Neuron is one of the most influential and relied upon journals in the field of neuroscience and serves as a premier intellectual forum for the entire neuroscience community.

We provide some guidance and examples to clear up common misconceptions about special relativity. These misconceptions often come from trying to express the truths of special relativity in Newtonian t...

A neurotransmitter known to quiet activity in the brain can sometimes do the opposite, researchers find, offering implications for psychiatric treatment.

Chiu et al. found that activation of SST-expressing interneurons induces tonic currents through dendritic α5-containing GABA receptors in pyramidal neurons of the neocortex. Tonic GABAergic hyperpolarization deinactivates dendritic voltage-gated calcium channels, enhancing calcium influx during action potentials. Increased dendritic calcium signaling facilitates calcium- and endocannabinoid-dependent inhibitory synaptic plasticity.

Brain activity is highly regulated by GABAergic activity, which can suppress neuronal excitability and synaptic integration. Tonic GABAergic conductan…

Bridging molecular, cellular, and systems neuroscience. We study neural circuits from synaptic boutons to cortical networks in behaving animals.

Neuromodulation by acetylcholine (ACh) plays a critical role in reshaping neural dynamics in the neocortex as a function of development, behavioral state, and learning [1][1]–[6][2]. Prior work sugges...

At the simplest level, neurons are structured to integrate synaptic input and perform computational transforms on that input, converting it into an action potential (AP) code. This process-converting synaptic input into AP output-typically occurs in a specialized region of axon termed the axon initial segment (AIS). The AIS, as its name implies, is often contained to the first section of axon abutted to the soma and is home to a dizzying array of ion channels, attendant scaffolding proteins, intracellular organelles, extracellular proteins, and, in some cases, synapses. The AIS serves multiple roles as the final arbiter for determining if inputs are sufficient to evoke APs, as a gatekeeper that physically separates the somatodendritic domain from the axon proper, and as a regulator of overall neuronal excitability, dynamically tuning its size to best suit the needs of parent neurons. These complex roles have received considerable attention from experimentalists and theoreticians alike. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of the AIS and its role in neuronal integration and polarity in health and disease.