ArchiveThe sensorimotor cortex participates in diverse functions with different reciprocally connected subregions and projection-defined pyramidal neuron types therein, while the fundamental organizational logic of its circuit elements at the single-cell level is still largely unclear. Here, using mouse Cre driver lines and high-resolution whole-brain imaging to selectively trace the axons and dendrites of cortical pyramidal tract (PT) and intratelencephalic (IT) neurons, we reconstructed the complete morphology of 1,023 pyramidal neurons and generated a projectome of 6 subregions within the sensorimotor cortex. Our morphological data revealed substantial hierarchical and layer differences in the axonal innervation patterns of pyramidal neurons. We found that neurons located in the medial motor cortex had more diverse projection patterns than those in the lateral motor and sensory cortices. The morphological characteristics of IT neurons in layer 5 were more complex than those in layer 2/3. Furthermore, the soma location and morphological characteristics of individual neurons exhibited topographic correspondence. Different subregions and layers were composed of different proportions of projection subtypes that innervate downstream areas differentially. While the axonal terminals of PT neuronal population in each cortical subregion were distributed in specific subdomains of the superior colliculus (SC) and zona incerta (ZI), single neurons selectively innervated a combination of these projection targets. Overall, our data provide a comprehensive list of projection types of pyramidal neurons in the sensorimotor cortex and begin to unveil the organizational principle of these projection types in different subregions and layers.
Given the high malignancy of liver cancer and the liver's unique role in immune and metabolic regulation, current treatments have limited efficacy, resulting in a poor prognosis. Hydrogels, soft 3-dimensional network materials comprising numerous hydrophilic monomers, have considerable potential as intelligent drug delivery systems for liver cancer treatment. The advantages of hydrogels include their versatile delivery modalities, precision targeting, intelligent stimulus response, controlled drug release, high drug loading capacity, excellent slow-release capabilities, and substantial potential as carriers of bioactive molecules. This review presents an in-depth examination of hydrogel-assisted advanced therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma, encompassing small-molecule drug therapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, and the utilization of other biologics. Furthermore, it examines the integration of hydrogels with conventional liver cancer therapies, including radiation, interventional therapy, and ultrasound. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the numerous advantages of hydrogels and their potential to enhance therapeutic efficacy, targeting, and drug delivery safety. In conclusion, this review addresses the clinical implementation of hydrogels in liver cancer therapy and future challenges and design principles for hydrogel-based systems, and proposes novel research directions and strategies.
Cognitive dysfunction stands as a prevalent and consequential non-motor manifestation in Parkinson's disease (PD). Although dysfunction of the olfactory system has been recognized as an important predictor of cognitive decline, the exact mechanism by which aberrant olfactory circuits contribute to cognitive dysfunction in PD is unclear. Here, we provide the first evidence for abnormal functional connectivity across olfactory bulb (OB) and piriform cortex (PC) or entorhinal cortex (EC) by clinical fMRI, and dysfunction of neural coherence in the olfactory system in PD mice. Moreover, we discovered that 2 subpopulations of mitral/tufted (M/T) cells in OB projecting to anterior PC (aPC) and EC precisely mediated the process of cognitive memory respectively by neural coherence at specific frequencies in mice. In addition, the transcriptomic profiling analysis and functional genetic regulation analysis further revealed that biorientation defective 1 (Bod1) may play a pivotal role in encoding OBM/T-mediated cognitive function. We also verified that a new deep brain stimulation protocol in OB ameliorated the cognitive function of Bod1-deficient mice and PD mice. Together, aberrant coherent activity in the olfactory system can serve as a biomarker for assessing cognitive function and provide a candidate therapeutic target for the treatment of PD.
