The hippocampal CA3 region may not be one uniform network after all. A new preprint identifies two distinct populations of pyramidal neurons, offering a new framework for understanding how memory circuits are organized. #neuroskyence By Alissa de Chassey www.thetransmitter.org/memory/textb...

Study reveals hidden diversity in hippocampal CA3

A new preprint identifies two distinct populations of CA3 neurons, challenging the view that the hippocampal region is a single network.

thetransmitter.org

Researchers in Dept. of Pharmacology have created a short animation to help newly diagnosed families understand Niemann-Pick diseases, and connect them with support organisations worldwide. Multilingual versions available. View the animation➡️ https://plattlab.nsms.ox.ac.uk/npc-diseases-english/

We're hiring! Looking for a postdoc interested in circuit mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease. #postdoc #neuroscience #alzheimers #dementia #neurodegeneration #electrophysiologist #systemsneuroscience #postdocjobs #invivo #mousemodel #newyork www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/44...

Sensing your body (‘Interoception’) is everywhere in theories of mental health. But when we tested how well hundreds of people sensed their heart and lungs, the link to symptoms was almost nowhere to be found. 💣 🚨New @natmentalhealth.nature.com paper 🚨🎉 asks why 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s44...

MIT Professor Susumu Tonegawa, renowned molecular biologist and Nobel laureate, dies at 86 news.mit.edu/2026/mit-pro... #neuroscience

MIT Professor Susumu Tonegawa, renowned molecular biologist and Nobel laureate, dies at 86

Susumu Tonegawa, a renowned MIT professor of biology and neuroscience and a Nobel laureate, has died at the age of 86. His discovery of how the immune system generates many different antibodies earned...

news.mit.edu

Brain cells critical for mouse navigation found to be highly specialised www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-06... @oxneuro.bsky.social @medsci.ox.ac.uk

New paper out in Current Biology. We define thalamic head direction (HD) cells based on the combination of neurochemical identity, physiology, sensorimotor responses, and connectivity, suggesting cell types. Great work led by Sara Hijazi and Shan Jiang from the lab. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Diversity and sensorimotor specialization of head direction cells in the mouse thalamus

Hijazi and Jiang et al. identify distinct head direction (HD) cell subpopulations in the mouse anterodorsal thalamic nucleus, based on the combination of firing patterns, connectivity, and neurochemic...

cell.com

Thalamic recordings show a rhythm that’s strong in wake and REM and absent in deep sleep: An electrophysiological signature of conscious states. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #neuroscience

Thalamic oscillations distinguish natural states of consciousness in humans - Nature Human Behaviour

Chowdhury et al. report the discovery of a 19–45-Hz thalamic oscillation that is present during human wakefulness and REM sleep, but not NREM sleep.

nature.com

Fascinating interview with @utafrith.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Uta Frith: why I no longer think autism is a spectrum

The autism spectrum has widened to the point of collapse, affecting how teachers should support autistic pupils in the classroom, researcher Uta Frith tells Helen Amass

tes.com

I don't know how many people see this when they look at trees during the winter, but mistletoe always reminds me of amyloid plaques - mistletoe is a parasite and each 'plaque' can vary in size. This is how I think of the 3D structure of amyloid plaques in the brain

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting roughly 50 million people around the world. Researchers at Oxford are looking at how epilepsy can be prevented, diagnosed and treated ⬇️ #InternationalEpilepsyDay

Epilepsy and the brain

Experts at Oxford are looking at how epilepsy can be prevented, diagnosed and treated, as well as promoting awareness of the condition to reduce stigma and improve quality of life for people with epil...

ox.ac.uk

Now online! Peripheral cancer attenuates amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease via cystatin-c activation of TREM2

Peripheral cancer attenuates amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease via cystatin-c activation of TREM2

Peripheral cancer inhibits amyloid pathology and rescues cognition of Alzheimer’s disease through secretion of cystatin-c (Cyst-C), which binds amyloid oligomers and activates TREM2 in microglia and enables microglia to degrade pre-existing plaques.

dlvr.it

Coincidence of thalamic HD signal and retrosplenial visual input is detected in the Presubiculum! 🎯 This may be the neuronal basis for landmark anchoring of the HD signal. Pleased to announce the VOR is now available elifesciences.org/articles/92443 Congrats first author Louis Richevaux 🙌

Projection-specific integration of convergent thalamic and retrosplenial signals in the presubicular head direction cortex

Nonlinear dendritic integration in single presubicular neurons provides a mechanism for combining vestibular-based head-direction signals and visual landmark signals to anchor the brain’s internal com...

elifesciences.org

1. Some good news at last. This week’s column is about the amazing thing a couple of us stumbled into three years ago, which we’ve now developed into a global research programme. It doesn’t change everything, of course, but it could help change quite a lot. + 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Over a pint in Oxford, we may have stumbled upon the holy grail of agriculture | George Monbiot

I knew that a revolution in our understanding of soil could change the world. Then came a eureka moment – and the birth of the Earth Rover Program, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

theguardian.com

Moon halo (22°) tonight in UK. Apparently this illusion is created by millions of hexagonal ice crystals in upper atmosphere

***Publication alert*** "Pathological tau alters head direction signaling and induces spatial orientation" www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Reposting some comments via the Science Media Centre on the UK government's ambition of phasing out animal testing in the UK. I think it is important for scientists to explain to policymakers and the public about pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics - complex interactions between drugs and the body

Science Media Centre UK@smclondon.bsky.social · 9mo ago

expert reaction to Government strategy on animal testing and new alternative methods www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-react...

