Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41634012›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Prefrontal chandelier cells encode stimulus salience to influence learning in male mice.

Kai Zhang, Mengmeng Shao, Qingdan Kong, Baihui Ren, Rui Zhao, Mengying Li, Yanqing Qi, Dongping Huang, Tianle Xu, Z Josh Huang and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Kai Zhang *Department of Clinical Laboratory, Songjiang Research Institute, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Emotions and Affective Disorders, Songjiang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.ORCID 0009-0003-0492-557X
Mengmeng Shao *Department of Clinical Laboratory, Songjiang Research Institute, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Emotions and Affective Disorders, Songjiang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Qingdan Kong *Department of Clinical Laboratory, Songjiang Research Institute, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Emotions and Affective Disorders, Songjiang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Baihui RenDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Songjiang Research Institute, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Emotions and Affective Disorders, Songjiang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Rui ZhaoState Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disorders and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, and the Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Mengying LiDepartment of Nephrology, Rheumatology and Immunology, Shanghai Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.ORCID 0000-0002-4699-5010
Yanqing QiState Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disorders and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, and the Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Dongping HuangDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Songjiang Research Institute, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Emotions and Affective Disorders, Songjiang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Tianle XuDepartment of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.ORCID 0000-0002-1438-0038
Z Josh HuangDepartment of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0592-028X
Miao HeState Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disorders and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, and the Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.ORCID 0000-0003-0731-6801
Yilin TaiState Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disorders and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, and the Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. taiyilin@fudan.edu.cn.ORCID 0009-0005-7440-0263
Jiangteng LuDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Songjiang Research Institute, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Emotions and Affective Disorders, Songjiang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. jiangtenglu@shsmu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0001-6233-4266

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 31970971National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 31972903National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32000681National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32371073National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82071450
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Detecting and utilizing salience information are essential for organisms to prioritize behaviorally relevant stimuli. While the prefrontal cortex is critical for cognition and learning, how it leverages salience information remains unclear. We report that chandelier cells (ChCs) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a unique GABAergic interneuron, encode salience information and influence learning. Using cell-type-specific calcium signal recording in male mice, we demonstrate that ChCs respond robustly to stimuli across modalities, with responses dependent on stimulus salience, as determined by novelty and intensity. Circuit-specific manipulations reveal that ChC salience coding is attributable to synaptic inputs from the anterior insular cortex and paraventricular thalamus. Furthermore, ChCs acquire salience-coding property for behaviorally relevant stimuli through associative learning. Notably, bidirectional manipulations of ChC-mediated salience detection correspondingly led to improved or impaired associative learning. Together, these findings establish mPFC ChCs as a key circuit element for processing salience information to shape learning and behavior.

Indexed as

GABAergic NeuronsInterneuronsLearningPrefrontal CortexAnimalsAssociation LearningInsular CortexMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BL

Identifiers

PMID41634012
PMCPMC12976109

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.