Precise and timely detection of a crop's nutrient requirement will play a crucial role in assuring optimum plant growth and crop yield. The present study introduces a reliable deep learning platform called “Deep Learning-Crop Platform” (DL-CRoP) for the identification of some commercially grown plants and their nutrient requirements using leaf, stem, and root images using a convolutional neural network (CNN). It extracts intrinsic feature patterns through hierarchical mapping and provides remarkable outcomes in identification tasks. The DL-CRoP platform is trained on the plant image dataset, namely, Jammu University-Botany Image Database (JU-BID), available at https://github.com/urfanbutt. The findings demonstrate implementation of DL-CRoP—cases A (uses shoot images) and B (uses leaf images) for species identification for Solanum lycopersicum (tomato), Vigna radiata (Vigna), and Zea mays (maize), and cases C (uses leaf images) and D (uses root images) for diagnosis of nitrogen deficiency in maize. The platform achieved a higher rate of accuracy at 80–20, 70–30, and 60–40 splits for all the case studies, compared with established algorithms such as random forest, K-nearest neighbor, support vector machine, AdaBoost, and naïve Bayes. It provides a higher accuracy rate in classification parameters like recall, precision, and F1 score for cases A (90.45%), B (100%), and C (93.21), while a medium-level accuracy of 68.54% for case D. To further improve the accuracy of the platform in case study C, the CNN was modified including a multi-head attention (MHA) block. It resulted in the enhancement of the accuracy of classifying the nitrogen deficiency above 95%. The platform could play an important role in evaluating the health status of crop plants along with a role in precise identification of species. It may be used as a better module for precision crop cultivation under limited nutrient conditions.
Neuropathic pain (NP) represents a considerable clinical challenge, profoundly impacting patients' quality of life. Presently, pharmacotherapy serves as a primary approach for NP alleviation, yet its efficacy often remains suboptimal. Melatonin (MLT), a biologically active compound secreted by the pineal gland, has long been associated with promoting and maintaining sleep. Although recent studies suggest analgesic effects of MLT, the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown, particularly its impact on the cortex. In this study, we induced an NP model in mice through spared nerve injury (SNI) and observed a considerable, dose-dependent alleviation in NP symptoms following intraperitoneal or anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) administration of MLT. Our findings further indicated that the NP management of MLT is selectively mediated by MLT-related receptor 2 (MT2R), rather than MT1R, on neurons and microglia within the ACC. Transcriptome sequencing, complemented by bioinformatics analysis, implicated MLT in the modulation of Gα(i) and immune-inflammatory signals. Specifically, MLT inhibited the excitability level of pyramidal cells in the ACC by activating the Gα(i) signaling pathway. Simultaneously, MLT attenuated M1 polarization and promoted M2 polarization of microglia, thereby mitigating the inflammatory response and type II interferon response within the ACC. These findings unveil a hitherto unrecognized molecular mechanism: an MLT-mediated neuroimmune modulation pathway in the ACC mediated by MT2R. This elucidation sheds light on the regulatory character of MLT in chronic nociceptive pain conditions, offering a prospective therapeutic strategy for NP management.
Intervening in the microbial environment holds promise for enhancing antitumor efficacy by reshaping the tumor microenvironment, yet few strategies have been reported. In a study led by Zou and coworkers, oral hydrogels are introduced to regulate the microbiota balance in the intestines and tumors, triggering an antitumor immune response. This work presents a microbiota-targeted drug delivery system that demonstrates notable efficacy in colon targeting and colon retention for the treatment of colorectal cancer. This represents a significant clinical advancement in treating colorectal cancer, which is particularly vulnerable to microbial infiltration.
Psychedelics have long been recognized not only for their profound impact on human consciousness but also for their potential therapeutic applications. This perspective explores the multifaceted relationship between psychedelics and consciousness, emphasizing their capacity to alter sensory perceptions, disrupt self-referential thought processes, and catalyze profound spiritual and existential experiences. As research advances, psychedelics are being integrated into therapeutic settings, challenging existing psychiatric models and offering new insights into the complex nature of consciousness and mental health. This emerging paradigm marks the need for careful regulation and ethical considerations in the therapeutic use of psychedelics, promising a more holistic approach to mental health disorders.
Hydrogel microparticles have been proved to be curative to diabetic wounds. Current trends focus on the integration of bioactive matrix and their smart stimulus-responsive release to meet the complex demand of regeneration in diabetic wound. In this paper, we present novel stem cell exosome-encapsulated Chinese herb glycyrrhizic acid (GA) hydrogel microparticles for wound healing. The integrated GA endows the hydrogel microparticles with antibacterial properties, while the encapsulated exosomes impart them with pro-angiogenesis ability. In addition, as the black phosphorus is incorporated into these hybrid hydrogel microparticles, the release profile of GA and exosomes could be controllable under near-infrared irradiation due to the excellent photothermal effect of black phosphorus and the reversible phase transformation properties of GA. Based on these features, we have demonstrated that these microparticles can effectively kill bacteria, scavenge free radical, and promote angiogenesis from in vitro experiments. Besides, they could also markedly accelerate the wound healing process by down-regulating inflammation and promoting collagen deposition and angiogenesis in bacteria-infected in vivo diabetic wound. These results indicate that the proposed exosome-integrated GA hydrogel microparticles present great potential for clinical diabetic wound treatment.
