The European Journal Of Neuroscience[JOURNAL]
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200 papers
Improved Motor Neuron Preservation and Axonal Recovery Following Experimental Sciatic Nerve Repair With Heterologous Fibrin Biopolymer.
Muller KS, Tibúrcio FC, do Amaral CG … +6 more , Silva MA, da Silva GLL, Junior RSF, Barraviera B, Matheus SMM, Horta-Júnior JACE
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42400351 · Publisher ↗
Peripheral nerve injuries severely impair motor function. Although neurorrhaphy is the gold-standard treatment, recovery is often incomplete. The heterologous fibrin biopolymer (HFB), a nonhuman-derived and biocompatible...
Peripheral nerve injuries severely impair motor function. Although neurorrhaphy is the gold-standard treatment, recovery is often incomplete. The heterologous fibrin biopolymer (HFB), a nonhuman-derived and biocompatible sealant, has shown regenerative potential in neural tissues, but its effects on the spinal cord microenvironment after peripheral nerve injury remain unclear. This study evaluated the chronic regenerative effects of HFB combined with neurorrhaphy after sciatic neurotmesis in rats. Forty adult male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control, denervated, neurorrhaphy, and neurorrhaphy + HFB. After 120 days, the spinal cord, sciatic nerve, and soleus muscle were analyzed. Neurorrhaphy + HFB had more retrograded label neurons than neurorrhaphy, whereas 3D reconstruction suggests reduced neuronal dispersion compared with neurorrhaphy. HFB also positively modulated glial cells, while improving sciatic nerve integrity, with NF200, S100, and G ratio indicating improved axonal regeneration. Neuromuscular junctions in the HFB-treated group were more organized than those in the neurorrhaphy alone. Overall, findings suggest that HFB acts as a bioactive modulator, preserving central glial homeostasis and enhancing peripheral remyelination and reinnervation, representing a promising adjuvant to overcome the limitations of conventional suture.
Topography of Regional Cerebral GABA Receptor Availability in Parkinson's Disease Patients With Freezing of Gait.
Hart AA, Kanel P, Barr J … +6 more , Carli G, Vangel R, Michalakis F, Scott PJH, Roytman S, Bohnen NI
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42400317 · Full text
We aimed to explore the relationship between regional gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor availability, measured with [C]-flumazenil brain positron emission tomography (PET) and freezing of gait in patients with Park...
We aimed to explore the relationship between regional gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor availability, measured with [C]-flumazenil brain positron emission tomography (PET) and freezing of gait in patients with Parkinson's disease. Freezing of gait is a significant mobility impairment with limited effectiveness to L-DOPA in advancing disease implying a role for other neurotransmitters, such as GABA. Imaging studies using [C]-flumazenil PET and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were conducted in 33 patients with Parkinson's disease (9F/24M; age 68.34 ± 6.38, disease duration 8.03 ± 4.73, motor Movement Disorders Society-revised Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) scores 44.01 ± 14.85). Patients were classified into two groups: "freezers" (n = 8) and "nonfreezers" (n = 25), based on the MDS-UPDRS Part III off state examination. Whole brain voxel-based t-tests group comparisons were performed using SPM12. Reduced GABA binding was observed in the cerebellum vermis, esp. vermis lobule VI, left posterior cingulum, posterior parahippocampal gyrus/fimbriae, medial occipital-temporal gyrus and the right gyrus rectus, right anterior cingulum, and adjacent right superior frontal gyrus that demonstrated significantly reduced GABA receptor availability in the individuals with freezing as compared to those without. In addition, reductions were also seen in the left posterior putamen and pallidum. Findings may augur a role for GABA inverse agonists for novel investigation of FOG treatment in Parkinson's disease.
Enhanced Time-Locked Decoding for Spoken Words but Not Environmental Sounds in Natural-Like Auditory Conditions.
Edström J, Nora A, Rinkinen O … +2 more , Salmelin R, Renvall H
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42396804 · Full text
Humans are especially sensitive to speech sounds even in complex acoustic environments, but it remains unclear whether speech is tracked differently from other meaningful sounds under such conditions. Magnetoencephalogra...
