2026-09-18
Rayyan T. Jokhai, Carolyn E. Dundes, Hadia S. Ahsan, Rachel S. Kang, Rachel E. A. Salomon-Shulman, Arjun Rajan, Yoon Seok Kim, Liam J. Stanton, Christine Xu, Stephanie Do, Brennan D. McDonald, José Miguel Andrade López, Hugo A. Urrutia, Hannah Greenfeld, Alicia Wong, Yimiao Qu, Andrew S. Petkovic, Yi Miao, K. Christopher Garcia, Michelle Monje, Daniel E. Wagner, Marianne E. Bronner, Christopher J. Lowe, Kyle M. Loh
This study shows that the brain arises from two distinct progenitors: one forms the forebrain and midbrain, whereas the other generates the hindbrain. These insights enable the generation of human hindbrain motor neurons from pluripotent stem cells.
DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02433-72026-09-18
Qianru Zhao, Bing Feng, Vicky Dong, Lee How Lau, Hailan Liu, Meng Yu, Keqin Liang, Cindy Tran, Heidi Feng, Taylor Smiley, Peiyu Gao, Amy Yan, Hui Ye, Yuwei Jiang, Chunmei Wang, Pingwen Xu, Yanlin He
Zhao, Feng, Dong and colleagues found that pregnant mice crave highly palatable foods due to SK3-mediated inhibition of 5-HT neurons in DRN. Reactivating serotonergic DRN→VTA projections reduced these cravings and may provide new approaches to prevent maternal obesity.
DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02445-32026-09-18
Mitra Javadzadeh, Marine Schimel, Sonja B. Hofer, Yashar Ahmadian, Guillaume Hennequin
The authors show that reciprocal interactions between cortical areas generate slow dynamics that gradually build consensus across distributed cortical networks, revealing a potential general principle for coordinating activity across the neocortex.
DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02437-32026-09-16
Benjamin A. Filio, Amma Otchere, Subhiksha Srinivasan, Srijan Thota, Luke Drake, Lizmaylin Ramos, Philipp Maurus, Mark J. Wagner
Cerebellar neurons encode abstract dopamine rewards using activity patterns that reinforce reward-seeking behavior in mice.
DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02449-z2026-09-16
Ryan A. Senne, Rebecca L. Suthard, Rui Cao, Siria Coello, Amy H. Monasterio, Evan A. Ruesch, Michelle D. Buzharsky, Marc W. Howard, Steve Ramirez
Senne, Suthard and colleagues show that dorsal hippocampal astrocytes display time-compressed calcium-event sequences after foot shock and upon context re-exposure, and that their spontaneous activity relates to freezing and implicates astrocytes in associative memory.
DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02448-02026-09-15
Clara Kwon Starkweather, Ethan H. Willbrand, Kristin Sellers, Patrick W. Hullett, Andrew D. Krystal, A. Moses Lee, Kevin S. Weiner, Jon T. Willie, Peter Brunner, Ming Hsu, Edward F. Chang, Robert T. Knight
Intracranial recordings reveal oppositely tuned activity in the medial and lateral regions of the human orbitofrontal cortex during approach–avoidance decisions: the medial orbital sulcus activates just before approach, whereas lateral orbitofrontal cortex activity decreases before approach.
DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02444-42026-09-14
Robert R. Rozeske, Léonie Runtz, J. Quinn Lee, Alexandra T. Keinath, Aaron Sossin, Mark P. Brandon
Fear learning increases the similarity of threatening and neutral context representations in ventral CA1, which may enable faster reinstatement of threat memories, compared to dorsal CA1.
DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02435-52026-09-14
Samantha C. Brosler, Jessie R. Liu, Alexander B. Silva, Irina P. Hallinan, Cady M. Kurtz-Miott, Jonah F. B. Dunkel Wilker, Adelyn Tu-Chan, Karunesh Ganguly, Edward F. Chang
Brosler et al. develop a brain–computer interface that simultaneously decodes speech and gestures from a single cortical implant to animate a virtual avatar, providing a step toward more flexible communication for people with paralysis.
DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02446-2