Background: B-cell receptor-associated protein 31 (BCAP31) has protective effects against alveolar epithelial type II cells (AECII) damage by inhibiting mitochondrial injury in acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), whereas the precise mechanism is still unclear. It is known that PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1)/Parkin-mediated mitophagy can remove damaged mitochondria selectively, which may be involved in BCAP31 protection against mitochondrial injury. Methods: In the current study, ALI mice models were established by using surfactant protein C (Sftpc)-BCAP31 transgenic mice (BCAP31TG mice) and AECII-specific BCAP31 knockout mice (BCAP31CKO mice) treated with LPS. Results: BCAP31 expression in lung tissue and AECII were inhibited in ALI mice. Under LPS challenge, lower level of BCAP31 was found to correlate positively with pathological injury of the lung, respiratory dysfunction, mortality rates, inflammation response, and AECII damage. Further study showed that down-regulation of BCAP31 induced decreased phosphorylation of PINK1 via reduced binding to PINK1, thereby restraining PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy. Down-regulation of mitophagy promoted mitochondrial injury, as shown by the increase in mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening rate, together with enhanced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS), which were accompanied by increased cellular apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The increased cellular ROS contributed to the inflammatory response via activation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). In contrast, BCAP31 overexpression promoted phosphorylation of PINK1 and PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy, thus blocking the mROS/ROS/NF-κB pathway, favoring a protective condition that ultimately led to the inhibition of AECII apoptosis and inflammatory response in LPS-induced ALI. Conclusion: Ultimately, BCAP31 alleviated ALI by activating PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy and blocking the mROS/ROS/NF-κB pathway in AECII.
Recently, the high incidence of oral mucosal defects and the subsequent functional impairments have attracted widespread attention. Controlling scaffold geometry pattern has been proposed as a strategy to promote cell behavior and facilitate soft tissue repair. In this study, we innovatively construct an integrated dual-layer heterogeneous polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold using melt electrowriting (MEW) technology. The outer layer was disordered, while the inner layer featured oriented fiber patterns: parallel (P-par), rhombic (P-rhomb), and square (P-sq). Our findings revealed that the P-rhomb and P-sq scaffolds exhibited superior surface wettability, roughness, and tensile strength compared to the pure disordered PCL scaffolds (P) and P-par. Compared to the commercial collagen membranes, the outer layer of PCL can effectively inhibit bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation. Furthermore, the P-rhomb and P-sq groups demonstrated higher gene and protein expression levels related to cell adhesion and cell migration rates than did the P and P-par groups. Among them, P-sq plays an important role in inducing the differentiation of gingival fibroblasts into myofibroblasts rich in α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Additionally, P-sq could reduce inflammation, promote epithelial regeneration, and accelerate wound healing when used in full-thickness oral mucosal defects in rabbits. Overall, the integrated dual-layer heterogeneous PCL scaffold fabricated by MEW technology effectively inhibited bacterial adhesion and guided tissue regeneration, offering advantages for clinical translation and large-scale production. This promising material holds important potential for treating full-thickness mucosal defects in a bacteria-rich oral environments.
Introduction: Brain age prediction using neuroimaging data and machine learning algorithms holds significant promise for gaining insights into the development of neurodegenerative diseases. The estimation of brain age may be influenced not only by the imaging modality but also by multidomain clinical factors. However, the degree to which various clinical factors in individuals are associated with brain structure, as well as the comprehensive relationship between these factors and brain aging, is not yet clear. Methods: In this study, multimodal brain magnetic resonance imaging data and longitudinal clinical information were collected from 964 participants in a population-based cohort with 16 years of follow-up in northern China. We developed a machine learning-based algorithm to predict multimodal brain age and compared the estimated brain age gap (BAG) differences among the 5 groups characterized by varying exposures to these high-risk clinical factors. We then estimated modality-specific brain age in the hypertension group based on hypertension-related regional imaging metrics. Results: The results revealed a significantly larger BAG estimated from multimodal neuroimaging in subjects with 4 or 5 risk factors compared to other groups, suggesting an acceleration of brain aging under cumulative exposure to multiple risk factors. The estimated T1-based BAG exhibited a significantly higher level in the hypertensive subjects compared to the normotensive individuals. Conclusion: Our study provides valuable insights into a range of health factors across lifestyle, metabolism, and social context that are reflective of brain aging and also contributes to the advancement of interventions and public health initiatives targeted at the general population aimed at promoting brain health.