#astrocytes #endothelium #cerebrovascular 😱🤩🤩

Molecular profiling of brain endothelial cell to astrocyte endfoot communication in mouse and human - Nature Communications

Deciphering body-brain communication pathways is key to a deeper understanding of brain physiology and pathology. Here, the authors define the astrocyte endfoot proteome and show dynamic vascular-to-a...

nature.com

This is really interesting. These bacteria form biofilms, which are essentially amyloids

ᐯIᑕTOᖇ ᑎIᘔET, ᗰᗪ@nizet.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Strep ❤️ Viridans streptococci DNA found in ~42% of coronary plaques, forming biofilms ignored by macrophages Once fragments escape, TLR2 senses them—potentially triggering an inflammatory response that disrupts plaque stability and increases heart attack risk www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/...

New blogpost on my concerns about Wellcome LEAP new $50m program on autism/microbiome links. deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-le... #autism #microbiome #biomarkers #diagnostic

This is a strange and surprising finding. Need to study the electron micrographs in the suppl material carefully (without the colourful shading) to learn more. Note that neurons can have cilia, I wonder if this is what they have detected e.g. recent review here: doi.org/10.1016/j.tc...

Christophe 🔬 Leterrier@christlet.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Nanotubes everywhere between neurons! A bit skeptical about these "dendrite-dendrite nanotubes" from a phalloidin staining in culture, but let's read on… www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

After many months of work on the revision, we have a paper accepted today (pending minor revisions). Also had a paper rejected at the same time (but going to ignore this email for today!)

Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91

Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91

Jane Goodall Institute says ‘tireless advocate’ for natural world died in California during US speaking tour The world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91, her institute has said. The Jane Goodall Institute announced that she had passed away of natural causes while in California as part of a US speaking tour. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

What do we know about the causes of #autism? @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social Professor Laura Andreae speaks with BBC Radio 4's Inside Science about the genetic factors behind autism, particularly around twin studies. 🔊 Listen now: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

BBC Inside Science - The science behind autism - BBC Sounds

What do we know about the causes of autism?

bbc.co.uk

This is incredible news! It is also a good example of why it is so important to identify and define the most vulnerable brain regions and cell types for a given disease. In this case it is medium spiny neurons of the striatum.

UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences@uclbrainscience.bsky.social · 11mo ago

🧵 BREAKING: Gene therapy shows promise in slowing Huntington’s disease progression. A major milestone in neurodegenerative disease research. @uclqsion.bsky.social @ucl-hd.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

September 21 is #WorldAlzheimersDay Alzheimer's disease and prion diseases are linked to unnatural aggregation of proteins into amyloid fibrils.

PDB101: Molecule of the Month: Amyloids

Alzheimer's disease and prion diseases are linked to unnatural aggregation of proteins into amyloid fibrils.

pdb101.rcsb.org

🚨New preprint alert! The thalamus has long been seen as a relay of sensory signals to cortex. But could it also generate its own structured activity? Our study explores this question in the head-direction (HD) system. Some explanation 🧵👇 1/13 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Coherent dynamics of thalamic head-direction neurons irrespective of input

While the thalamus is known to relay and modulate sensory signals to the cortex, whether it also participates in active computation and intrinsic signal generation remains unresolved. The anterodorsal...

biorxiv.org

*New preprint from the lab* – “Granularity of thalamic head direction cells” doi.org/10.1101/2025... 🧠📈 🧪 1/11

Granularity of thalamic head direction cells

Head direction signaling is fundamental for spatial orientation and navigation. The anterodorsal nucleus of the thalamus (ADn) contains a high density of head direction (HD) cells that process sensori...

doi.org

15 Sep is the deadline to submit your abstract for a poster or data blitz talk at #iSCAN 2025. Don't miss this opportunity and join us for an exciting meeting on spatial cognition in aging and neurodegeneration! Abstract submission: tinyurl.com/2r7f8dup Meeting website: tinyurl.com/mry28bfc

(buried in a reply, but) This is mind-blowing & deserves a post. Scroll to "video" in this article to watch what happens when the human hypothalamus is stimulated: it's a combo of embarrassment/shame and intense body sensations emanating from the heart. WOW. www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/S193...

Complex negative emotions induced by electrical stimulation of the human hypothalamus

Stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamic region in animals has been reported to cause attack behavior labeled as sham-rage without offering information about the internal affective state of the an...

brainstimjrnl.com