Humans are especially sensitive to speech sounds even in complex acoustic environments, but it remains unclear whether speech is tracked differently from other meaningful sounds under such conditions. Magnetoencephalography recordings combined with machine learning have revealed that dynamic time-locking of cortical activation to unfolding speech is crucial for encoding its acoustic-phonetic features. Here we investigated whether a similar mechanism for speech encoding operates during concurrent processing of speech and nonspeech sounds. Twenty participants listened to superimposed spoken words and nonspeech environmental sounds while attending to one stream at a time. Using a time-locked decoding model, we reconstructed time-varying acoustic characteristics of attended and ignored sounds from neural responses in each hemisphere. In the left hemisphere, amplitude envelopes of attended spoken words were decoded significantly better than those of attended environmental sounds at 120- to 200-ms latency between the sound and the cortical activation. No such difference between sound types emerged in the right hemisphere. Furthermore, attention significantly enhanced the decoding of speech sounds in the left hemisphere, suggesting that the observed effects reflect both bottom-up and top-down driven processes. These findings imply that particularly the left hemisphere processes speech sounds in a special, time-locked manner even under adverse auditory conditions. This mechanism may share its neural underpinnings with the previously reported time-locked tracking of speech amplitude envelope by cortical oscillatory activation or by evoked responses to acoustic edges, supporting efficient extraction of speech features in natural-like listening conditions.
Learning Dynamics in Biophysical Spiking Network Models Are Shaped by KCC2/NKCC1 Cotransporter Stoichiometry.
Ahmed M, Guimarães de Almeida AC, Rodrigues AM … +1 more , Depannemaecker D
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42393467 · Full text
Neuronal chloride homeostasis, governed by the opposing actions of the KCC2 exporter and NKCC1 importer, plays a critical role in regulating excitability and plasticity. While their individual functions are well characte...
Neuronal chloride homeostasis, governed by the opposing actions of the KCC2 exporter and NKCC1 importer, plays a critical role in regulating excitability and plasticity. While their individual functions are well characterized, the quantitative impact of their combined dynamics on learning processes remains poorly understood. In this computational study, we systematically varied KCC2 and NKCC1 activity levels within a biologically grounded realistic spiking neural network (RSNN) model to examine their influence on learning performance. Simulations were conducted with 441 combinations of parameters, under two different NKCC1 stoichiometries: the canonical 1 Na:1 K:2 Cl ratio and a proposed alternative 1 Na:4 K:5 Cl configuration. Our results demonstrate that successful learning emerges only within a constrained range of KCC2 and NKCC1 activity. Moreover, the shape and boundaries of this functional window are qualitatively altered by the NKCC1 stoichiometry. Under the 1:1:2 configuration, increased KCC2 activity consistently enhanced learning by stabilizing chloride dynamics. In contrast, under the 1:4:5 stoichiometry, the relationship was non-monotonic, indicating complex, context-dependent effects of transporter activity on network performance. These findings highlight the critical role of biophysical transporter properties-such as ion coupling ratios-in shaping the computational capabilities of neural circuits. They underscore the importance of incorporating non-synaptic, ion homeostatic mechanisms into models of learning, particularly when investigating brain development and neurological disorders where chloride regulation is disrupted.
Dopamine Receptor Agonism in the Nucleus Accumbens Shell During Aversive Learning or Memory Retrieval: Differential Effects Depending on the Degree of Sugar Familiarity.
Miranda MI, Ataucusi Y, Vera-Rivera G
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42392693 · Publisher ↗
Sugar provides energy and activates several processing pathways, including the reward and memory systems, both of which are essential for feeding behavior and modulating the amount and frequency of consumption. According...
Sugar provides energy and activates several processing pathways, including the reward and memory systems, both of which are essential for feeding behavior and modulating the amount and frequency of consumption. Accordingly, the conditioned taste aversion (CTA) model allows the study of the underlying mechanisms of flavor processing and aversive learning, as well as the phenomenon of latent inhibition (LI) of CTA. It has previously been demonstrated that the nucleus accumbens, particularly the core region, is required for appetitive and aversive taste learning. However, recent evidence suggests that the nucleus accumbens shell (NACsh) is involved in the transition and updating of appetitive memories. The present study evaluated changes in NACsh dopamine receptor function during aversive learning (CTA) and during memory retrieval, assessing their role as a function of the degree of sugar familiarity (e.g., LI of CTA). To this end, we evaluated the effect of agonist apomorphine injections into the NACsh during acquisition and memory retrieval of CTA, as well as during the LI of CTA after rats became familiar (3 days, S3d) or highly familiar (24 days, S24d) with sugar. The results indicated that dopaminergic agonism in the NACsh impairs the appetitive response to novel sugar without affecting CTA, but it also accelerates aversive memory extinction. Moreover, when dopamine receptor activation occurred after a few isolated sugar consumptions (S3d), it did not affect the LI of CTA. However, if the same activation occurred after weeks of permanent sugar consumption (S24d), the LI of CTA increased significantly, and the appetitive sugar response was also enhanced in subsequent presentations. Furthermore, apomorphine injections before CTA retrieval significantly delay aversive memory extinction without affecting aversive recall or the LI of CTA, regardless of familiarity. This work helps elucidate the modulatory role of dopaminergic activity in the NACsh during familiarization with a highly hedonic stimulus and its update during aversive conditioning and memory retrieval.