Impedance metasurfaces enable accurate regulation of acoustic fields. However, they can hardly supply a flexible response as such perfect operation is accompanied by stringent requirements on the design of unit cells. Actually, an arbitrary lossless and passive target impedance matrix requires the tuning of 3 independent real parameters. The set composed of a reflection phase, a transmission amplitude, and a transmission phase, enables the representation of an arbitrary impedance matrix, possibly possessing singular elements. In this paper, a mechanism of phase-amplitude-phase modulation (PAP modulation) is developed for the generic design of the unit cells of acoustic impedance metasurfaces. Adjustable acoustic impedance metasurfaces are further available under this framework. An impedance unit with 3 mobile parts is designed based on this idea. The assembled metasurface can handle different incidences for acoustic field manipulation at a given frequency. Beam steering and beam splitting are considered as demonstration examples and are verified by numerical simulation and experiment. PAP modulation enriches the design of acoustic impedance metasurfaces and extends the range of application of impedance theory.
Layered Ni-rich oxide cathodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) often struggle with poor thermal safety and capacity fade. Xin and colleagues' studies in Nature and Nature Energy demonstrate a novel high-entropy (compositionally complex) doping strategy, introducing “cocktail effects” from multiple constituents. This approach substantially improves cycling performance and stability, reduces material cost, and may pave the way toward the development of advanced electrodes for next-generation LIBs.
This commentary underscores the importance and implications of the study “Biomolecular condensates with complex architectures via controlled nucleation,” led by Jan C. M. van Hest and Tuomas P. J. Knowles, published in Nature Chemical Engineering. The research team developed a novel system to investigate the structure of biological condensates using quaternized amylose, carboxymethylated amylose, and single-stranded DNA. They successfully created multiphase droplets with distinct dense phases and demonstrated that droplet architecture can be controlled through temperature and salt concentration adjustments. This study offers valuable insights into the formation and function of membraneless organelles in cells and suggests promising applications for designing biomimetic materials and therapeutic strategies.
Ion selectivity is a fundamental feature for designing advanced nanopores/channel systems, for example, biosensors or selectively permeable membranes. Comparison between different studies is a way to find and design the nanopore/membrane with pronounced selectivity. However, there is a huge hurdle in comparing the ion selectivities between studies, resulting from different equations from diverse scopes of science. Here, the authors from “Addressing challenges in ion-selectivity characterization in nanopores” emphasized the misinterpretation of the traditionally used Nernst and Goldman–Hodgkin–Katz equations in the previous literature and suggested the use of uniform criteria to overcome this ambiguity. We highlight the potential future applications of using uniform criteria in describing ion selectivity, which is beneficial to developing a massive AI-based databank. This databank would be advantageous for predicting and designing the ion selectivity of nanopores/nanomaterials in question for various applications in biological and material sciences.
In recent years, one-dimensional (1D) implantable sensors have received considerable attention and rapid development in the biomedical field due to their unique structural characteristics and high integration capability. These sensors can be implanted into the human body with minimal invasiveness, facilitating real-time and accurate monitoring of various physiological and pathological parameters. This review examines the latest advancements in 1D implantable sensors, focusing on the material design of sensors, device integration, implantation methods, and the construction of the stable sensor–tissue interface. Furthermore, a comprehensive overview is provided regarding the applications and future research directions for 1D implantable sensors with an ultimate aim to promote their utilization in personalized healthcare and precision medicine.
Exercise is one of the preferred management strategies for diabetic patients, but the exercise mode including type, intensity, and duration time is quite different for each patient because of individual differences. Inadequate exercise has no effect on the blood glucose control, while overexercise may cause serious side effects, such as hypoglycemia and loss of blood glucose control. In this work, we report a closed-loop feedback mode for exercise management in diabetes. A minimally invasive, biocompatible microneedle electrode patch was fabricated and used for continuously monitoring the glucose in the interstitial fluid. Further, in conjunction with using a wireless electrochemical device, the glucose signals can be analyzed to output the potency of exercise and give advice on exercise management. A custom exercise given by this closed-loop feedback mode can reduce the used dose of insulin and avoid side effect during and after exercise. We believe that this work can provide a novel comprehensive guidance for diabetic patients.
