A Protein to Make Neurons Less Tasty to Microglia
Complement proteins are known to mediate the pruning of synapses by microglia. In new work with implications for our understanding of schizophrenia, Krishna K. Narayanan, Matthew L Baum, Matthew Johnson, and Beth Stevens, and colleagues at Boston Children's Hospital, find that a neuronal protein called CSDM1 opposes the deposition of complement proteins on synapses, making them less vulnerable to engulfment by microglia.

A Cortex Divided: How We Perceive Different Somatosensory Stimuli
We know that the cerebral cortex is vital for the perception of our somatosensory environment. Yet much remains mysterious. How do we know when something is too hot and what sets that thermostat? Daniel G. Taub and Clifford J. Woolf explain how a specific region called the secondary somatosensory cortex can alter our somatosensory sensitivity.

What Can Mice Teach Us About Anorexia Nervosa?
A hallmark of anorexia nervosa is the willful seeking and maintenance of a starvation state, potentially as a means to cope with stressful life experiences or trauma. Hakan Kucukdereli and Mark Andermann share their research on how they designed a virtual reality paradigm to study this phenomenon in mice.