Rats susceptible to anhedonia, a core symptom of depression, possess more serotonin neurons after being exposed to chronic stress, but the effect can be reversed through amygdala activation, according to new research in JNeurosci.

A comparison of mouse Alzheimer's disease models shows changes in the number of cells and the genes they express remain consistent throughout all stages of the disease. The new research published in eNeuro could reveal new targets for disease intervention and therapies.

Environmental enrichment can partially correct miswired neurons in the visual pathway, according to research in mice recently published in eNeuro.

The drug ketamine decreases alcohol consumption in male, but not female, rats, according to new research published in eNeuro. The findings suggest that ketamine may be a viable treatment option for male patients with an alcohol use disorder.

Adolescent binge drinking modifies gene expression in a fashion that increases susceptibility to anxiety and alcohol use disorders in adulthood, according to research in rats recently published in eNeuro. Targeting the microRNAs responsible could be a new route for undoing the damage of alcohol use caused during adolescence.

Exposure to nicotine during development inhibits the function of neurons controlling the tongue, according to research in newborn rats recently published in eNeuro. This impairment may be a factor in sudden infant death syndrome in humans.

A drug commonly used to treat Type II diabetes abolishes the characteristic signs of nicotine withdrawal in rats and mice, according to new research published in JNeurosci. The finding may offer an important new strategy in the battle to quit smoking.

The fundamental organization of brain networks is established in utero during the second and third trimesters of fetal development, according to research published in JNeurosci. The finding lays the groundwork for understanding how the prenatal period shapes future brain function.

Tau can quickly spread between neurons but is not immediately harmful, according to research in mouse neurons published in JNeurosci. Intervening during the initial accumulation of tau could potentially halt the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) will award the Nemko Prize in Cellular or Molecular Neuroscience to Lauren Mackenzie Reynolds, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Sorbonne Université in Paris. The Nemko Prize recognizes a young neuroscientist for his or her PhD thesis that advances the understanding of molecular, genetic or cellular mechanisms underlying higher brain function and cognition.