Circuits

Recent articles

Two mice sleeping.

Soft touch quells loneliness in mice

Touch modulates one of two dueling types of hypothalamic neurons that, thermostat-like, balance an animal’s drive for social interaction.

By Angie Voyles Askham
26 February 2025 | 6 min read
Research image of a mouse brain slice stained in purple and yellow.

Subthalamic plasticity helps mice squelch innate fear responses

When the animals learn that a perceived threat is not dangerous, long-term activity changes in a part of the subthalamus suppress their instinctive fears.

By Sydney Wyatt
6 February 2025 | 5 min read

Assembloids illuminate circuit-level changes linked to autism, neurodevelopment

These complex combinations of organoids afford a closer look at how gene alterations affect certain brain networks.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
19 December 2024 | 0 min watch
A cortical neuron glows orange and red.

START method assembles brain’s wiring diagram by cell type

The new technique mapped the interactions of about 50 kinds of inhibitory neurons in the mouse visual cortex in finer detail than previous approaches.

By Holly Barker
31 October 2024 | 5 min read
Research image of neurons in the nucleus of the mouse solitary tract.

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
Research image of different interneuron subtypes responding to the absence of pyramidal neurons in the mouse cortex.

As circuits wire up, interneurons take cues from surrounding cells

The inhibitory cells’ development, diversity and abundance in the cortex is directed in part by pyramidal cells, a new preprint suggests.

By Olivia Gieger
14 August 2024 | 5 min read
Research image of neurons in the fly’s ventral nerve cord.

New connectomes fly beyond the brain

Researchers are mapping the neurons in Drosophila’s ventral nerve cord, where the central nervous system meets the rest of the body.

By Laura Dattaro
26 July 2024 | 7 min read
Research image of neurons in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (right, in green) sending signals to cells in the pontine nucleus (left, in yellow) to quell pain.

Cerebellar circuit may convert expected pain relief into real thing

The newly identified circuit taps into the brain’s opioid system to provide a top-down form of pain relief.

By Angie Voyles Askham
24 July 2024 | 6 min read
Research image of a variety of brain atlases.

New ‘decoder’ tool translates functional neuroimaging terms across labs

The compendium of brain-parcellation atlases makes it possible to compare large-scale network data, which often involves different and overlapping network names.

By Holly Barker
23 July 2024 | 4 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

Explore more from The Transmitter

NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

Acting NIH director dismisses four neuroscientists from advisory boards

The letters they received this week did not include a reason for their termination.

By Calli McMurray, Angie Voyles Askham
25 March 2025 | 5 min read
Research image of protein synthesis in mice.

NIH neurodevelopmental assessment system now available as iPad app

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 24 March.

By Jill Adams
25 March 2025 | 2 min read
Illustration of a face covered by several black rectangles.

Keep sex as a biological variable: Don’t let NIH upheaval turn back the clock on scientific rigor

Even in the absence of any formal instruction to do so, we should continue to hold our ourselves and our neuroscience colleagues accountable for SABV practices.

By Rebecca Shansky
25 March 2025 | 7 min read