Training in the Categorization of Aerial and Terrestrial Scenes Differentially Impacts Scene-Selective and Nonscene-Selective Regions in Occipitotemporal Cortex.
Borders J, Noesen B, Dennis B … +1 more , Harel A
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42390293 · Full text
Humans are extremely adept at categorizing complex visual environments, an ability supported by a network of scene-selective cortical areas in occipitotemporal cortex (OTC), primarily parahippocampal- and occipital-place...
Humans are extremely adept at categorizing complex visual environments, an ability supported by a network of scene-selective cortical areas in occipitotemporal cortex (OTC), primarily parahippocampal- and occipital-place area (PPA, OPA, respectively). Despite increasing knowledge on the development of the scene-selective network, it is still not well-understood how experience impacts scene-related activity in the adult brain. A key question is how activity in scene-selective cortex changes as people gain experience in categorizing scenes. To address this question, we conducted an fMRI training study focused on the categorization of aerial and terrestrial scenes. Unlike terrestrial scenes, aerial scenes lack the same environmental regularities the brain has adapted to, and thus ideal for testing the impact of experience on scene-selective cortex. Over six training sessions, 39 participants (19 males and 20 females) were shown scenes of different categories from aerial and terrestrial viewpoints, with half the participants categorizing the scenes at a specific level (e.g., truss bridge/suspension bridge), whereas the other performed an unrelated task on the same images. Both groups were scanned before, during, and after training. We found that categorization training had a group-specific effect on responses in OPA and PPA, with greater neural sensitivity to viewpoint in the trained versus the untrained group. In contrast, nonscene-selective regions, such as object-selective LOC and early visual cortex showed no training effects. Improvements in behavioral performance, including learning transfer, were linked to changes in PPA activity level pre- versus-posttraining. We conclude that scene-selective cortex can support the learning of novel spatial geometries.
Superficial Ventral Premotor Pathways to Primary Motor Cortex Shape the Temporal Coordination of Precision Grasping.
Casarotto A, Dolfini E, Russo M … +3 more , Koch G, Fadiga L, D'Ausilio A
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42390205 · Full text
Goal-directed actions, such as picking up, manipulating, or using objects, are so ubiquitous that impairments in these skills can severely impact quality of life. Reaching-grasping behaviors are driven by a frontoparieta...
Goal-directed actions, such as picking up, manipulating, or using objects, are so ubiquitous that impairments in these skills can severely impact quality of life. Reaching-grasping behaviors are driven by a frontoparietal network, with the ventral premotor cortex (PMv) and the primary motor cortex (M1) serving as critical frontal nodes. PMv-M1 connectivity can be modulated using cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation (cc-PAS), which involves repeated paired transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of both nodes. Stimulating M1 with an anterior-posterior (AP) current direction selectively enhances corticospinal excitability during isometric precision grip, but not during isometric power grip. However, it is unclear how the plasticity induction in the more superficial PMv-M1 connectivity may influence the preparation and execution of goal-directed, naturalistic reaching-grasping actions. In this study, participants performed reaching-grasping actions toward small or large objects, requiring precision or power grip, before and after applying the PMv-M1 cc-PAS protocol. The plasticity-induction protocol selectively modulated the joint angles temporal synergies during precision grip actions, suggesting a reorganization of whole-arm reaching-grasping coordination. The analyses of the joint angles spatial synergies did not reveal comparable effects. Taken together, these findings suggest that the PMv-M1 plasticity-induction protocol primarily modulated the temporal, rather than the spatial, control of joint angles recruitment during precision grip actions. Given that such basic skills are often permanently lost in stroke patients, our findings may offer valuable insight for the development of innovative therapeutic approaches for this clinical population.