Background: Ibrutinib, a potent Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor with marked efficacy against hematological malignancies, is associated with the heightened risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Although ibrutinib-induced AF is linked to enhanced oxidative stress, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Objective: This research aimed to explore the molecular mechanism and regulatory target in ibrutinib-induced AF. Methods: We performed in vivo electrophysiology studies using ibrutinib-treated mice, and then employed proteomic and single-cell transcriptomic analyses to identify the underlying targets and mechanisms. The effects of A-kinase anchoring protein 1 (AKAP1) depletion on mitochondrial quality surveillance (MQS) were evaluated using both in vivo and ex vivo AKAP1 overexpression models. Results: Atrial AKAP1 expression was significantly reduced in ibrutinib-treated mice, leading to inducible AF, atrial fibrosis, and mitochondrial fragmentation. These pathological changes were effectively mitigated in an overexpression model of ibrutinib-treated mice injected with an adeno-associated virus carrying Akap1. In ibrutinib-treated atrial myocytes, AKAP1 down-regulation promoted dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) translocation into mitochondria by facilitating DRP1 dephosphorylation at Ser637, thereby mediating excessive mitochondrial fission. Impaired MQS was also suggested by defective mitochondrial respiration, mitochondrial metabolic reprogramming, and suppressed mitochondrial biogenesis, accompanied by excessive oxidative stress and inflammatory activation. The ibrutinib-mediated MQS disturbance can be markedly improved with the inducible expression of the AKAP1 lentiviral system. Conclusions: Our findings emphasize the key role of AKAP1-mediated MQS disruption in ibrutinib-induced AF, which explains the previously observed reactive oxygen species overproduction. Hence, AKAP1 activation can be employed to prevent and treat ibrutinib-induced AF.
To precisely and reasonably describe the contribution of interatomic and intermolecular interactions to the physicochemical properties of complex systems, a chemical message passing strategy as driven by graph neural network is proposed. Thus, by distinguishing inherent and environmental features of atoms, as well as proper delivering of these messages upon growth of systems from atoms to bulk level, the evolution of system features affords eventually the target properties like the adsorption wavelength, emission wavelength, solubility, photoluminescence quantum yield, ionization energy, and lipophilicity. Considering that such a model combines chemical principles and natural behavior of atom aggregation crossing multiple scales, most likely, it will be proven to be rational and efficient for more general aims in dealing with complex systems.
Various lipid metabolism-related factors are essential for Zika virus (ZIKV) replication. In this study, we revealed a crucial role of diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) in ZIKV replication using a short hairpin RNA-based gene knockdown technique. The replication of ZIKV was significantly inhibited by DGAT2 depletion in multiple cell lines and restored by trans-complementation with DGAT2. Mechanistically, DGAT2 is recruited in the viral replication complex by interacting with non-structural (NS) proteins. Among them, both human and murine DGAT2s can be cleaved by NS2B3 at the 122R-R-S124 site. Interestingly, the cleavage product of DGAT2 becomes more stable and is sufficient to promote the lipid droplet (LD) formation independent of its enzymatic activity. This work identifies DGAT2 as a novel target of the viral protease NS2B3 and elucidates that DGAT2 is recruited by viral proteins into the replication complex, thereby playing a proviral role by promoting LD formation, which advances our understanding of host–flavivirus interaction.
Improving the adsorption efficiency of porous adsorbent materials for organic liquids with high viscosity is crucial for addressing oil spill incidents. In this study, a high-performance aerogel adsorbent composed of polyimide (PI), hydroxyapatite nanowires (HAPnws), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been fabricated, which leverages reduced flow tortuosity through anisotropic structures and solar-assisted viscosity reduction via photothermal materials. The prepared anisotropic PI/HAP/rGO aerogel, with directional channels, shows unique mechanical properties with high stiffness along the axial direction and compressibility along the radial direction. PI/HAP/rGO, featuring vertically aligned channels, demonstrated superior adsorption efficiency (the adsorption coefficient Ks reached 0.37 kg m−1 s−1/2 for an engine oil with a viscosity of ~144 mPa·s) for oil of varying viscosities compared to similar aerogels with uniform pores, because of the substantially reduced flow tortuosity. The photothermal properties of rGO further enhance the adsorption speed of PI/HAP/rGO for viscous oil under sunlight, including crude oil with ultrahigh viscosity. In addition, PI/HAP/rGO exhibits excellent fire resistance, allowing for reusability via both adsorption–compression and adsorption–combustion cycles. The robust and compressible PI/HAP/rGO aerogels with high adsorption efficiency for viscous oil and fire resistance represent an ideal solution for practical oil spill treatment, and this approach also offers inspiration for the development of advanced adsorbent materials.
