Context flexibly modulates cue representations in visual cortex.

Learned sensory cues result in enhanced responses in sensory cortices and, in turn, enhanced responses draw attention towards cues in our environment that guide future decision making. To respond appropriately, one must recognize the cue but also the context. Here we use two-photon imaging in visual cortex as mice learn a visual discrimination task and subsequently experience a change in external context through introduction of a threat stimulus.

Metabolic demands, sensory deficits: Tradeoffs in times of scarcity.

The brain requires a lot of energy to carry out its functions at peak performance. In times of energy deficit, something has to give. In this issue of Neuron, Padamsey et al.

Prominent role of forebrain excitatory neurons in SCN8A encephalopathy.

De novo mutations of the sodium channel gene SCN8A result in an epileptic encephalopathy with refractory seizures, developmental delay, and elevated risk of sudden death. p.Arg1872Trp is a recurrent de novo SCN8A mutation reported in 14 unrelated individuals with epileptic encephalopathy that included seizure onset in the prenatal or infantile period and severe verbal and ambulatory comorbidities.

Sucrose ingestion induces glutamate AMPA receptor phosphorylation in dorsal hippocampal neurons: Increased sucrose experience prevents this effect.

Evidence suggests that meal-related memory influences later eating behavior. Memory can serve as a powerful mechanism for controlling eating behavior because it provides a record of recent intake that likely outlasts most physiological signals generated by ingestion. Dorsal (dHC) and ventral hippocampal (vHC) neurons are critical for memory, and we demonstrated previously that they limit energy intake during the postprandial period.