Nature Reviews Neuroscience

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…

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01078-6 Recent years have witnessed major advances in our understanding of the distinct functional and computational roles of the ventral hippocampus (vHPC). Mazen Kheirbek and colleagues examine the state-dependent representation of behaviourally salient information by the vHPC and discuss how its anatomy an…

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 28 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01070-0 Neural network models can express computational hypotheses about brain information processing, but their high parametric capacity makes discriminating model alignment to experimental data challenging. In this Review, Kriegeskorte and colleagues discuss methodology for the optimization of stimuli that mak…

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 28 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01077-7 A new study reports that olfactory receptor genes in the mosquito Aedes aegypti can be coexpressed in olfactory neurons and expressed in multiple subtypes of these neurons.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 27 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01076-8 Humans learn the extent to which outcomes are causally attributable to performance through dorsomedial prefrontal cortex tracking decision confidence to estimate the level of control in an environment as well as controllability changes via its interactions with the dorsal raphe nucleus.

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.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 21 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01075-9 Early-life exposure to stressors can lead to increased stress susceptibility in later life, shown here to be mediated in mice by SETD7-mediated monomethylation of H3K4 in dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 20 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01074-w Understanding how early life stress becomes biologically embedded remains a major challenge in neuroscience. In this Review, Maze and colleagues discuss recent advances in cell-type-specific epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms underlying long-term stress susceptibility.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 07 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01073-x Parental care is a conserved and robust feature of mammalian reproductive behaviour, but is highly variable, even within individuals. Jamieson and Kohl describe the neural circuits that drive parental caregiving in rodents, as well as their modulation by context, internal state, social experience, life s…

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 06 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01072-y Neural oscillations across a range of frequencies contribute to the cerebellum’s roles in perception, prediction and action. Koch and colleagues describe the microcircuit dynamics through which cerebellar rhythms arise, their influence on cerebellar computations and the potential for precision neuromodul…

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 20 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01066-w Transcriptomic microglial states are shaped by development, ageing, genetics, environment and disease. In this Review, Eggen and Kooistra discuss how the formation of so-called hidden immune-memory states in microglia following stimulus exposure might contribute to the variability in neurological disease o…

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 16 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01071-z In this Journal Club, Guilhem Ibos reflects on a 2011 study linking the neurophysiology of attention with the neuromodulation of cognitive functions.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 15 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01065-x Spontaneous brain activity is experimentally unconstrained. Embracing this freedom unlocks rich opportunities beyond task-based and naturalistic paradigms, the traditional Herculean pillars of constrained cognition. Emerging data-driven approaches can extract cognitively meaningful and translationally rele…

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 13 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01061-1 Neuronal and glial mitochondria support neuronal circuit function and plasticity through the supply of energetic substrates and the regulation of cellular physiology. Sandi and colleagues describe how mitochondrial functions shape baseline circuit states, support circuit engagement and thereby contribute t…

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 07 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01069-7 Training on brain–computer interfaces is shown to be markedly improved by using real-time reinforcement feedback instead of relying only on sensory feedback, which can be impaired in users of these devices.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 06 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01067-9 A new study has revealed that the transcription factor ATF2 is an important regulator of neuronal apoptosis.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 06 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01057-x Motor neuron disorders involve complex interactions between multiple CNS cell types, which are challenging to model in 2D in vitro conditions. Frizzi and colleagues describe recent advances in induced pluripotent stem cell-based 3D (organoid) models of the spinal cord and neuromuscular junction, and outlin…

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 06 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01068-8 In this Journal Club, Laura Bradfield discusses a 1998 study showing that scrub jays exhibit episodic-like memory.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 03 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01064-y Boundary issues for multidimensional frameworks of representation

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Published online: 03 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41583-026-01063-z Reply to ‘Boundary issues for multidimensional frameworks of representation’