Accurate visualization and 3-dimensional (3D) morphological profiling of small model organisms can provide quantitative phenotypes benefiting genetic analysis and modeling of human diseases in tractable organisms. However, in the highly studied nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, accurate morphological phenotyping remains challenging because of notable decrease in image resolution of distant signal under high magnification and complexity in the 3D reconstruction of microscale samples with irregular shapes. Here, we develop a robust robotic system that enables the contactless, stable, and uniform rotation of C. elegans for multi-view fluorescent imaging and 3D morphological phenotyping via the precise reconstruction of 3D models. Contactless animal rotation accommodates a variety of body shapes and sizes found at different developmental stages and in mutant strains. Through controlled rotation, high-resolution fluorescent imaging of C. elegans structures is obtained by overcoming the limitations inherent in both widefield and confocal microscopy. Combining our robotic system with machine learning, we create, for the first time, precise 3D reconstructions of C. elegans at the embryonic and adult stages, enabling 3D morphological phenotyping of mutant strains in an accurate and comprehensive fashion. Intriguingly, our morphological phenotyping discovered a genetic interaction between 2 RNA binding proteins (UNC-75/CELF and MBL-1/MBNL), which are highly conserved between C. elegans and humans and implicated in neurological and muscular disorders. Our system can thus generate quantitative morphological readouts facilitating the investigation of genetic variations and disease mechanisms. More broadly, our method will also be amenable for 3D phenotypic analysis of other biological samples, like zebrafish and Drosophila larvae.
Transmissive metasurfaces are essentially conducive to stealth, absorbers, and communications. However, most of the current schemes only allow microwave to transmit and generally adopt multilayer structures or thick dielectric substrates to improve the electromagnetic performance, restricting optical transmission and conformal application. In addition, most metasurfaces still require metal wires and external power suppliers for programmability. Here, we propose and design an intelligent transmissive microwave metasurface with optical sensing and transparency, which provides both microwave and optical channels without redundant optical devices and power suppliers, and the 2 transmission channels are associated with each other. The metasurface is realized by validly integrating photosensitive materials into microwave meta-structures. As a demonstration, we fabricate an ultrathin optically transparent transmissive metasurface based on polyethylene terephthalate substrate and photoresistors, whose thickness is only 0.125 mm. We further construct cross-wavelength transmission links based on the metasurface sample and experimentally validate that the microwave transmissions vary with light intensities under full-polarization and large-angle incidences, and this metasurface possesses high optical transparency. The intelligent transmissive microwave metasurface with optical sensing and transparency has potential applications in optical–microwave hybrid transmission devices and stealth technology.
While a hippocampal–cortical dialogue is generally thought to mediate memory consolidation, which is crucial for engram function, how it works remains largely unknown. Here, we examined the interplay of neural signals from the retrosplenial cortex (RSC), a neocortical region, and from the hippocampus in memory consolidation by simultaneously recording sharp-wave ripples (SWRs) of dorsal hippocampal CA1 and neural signals of RSC in free-moving mice during the delayed spatial alternation task (DSAT) and subsequent sleep. Hippocampal–RSC coordination during SWRs was identified in nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, reflecting neural reactivation of decision-making in the task, as shown by a peak reactivation strength within SWRs. Using modified generalized linear models (GLMs), we traced information flow through the RSC–CA1–RSC circuit around SWRs during sleep following DSAT. Our findings show that after spatial training, RSC excitatory neurons typically increase CA1 activity prior to hippocampal SWRs, potentially initiating hippocampal memory replay, while inhibitory neurons are activated by hippocampal outputs in post-SWRs. We further identified certain excitatory neurons in the RSC that encoded spatial information related to the DSAT. These neurons, classified as splitters and location-related cells, showed varied responses to hippocampal SWRs. Overall, our study highlights the complex dynamics between the RSC and hippocampal CA1 region during SWRs in NREM sleep, underscoring their critical interplay in spatial memory consolidation.