Quantifying the Influence of Lexical Surprisal on Acoustic Speech Encoding While Controlling for Within-Speaker Variability.
Synigal SR, Broderick MP, Lalor EC
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42390025 · Full text
There is substantial support for the idea that the listening brain makes predictions about upcoming speech and that these predictions are integrated with sensory input to influence perception. For example, the early audi...
There is substantial support for the idea that the listening brain makes predictions about upcoming speech and that these predictions are integrated with sensory input to influence perception. For example, the early auditory encoding of words appears to vary based on how those words semantically relate to their preceding context, suggesting that top-down information might feed back to affect acoustic speech processing. However, the way in which speakers enunciate words can vary based on how well those words fit with their preceding context. This presents a potential confound to the interpretation of top-down prediction in the listener. In this study, we address this possibility by assessing the influence of probability-based predictions (word surprisal) on electroencephalographic (EEG) indices of acoustic speech processing while controlling for variations in speaker dynamics. We analyzed EEG from 14 adults who undertook a perceptual pop-out task in which prior information enhanced the comprehensibility of degraded speech while acoustic information was held constant. Behavioral results confirmed the manipulation's effectiveness and were mirrored in the neural indices of word surprisal processing. Importantly, a positive relationship between word surprisal and EEG tracking of word acoustics emerged for degraded speech when prior information rendered it intelligible, but was absent when it was unintelligible, despite identical acoustic input across conditions. The difference in neural effects between conditions also correlated with the corresponding difference in behavioral pop-out. These findings support the claim that top-down word predictability influences the acoustic encoding of natural speech, independent of variations in speaker enunciation.
Profiles of Women in Science: Seung-Hee Lee, Associate Professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Associate Director of the Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Joëls M
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42390004 · Publisher ↗
In 2017, EJN launched the Profiles of Women in Science series to showcase and celebrate outstanding research conducted by women, while also highlighting their personal journeys and perspectives. We are pleased to present...
In 2017, EJN launched the Profiles of Women in Science series to showcase and celebrate outstanding research conducted by women, while also highlighting their personal journeys and perspectives. We are pleased to present this latest addition to this series.
Impact of Voluntary Alcohol Consumption on Corticostriatal Plasticity in Rats.
Smeets JAS, Ramakers GMJ, Meye FJ … +4 more , Baars AM, Adan RAH, Vanderschuren LJMJ, Lesscher HMB
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42389902 · Full text
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic relapsing disorder that is characterized by loss of control over alcohol consumption. Loss of control over alcohol use has been proposed to be mediated by a combination of habitual...
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic relapsing disorder that is characterized by loss of control over alcohol consumption. Loss of control over alcohol use has been proposed to be mediated by a combination of habitual substance use, caused by functional changes in the dorsolateral striatum (DLS), and breakdown of cognitive control over alcohol use, subserved by cortical areas. We have previously shown that a subgroup of Lister Hooded rats develops loss of control over alcohol seeking after voluntary intermittent-every-other-day consumption of alcohol. The aim of this study was therefore to determine the effects of long-term voluntary alcohol consumption on sensorimotor cortical inputs to the DLS in subgroups of rats that had consumed low versus high amounts of alcohol. To that end, optogenetics and patch-clamp electrophysiology were combined to investigate functional changes in cortical projections to the DLS after 8 weeks of voluntary alcohol consumption. We observed lower AMPA/NMDA ratios in alcohol-consuming rats, indicative of long-term depression of this projection upon exposure to alcohol. We observed a reduced coefficient of variance and, selectively in high alcohol drinking rats, an increase in paired-pulse facilitation. This indicates that voluntary alcohol consumption induces both post- and presynaptic changes in the sensorimotor cortical inputs to the DLS. These findings show that alcohol consumption affects corticostriatal plasticity, which might contribute to the development of AUD.
The Relevance of a Philosophical Toolkit to Advance Neuroscience.
Kunze M, Barwich AS, Branchi I … +1 more , Sarto-Jackson I
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42381570 · Publisher ↗
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The Brain Response to Reflectional Symmetry Is Not Uniquely Preattentive.
Buckley N, Makin ADJ
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42373576 · Full text
EEG can be used to measure the brain response to visual regularity. Reflectional symmetry generates an event-related potential (ERP) named the sustained posterior negativity (SPN). The SPN for reflectional symmetry is ge...
