Transient changes in the firing of midbrain dopamine neurons have been closely tied to the unidimensional value-based prediction error contained in temporal difference reinforcement learning models. However, whereas an abundance of work has now shown how well dopamine responses conform to the predictions of this hypothesis, far fewer studies have challenged its implicit assumption that dopamine is not involved in learning value-neutral features of reward. Here, we review studies in rats and humans that put this assumption to the test, and which suggest that dopamine transients provide a much richer signal that incorporates information that goes beyond integrated value.

The major pathological feature of Parkinson 's disease (PD), the second most common neurodegenerative disease and most common movement disorder, is the predominant degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, a part of the midbrain. Despite decades of research, the molecular mechanisms of the origin of the disease remain unknown. While the disease was initially viewed as a purely neuronal disorder, results from single-cell transcriptomics have suggested that oligodendrocytes may play an important role in the early stages of Parkinson's. Although these findings are of high relevance, particularly to the search for effective disease-modifying therapies, the actual functional role of oligodendrocytes in Parkinson's disease remains highly speculative and requires a concerted scientific effort to be better understood. This Unsolved Mystery discusses the limited understanding of oligodendrocytes in PD, highlighting unresolved questions regarding functional changes in oligodendroglia, the role of myelin in nigral dopaminergic neurons, the impact of the toxic environment, and the aggregation of alpha-synuclein within oligodendrocytes.

Understanding how corticostriatal circuits mediate behavioral selection and initiation in a naturalistic setting is critical to understanding behavior choice and execution in unconstrained situations. The central striatum (CS) is well poised to play an important role in these spontaneous processes. Using fiber photometry and optogenetics, we identify a role for CS in grooming initiation. However, CS-evoked movements resemble short grooming fragments, suggesting additional input is required to appropriately sustain behavior once initiated. Consistent with this idea, the anterior lateral motor area (ALM) demonstrates a slow ramp in activity that peaks at grooming termination, supporting a potential role for ALM in encoding grooming bout length. Furthermore, optogenetic stimulation of ALM-CS terminals generates sustained grooming responses. Finally, dual-region photometry indicates that CS activation precedes ALM during grooming. Taken together, these data support a model in which CS is involved in grooming initiation, while ALM may encode grooming bout length.

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Recent advances in the field of Voltage Imaging, with a special focus on new constructs and novel implementations.

Work related to place tuning, spatial navigation, orientation and direction. Mainly includes articles on connectivity in the hippocampus, retrosplenial cortex, and related areas.

An increase in gastrointestinal infections in Early Childhood Education and Care notified to the public health unit in the Metro South area of Brisbane, Australia, coincided with the peak of the first Omicron wave in 2022. This made public health messaging and advice on outbreak management challenging. We hypothesised that gastrointestinal symptoms were a feature of the Omicron variant infection. At the time, there was a paucity of data on presenting symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 among Australian children.

This report from the Australian Rotavirus Surveillance Program describes the circulating rotavirus genotypes identified in children and adults during the period 1 January to 31 December 2023. During this period, 1,942 faecal samples were referred for rotavirus G- and P- genotype analysis; of these samples, 1,781 were confirmed as rotavirus positive. This is the highest number of rotavirus-positive confirmed samples by the Australian Rotavirus Surveillance Program in the past > 20 years of operation of the program. Of these confirmed rotavirus positive samples, 1,554 of 1,781 (87.3%) were identified as wildtype rotavirus, and 226 of 1,781 (12.7%) were identified as the Rotarix vaccine-like strain. G3P[8] was the dominant genotype nationally (n = 1,117/1,554; 71.9%), comprised of both human G3P[8] (n = 662/1,554; 42.6%) and the equine-like G3P[8] variant (455/1,554; 29.3%). Other frequently identified genotypes included G2P[4] (n = 146/1,554; 9.4%), G12P[8] (n = 100/1,554; 6.4%), G1P[8] (n = 40/1,554; 2.6%), G9P[4] (n = 32/1,554; 2.1%) and G8P[8] (n = 21/1,554; 1.4%). Genotype distribution was consistent amongst most jurisdictions, with human G3P[8] and equine-like G3P[8] the two dominant genotypes in all jurisdictions, with the exception of the Northern Territory and Western Australia where G2P[4] (7/103; 6.8%) and G12P[8] (54/241; 22.4%) were the second most dominant genotypes respectively. Consistent with observations in 2022, a small number of unusual genotypes were identified (n = 42/1,554; 2.7%), including G2P[8] (n = 18/1,554; 1.2%), and G3P[4] (n = 6/1,554; 0.4%). The high number of rotavirus positive samples received by the program reflected the notifications for rotavirus disease reported to the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance Service. The ability to monitor the genotypes of rotavirus strains causing disease across ages and across jurisdictions provides important data on assessing the performance of the national rotavirus vaccine program and to inform public health interventions during outbreaks. This Australian Rotavirus Surveillance Program also provides important data to monitor annual variations in genotypic patterns and to provide diagnostic laboratories with quality assurance by reporting incidences of wildtype, vaccine-like, or false positive rotavirus results.