Brain

Couch explores the implications of reducing animal use in neuroscience. She argues that moving away from in vivo models poses major challenges, as whole-organism insights into brain circuitry and brain-body integration are difficult to replicate in vitro. shorturl.at/1h0QG

Marsden et al. show that chronic cytomegalovirus infection accelerates cognitive decline and tauopathy in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model. Disease progression can be reversed by antiviral treatment or T-cell depletion. shorturl.at/QjLG8

Weiss et al. reveal a role for Septin-2 in the maintenance of the axon initial segment and provide evidence implicating cytoskeletal scaffolds composed of septin oligomers in the establishment of higher cognitive functions. shorturl.at/9PShi

Using structural and fMRI, Wiemer et al. demonstrate that structural reserve within the motor network plays a key role in functional reorganisation after stroke, enabling motor commands to be rerouted around damaged output tracts and supporting recovery. shorturl.at/0OwRb

Di Pede et al. show that advancing ALS motor stages are associated with reduced metabolic connectivity in sensorimotor & cognitive areas, with stage-specific changes involving temporal & cerebellar regions. shorturl.at/qiiBN; commentary: shorturl.at/0T60S

In a new mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, Tung et al. show that oligodendrocytes with enhanced energy metabolism gene expression and myelin production protect neurons, preserve synapses, and maintain memory performance despite ongoing AD pathology. shorturl.at/Aa45P

There have been claims that visual regions in blind people and auditory regions in deaf people may reorganize as language regions. Varol et al. show that their activations during language tasks instead reflect domain-general or sensory processing demands. shorturl.at/aDETo

Epilepsy is most common in older adults and has a bidirectional relationship with dementia. Sen et al. explore tau pathology as a potential underlying mechanism, and highlight tools and treatments that could modify disease progression and improve outcomes. shorturl.at/pM9SM

Huang et al. review the structure and functions of the perineuronal net – highlighting its roles in neuronal homeostasis, synaptic plasticity and neuroprotection – and discuss its increasing relevance as a therapeutic target. shorturl.at/ABS5P

Amyloid-β-laden CSF turns guardian macrophages into collateral damage in Alzheimer's disease New scientific commentary by Ankita Bhardwaj & Helene Benveniste shorturl.at/bCkA0

New issue of Brain now online! academic.oup.com/brain/issue/14…

Moser et al. evaluated the efficacy and safety of propionic acid as an add-on therapy in adults with clinically stable MS, and found that supplementation was well-tolerated and was associated with reductions in serum neurofilament light chain levels. shorturl.at/Y3ZBT

WWOX mutations disrupt early brain development by altering radial glial cell dynamics, reducing neurogenesis and causing abnormal neuronal activity. Using human brain organoids, Steinberg et al. show that gene therapy can restore neuronal function. shorturl.at/yapop

Using a ferret model, Wang et al. show that SMPD4 loss reduces cortical neuron production and impairs neuronal migration, shedding light on the mechanisms underlying the abnormal brain folding, microcephaly, and developmental disabilities seen in patients. shorturl.at/ZjwXJ

Using disconnectome analyses in stroke patients with aphasia, Ito et al. find that distinct neural pathways underlie writing deficits in kana (phonograms) and kanji (morphograms). shorturl.at/SEqWT

Hay et al. show that retinal hyper-reflective foci are increased early in paediatric-onset multiple sclerosis and correlate with brain lesions and atrophy, suggesting that they may provide a simple, non-invasive biomarker of disease severity. shorturl.at/3syN5

Dugast et al. identify a cytotoxic NK-like CD8+ T-cell subset that is enriched in the blood of people with MS, particularly during relapses. Elevated levels at disease onset predicted greater disease severity two years later. shorturl.at/lsjYl

Ding et al. show that different areas of the insular cortex contribute to distinct aspects of neuropathic pain: the posterior insula increases pain sensitivity via a brainstem-spinal cord pathway, while the anterior insula mediates pain-related anxiety. shorturl.at/DG6sZ

Failla et al. identify biallelic loss-of-function variants in GIT1 as the cause of a severe neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by microcephaly, brain abnormalities, and growth restriction. shorturl.at/hJXXP

Tilliole et al. show that RBMXL1, a retrocopy of the neurodevelopmental gene RBMX, helps compensate for RBMX deficiency during brain development. By buffering the impact of harmful mutations, retrocopies may contribute to evolutionary diversification. shorturl.at/3pJ9D