EEG can be used to measure the brain response to visual regularity. Reflectional symmetry generates an event-related potential (ERP) named the sustained posterior negativity (SPN). The SPN for reflectional symmetry is generated automatically, whatever the participant's task. This may be because reflectional symmetry has a fundamental role in perceptual organization and guiding adaptive behaviour. In contrast, other types of regularity, such as glass patterns, do not have this ecological significance. We thus predicted that the glass pattern SPN would be more susceptible to experimental variations of task than the reflection SPN. To test this prediction, we ran three experiments on three different groups of 52 participants. All participants saw the same random, reflection and glass dot dipole stimuli. The stimuli were either black or white. In the Regularity Task, participants discriminated whether the patterns were random or regular (where regular means reflection or glass). In the Luminance task, participants discriminated whether the patterns were black or white. In the Cross task, participants discriminated whether the vertical or horizontal arm of the central fixation cross was longer. As predicted, both the reflection and glass SPN were largest in the Regularity task, reduced in the Luminance task and reduced again in the Cross task. Contrary to predictions, glass pattern SPNs were less affected by task than reflection SPNs. This unexpected result suggests that glass patterns may even be processed more automatically than reflection, although this would require replication before it is treated as secure knowledge.
The Design of Music Rhythm-Based Optical-Magnetic Stimulator and Its Study on LTP/LTD in the CA1 Region of the Hippocampus.
Dong L, Wang J, Liu Y … +3 more , Pang J, Zhou M, Zheng Y
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42373169 · Publisher ↗
Musical stimulation can activate specific brain regions and modulate neural functions, whereas optical and magnetic stimulation technologies enable precise neuronal manipulation. However, traditional neural stimulation a...
Musical stimulation can activate specific brain regions and modulate neural functions, whereas optical and magnetic stimulation technologies enable precise neuronal manipulation. However, traditional neural stimulation approaches mostly adopt a single mode, and research on their combined regulatory effects is still limited. Light-magnetic combined stimulation (LMCS), as an emerging multi-modal physical neural modulation technique, has demonstrated unique advantages in regulating neural activity and synaptic plasticity and holds significant potential for application in the fields of cognitive enhancement and neural rehabilitation. This study innovatively combines two physical stimulation modalities-light and magnetic fields-using musical signals as the modulation source to explore their synergistic effects on synaptic plasticity in the hippocampal Schaffer collateral-CA1 region of rats. We designed a high spatial resolution light-magnetic stimulation system; utilizing this system, in vitro brain slice experiments were conducted, applying single-light, single-magnetic, and combined light-magnetic stimulation respectively. Changes in long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) were recorded. The experimental results showed that the combined light-magnetic stimulation, when synchronized with specific musical rhythms, exhibited the optimal regulatory effects on both LTP and LTD, outperforming single stimulation modes. This study verified the effectiveness of light-magnetic combined stimulation based on music rhythm in regulating LTP/LTD and provided design parameters and experimental basis for the development of the equipment.
The Inspiring Journeys of Women in Science.
Joëls M, Nicklas PR, Helmreich DL
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jul · PMID 42357834 · Publisher ↗
Since 2017, the European Journal of Neuroscience has featured interviews with 27 female neuroscientists to showcase and celebrate their excellent scientific contributions and to hear their personal stories and advice for...
Since 2017, the European Journal of Neuroscience has featured interviews with 27 female neuroscientists to showcase and celebrate their excellent scientific contributions and to hear their personal stories and advice for younger neuroscientists. Although these women represent different fields in neuroscience, countries, and levels of seniority, their stories share some remarkable commonalities, which we briefly discuss in this editorial. Highlighted topics include: the circuitous route of some of the careers; the importance of having good mentors and belonging to networks; the role of "good fortune" versus abilities and skills; the upsides and downsides of an academic career; some of the aspects in which women's academic careers may differ from those of men; and the advice the interviewees would like to pass on to the next generations. Although it is clear from these personal accounts that some aspects of women's careers in neuroscience have improved over the past decade, other elements seem stagnant. The European Journal of Neuroscience remains committed to equity and will continue to feature the stories of women in neuroscience to inspire future generations.
Gaining Insight Into the Nonfocality of Beta Oscillation Suppression Along the Sensorimotor Cortex Using Corticomuscular Coherence.
