In this Journal club, Teruhiro Okuyama discusses the 2005 article that demonstrated the existence of ‘concept cells’ in the medial temporal lobe that show selective responses to specific individuals and play a key role in social memory.

Philip Tovote describes the 1980 paper in which Michael Fanselow systematically investigated freezing as a defensive response in rodents

An array of genetically encoded tools are now available to label and manipulate synapses in different experimental species. Kaang and colleagues provide an overview of these techniques, highlighting their advantages, disadvantages and utility for investigating synaptic function.

During their maturation, mammalian neurons lose the capacity to regrow their axons after an injury. Here, Hilton et al. explore the neuron maturation processes that limit axon regeneration, including changes in gene expression, cytoskeletal dynamics, and intracellular signalling and trafficking.

After injury, regeneration of retinal ganglion cells and reconnection to their original target — the suprachiasmatic nucleus —is achieved by manipulating guidance cues, leading to the formation of a functional circuit that supports functional recovery.

A series of papers provide an overview of the adult Drosophila melanogaster whole-brain connectome and how the resulting resource allows for more sophisticated approaches to investigate computations in the fly brain.

Manipulating the synaptic strength of cortical neurons alters sleep pressure in mice.

Blocking voltage-gated calcium channels reduces capillary narrowing by pericytes and improves cerebral blood flow in a mouse model of Alzheimer disease.

An anterior cingulate cortex to lateral septum circuit underlies the drive of spiny mice to affiliate with larger groups in preference to smaller ones.

Mice that witness a cage mate’s distress become resilient to future adverse events as a result of altered serotonin release in the lateral habenula.