The capacity of animals to rapidly and appropriately respond to potential threats is critical for survival. In many species, this involves innate defensive behaviors, such as flight or freezing. However, not all threats are dangerous. Habituation allows animals to filter out irrelevant stimuli and avoid unnecessary energy expenditure. While environmental context is known to modulate behavior in associative learning paradigms, it remains unclear whether this also applies to visually evoked defensive behaviors. Here, we address this question in mice of either sex by examining the role of environmental context on habituation of defensive responses to threatening visual stimuli. We developed a protocol that produces rapid (within minutes) and stable (lasting at least one week) habituation of freezing responses to slowly sweeping visual stimuli resembling an aerial predator moving across the sky. Using this protocol, we tested the impact of environmental context on habituation and found that changing the contex...

High-density multielectrode arrays (HD-MEAs) generate large, complex datasets that are challenging to efficiently manage and analyze with existing tools, especially in open-source environments. To address this, we developed the BYU Seizure and Analytics Tool (YSA), an open-source graphical user interface built in Python and C++ for efficient analysis and visualization of HD-MEA recordings. The YSA features raster plots, automated discharge detection and tracking, downsampling, playback, and export functions, enabling streamlined workflows for large-scale neural data. We demonstrate the utility of the tool in the context of seizure and status epilepticus-like activity, highlighting how the YSA facilitates rapid exploration of the spatiotemporal dynamics in brain networks. This platform provides an accessible and practical solution for HD-MEA data analysis, supporting a range of neuroscience applications.

In the article “Different But Complementary Motor Functions Reveal an Asymmetric Recalibration of Upper Limb Bimanual Coordination,” by Ada Kanapskyte, Jesus Alejandro Garcia Arango, Sanjay Joshi, Stephen K. Robinson, Jonathon S. Schofield, Lee M. Miller, Wilsaan M. Joiner, and Weiwei Zhou, which was published …

Adaptive goal-directed actions performed under threat require caution, often expressed as delayed response timing that balances urgency against error risk by allowing more time for evaluation. Although this temporal regulation is essential for survival, its neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. In mice of either sex, we show that glutamatergic neurons in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) regulate the timing of cued actions that avoid harm. Optogenetic activation of the STN, or its projections to the midbrain but not the globus pallidus, modulates action timing in a frequency-dependent manner, accelerating initiation such that animals lose the ability to respond cautiously, defer actions, or stop ongoing responses. STN excitation can also substitute for a natural cue and prevents the development of cautious responding, indicating a direct role in controlling avoidance action initiation timing. These effects were not driven by aversiveness, as mice did not avoid STN excitation, indicating that stimulation ...

Epidemiological studies show that only a minority of people exposed to addictive drugs develop addiction, suggesting that preexisting biological factors contribute to addiction vulnerability. Genome-wide association studies support this hypothesis by identifying genetic variants that are partially shared across different addictive drugs (Lai et al., 2026). Twin and family studies similarly indicate that addiction-related traits are heritable. For example, unaffected siblings of people with stimulant addiction show behavioral and neurobiological traits associated with addiction vulnerability, including impulsivity and impaired inhibitory control; these results suggest that inherited factors contribute to addiction risk even before drug exposure (Ersche et al., 2012). Although environmental influences and life experiences also contribute to addiction development, the biological mechanisms underlying vulnerability and resilience remain incompletely understood. One hypothesis is that individuals who develop a...

Join this interactive session as Yizhou Lyu, Zishan Su, and Yuan Chang Leong discuss their paper, “Hostile Attribution Bias Shapes Neural Synchrony in the Left Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex during Ambiguous Social Narratives”, with JNeurosci Reviewing Editor Daniela Schiller. Attendees can submit questions at registration and live during the webinar.

Replicability in science, despite being considered a core component of scientific practice, is low across the scientific fields. One possible solution is Registered Reports, an alternative publishing model where peer review is conducted prior to data collection; a study is accepted based on the strength of its hypothesis and methodology, rather than the novelty of the findings or the “story.”

Valéria Muoio, PhD, is a neurosurgeon based in São Paulo, Brazil and a Neuronline Community Leader. Her institution held its first Brain Awareness Week, and here, Muoio discusses how Brain Awareness Week events can inspire, build a community at your institution, and increase knowledge about the wonder that is the human brain.

Neuroscience education is transforming by integrating cutting-edge technologies such as ChatGPT into classrooms. This AI-powered model, designed to emulate human-like interaction, offers a simplified and engaging avenue for comprehending intricate theories and ideas in neuroscience.

Missense variants in O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) result in OGT congenital disorder of glycosylation (OGT-CDG), an intellectual disability syndrome associated with O-GlcNAc dyshomeostasis and a range of neurodevelopmental defects. Inhibition of O-GlcNAcase (OGA), the enzyme responsible for removing protein O-GlcNAcylation, has been explored as a target for modulating brain O-GlcNAc homeostasis in neurodegenerative diseases and may also be a target for OGT-CDG. Here, we describe an OGT-CDG mouse line, studied in male mice, that exhibits microcephaly, motor deficits, and brain O-GlcNAc dyshomeostasis, closely mirroring patient symptoms. We genetically explored OGA as a target for OGT-CDG by crossing these mice with a line carrying catalytically inactive OGA. Encouragingly, this partially restored O-GlcNAc homeostasis in brain and blood as determined by Ogt/Oga mRNA ratio. These findings suggest that OGA inhibition can modulate enzymatic imbalance in OGT-CDG mice possessing microcephaly and motor deficits, and ...