Georgiev C, Mongold SJ, Naeije G … +1 more , Bourguignon M
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jun · PMID 42350105 · Publisher ↗
An event-related desynchronization (ERD) of the 13-30 Hz sensorimotor (SM1) beta oscillations is commonly observed during movement preparation and execution. Human electrophysiological measurements suggest that such a be...
An event-related desynchronization (ERD) of the 13-30 Hz sensorimotor (SM1) beta oscillations is commonly observed during movement preparation and execution. Human electrophysiological measurements suggest that such a beta ERD has a wide topographical distribution along the SM1; however, no accessible means of quantifying the degree of its focality exist. Here, we tested the suitability of a method to investigate how the movement-induced beta ERD in one somatotopic SM1 area affects beta oscillations in a neighboring SM1 area. Thirty-six participants performed right brachium movements while holding a submaximal isometric contraction with their right first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle. Beta ERD in the left SM1 brachium area was assessed with electroencephalography (EEG). The effect of that ERD on beta activity in the neighboring SM1 FDI area was assessed through the corticomuscular coherence (CMC) between SM1 EEG signals and the electromyography and force signals recorded from the stationary isometrically contracted right FDI muscle. Our results showed a strong movement-induced beta ERD in the SM1 brachium area that co-occurred with an attenuation of CMC with both FDI signals. These findings imply that beta ERD may not be a strictly focal phenomenon as it could spread to a neighboring SM1 area. Importantly, we introduced a novel approach that combines a dual motor task paradigm with CMC to assess beta propagatory effects. This approach could allow for investigating the topographical properties of beta oscillations and their role for motor control in healthy and clinical populations.
Human Steering Control Under Unpredictable Disturbances.
Liu JY, Cooke JRH, Selen LPJ … +1 more , Medendorp WP
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jun · PMID 42350101 · Full text
There are multiple methods for controlling dynamical systems under external disturbances, with some emphasizing robust performance and others prioritizing efficiency. Here, we characterized the control strategies of huma...
There are multiple methods for controlling dynamical systems under external disturbances, with some emphasizing robust performance and others prioritizing efficiency. Here, we characterized the control strategies of human steering behavior under unpredictable disturbances. Using a self-steerable motion platform, participants (n = 22) steered a vehicle along roads of different widths (narrow, medium, and wide) while experiencing random, time-varying physical perturbations. Steering control strategies were assessed in terms of the frequency-dependent gain and phase of compensatory steering for the different road widths. Participants' road-keeping performance depended on the road width. When transitioning from narrow to wide roads, participants carried over their existing control strategy, suggesting a control policy that prioritizes robustness. This persistence was reflected in the vehicle spending more time within the road boundaries of the wide road than on the narrow ones. When moving from wide to narrow roads, participants again largely maintained their control strategy, albeit with some modest modulation by road width. In the frequency domain, road order did not affect the gain but did modulate the phase of control, suggesting that any control policy adjustments occurred primarily in the timing between perturbation and response. Together, these findings suggest that feedback gains for steering under random perturbations reflect a neural control strategy mainly tuned for robustness, with only a modest influence of efficiency.
Human Single-Neuron Responses to Multi-Feature Auditory Deviants: Evidence From Medial Temporal Lobe.
Carvalho VR, Nasimbera AH, Kochen S … +2 more , Solbakk AK, Blenkmann AO
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jun · PMID 42350079 · Publisher ↗
The ability to detect unexpected sounds within regular acoustic patterns is fundamental to adaptive behaviour. This capacity is reflected in the mismatch negativity and has been extensively studied in humans and animal m...
The ability to detect unexpected sounds within regular acoustic patterns is fundamental to adaptive behaviour. This capacity is reflected in the mismatch negativity and has been extensively studied in humans and animal models. Surprisingly, single-unit recordings during auditory deviance detection in humans remain exceptionally rare. Here, we characterized single and multi-unit responses to auditory deviants in frequency, location, intensity and timing dimensions, using the Optimum-1 multi-feature oddball paradigm during unattended listening. Microwire recordings from 13 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy yielded units from the amygdala (n = 48), hippocampus (n = 46), complemented by case-level observations from Heschl's gyrus and posterior insula (n = 2 each). Amygdala showed multi-phase responses, with timing deviants eliciting the strongest and earliest effects: suppression around 60 ms followed by enhancement around 200 ms. Intensity deviants produced suppression around 300 ms. Hippocampus showed sparse engagement with no apparent feature specificity besides a weak late effect of sound frequency at the ensemble level (350-400 ms). Case-level Heschl's gyrus recordings revealed functional heterogeneity, with responses ranging from early gap-specific to late frequency and intensity activity. Case-level insula units showed intensity-selective responses and late spatial processing with contralateral enhancement for location deviants. Our results, particularly the amygdala response profile (early suppression and later enhancement), suggest temporally dissociable mechanisms of deviance encoding at the subcortical level, while the sparse hippocampal responses indicate limited engagement in deviance detection during passive listening. Overall, these findings provide the first human single-unit characterization of multi-feature auditory deviance processing, establishing a critical baseline for understanding cellular mechanisms of predictive auditory processing.
