neurotransmitter-receptor-influence-on-behavior

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01080-y The mechanisms underlying electrical transmission are often viewed as relatively simple compared with those mediating chemical transmission, yet electrical synapses exhibit dynamic changes in structure and strength. In this Review, Alberto Pereda and Adam Miller examine the structural and molecular ba…

Abstract Rationale The telescoping effect, where females progress more rapidly than males from initial drug use to developing a substance use disorder, is a widely cited sex/gender difference, yet its molecular basis remains unknown. Objectives To test whether calcium-permeable AMPA receptors (CP-AMPARs) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) contribute to the development of enhanced motivation for cocai…

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77377-4 Organization and function of CNS synapses are instructed by synaptic cell adhesion molecules (sCAM). Here, authors show that the main sCAMs NRX and PTPRs are interlinked by the tetraspanins T178A,B, thus forming ternary complexes that serve as core-modules of transsynaptic networks.

Silent synapses represent a unique class of synaptic connections that are non-functional at rest but possess the potential to become functional, serving as a critical reservoir for neural plasticity. Their activation mechanisms not only challenge traditional models of synaptic maturation but also provide novel insights into brain function regulation and disease pathology. This article provides a …

Nature Communications, Published online: 04 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77319-0 The authors find that the PI3Kα pathway links metabolism to hippocampal synaptic plasticity by sustaining astrocyte glycolysis and ensuring L-serine/D-serine supply to neurons. Loss of astrocytic PI3Kα impairs memory in mice, an effect rescued by serine supplementation.

BackgroundAlzheimer’s disease (AD), the most prevalent form of dementia, is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by abnormal accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ), which leads to memory impairment, synaptic dysfunction, and neuronal loss. This study investigated whether Alismatis Rhizoma (AR) could prevent Aβ oligomer (AβO)-induced synaptic dysfunction, neuronal cell death, and consequent memory de…

Nature Neuroscience, Published online: 02 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41593-026-02414-w This study shows that glutamate concentration at synapses can dynamically reshape how synaptic AMPA receptors pass current and calcium. This reveals a rapid way that synapses tune communication in the brain.

Nature Communications, Published online: 02 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77105-y By sequencing molecular barcodes transmitted by rabies viruses between connected cells, Barcoded Rabies In Situ Connectomics (BRISC) maps both local and long-range input of hundreds of neurons in parallel while preserving spatial information.

Abstract Everyday decisions depend on associations between sensory stimuli, actions, and outcomes. The striatum supports these sensorimotor associations through dopamine-dependent plasticity. Recent work has characterized a local striatal microcircuit in which cholinergic interneurons (CINs) modulate dopamine release via activation of nicotinic receptors on dopamine axons. Here, we show that visu…

Scientific Reports, Published online: 01 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-68691-4 Localization of blue-on cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the macaque monkey using a tungsten marking technique

The human brain has upward of 86 billion neurons, connected by some 100 trillion synapses

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 27 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01079-5 Injury to hand nerves can lead to disordered digit representation, which is now shown to arise as a result of altered peripheral inputs following nerve regeneration.

Blocking the kinase BRAF reduces nociceptive transmission in spinal cord after injury.

Understanding how molecular changes shape brain function and disease requires more than measuring genes in bulk tissue.