to study cough.

By Calli McMurray
6 September 2024 | 5 min read
Capitol building
Spectrum Microphone

In updated U.S. autism bill, Congress calls for funding boost, expanded scope

The current Autism CARES Act sunsets in late September.

By Rachel Zamzow
5 September 2024 | 5 min listen
Illustration of ketamine blocking open ion channels in active NMDA receptors, quieting the cells and disrupting downstream signaling involved in depression.

Ketamine targets lateral habenula, setting off cascade of antidepressant effects

The drug’s affinity for overactive cells in the “anti-reward” region may help explain its rapid and long-lasting results.

By Olivia Gieger
4 September 2024 | 6 min read