Neurotransmitter Systems Underlying Freezing of Gait (FOG) in Parkinson's Disease.
Cho M, Cho JW, Yoo D … +5 more , Park J, Kwon DY, Koh SB, Park JH, Youn J
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jun · PMID 42349894 · Full text
Freezing of gait (FOG) is a common and debilitating symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). Despite its significant clinical impact, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of FOG remain poorly understood. Given the cl...
Freezing of gait (FOG) is a common and debilitating symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). Despite its significant clinical impact, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of FOG remain poorly understood. Given the clinical heterogeneity of FOG and its occurrence in various disorders, not only dopaminergic dysfunction but also multiple nondopaminergic neurotransmitter systems play a role in this phenomenon. In this review, we offer a comprehensive overview of current evidence regarding the contributions of various neurotransmitters to FOG, including dopamine, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, serotonin, glutamate, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). While dopaminergic dysfunction is particularly relevant in levodopa-responsive forms of FOG, the occurrence of paradoxical ON-state freezing and levodopa-unresponsive FOG underscores dopamine's limited and nonlinear role in gait control. Degeneration of the cholinergic system has been linked to impaired gait automaticity, attentional control, and postural stability, thereby exacerbating freezing, especially in cognitively triggered and levodopa-unresponsive FOG. Additionally, noradrenergic dysfunction may impair attentional and adaptive control of gait, making locomotor networks more susceptible to freezing under stress or cognitive load. Although evidence is limited, the serotonergic system is also thought to be involved in FOG. An imbalance between glutamatergic excitation and GABAergic inhibition within cortico-basal ganglia-brainstem circuits may destabilize locomotor network dynamics and contribute to freezing, as supported by neuroimaging and pharmacological studies. The ways in which these neurotransmitter systems contribute to FOG are multifactorial and involve complex interactions within distributed locomotor networks.
Correction to: Profiles of Women in Science articles.
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 · PMID 42345370 · Publisher ↗
Abstract loading — click title to view on PubMed.
Deciphering Freezing of Gait: What Neuropathology Reveals About an Episodic Phenomenon.
Kovacs GG
Eur J Neurosci · 2026 Jun · PMID 42331397 · Full text
Freezing of gait (FoG) is an episodic, debilitating motor phenomenon defined as paroxysmal episodes wherein there is an inability to step effectively, despite attempting to do so. Although FoG is most commonly associated...
Freezing of gait (FoG) is an episodic, debilitating motor phenomenon defined as paroxysmal episodes wherein there is an inability to step effectively, despite attempting to do so. Although FoG is most commonly associated with Parkinson's disease, it manifests across a spectrum of progressive neurodegenerative and potentially transient non-neurodegenerative conditions that affect overlapping locomotor circuits. The episodic nature of FoG implies transient disruptions of a distributed locomotor network rather than fixed structural lesions, rendering its neuropathological basis particularly challenging to define. This review synthesizes current knowledge of the structural, neurochemical and proteinopathic substrates that precondition and precipitate FoG. The principal disease categories implicated in FoG are reviewed, including Lewy body diseases, progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy, corticobasal degeneration and argyrophilic grain disease, as well as non-neurodegenerative conditions such as cerebrovascular disease and metabolic encephalopathy. Mixed and overlapping pathologies are common. Across these disorders, different disease stages and phases, and their frequent combinations, interact with selective vulnerability of distinct neuronal and glial populations, giving rise to a complex pathophysiological landscape. It is proposed that this convergence results in heightened network susceptibility, whereby cumulative damage to cortical, subcortical and brainstem locomotor nodes progressively lowers the threshold for episodic circuit failure. Understanding these multilevel neuropathological determinants is essential for developing targeted therapeutic strategies aimed at stabilizing the locomotor network and reducing FoG burden.
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