authoritative, comprehensive and systematic

Signaling mechanisms that coordinate the development and maintenance of dendritic fields

Valuation and decision-making in frontal cortex: one or many serial or parallel systems?

Interneuron, interrupted: molecular pathogenesis of ARX mutations and X-linked infantile spasms

Developmental origins of brain tumors

Targeted treatment trials for tuberous sclerosis and autism: no longer a dream

Sticky situations: recent advances in control of cell adhesion during neuronal migration

A genetic model for neurodevelopmental disease

Spindle orientation in mammalian cerebral cortical development

Synaptic structure and function

New advances in understanding decisions among multiple alternatives

Autism spectrum disorders: developmental disconnection syndromes

Autism is a common and heterogeneous childhood neurodevelopmental disorder. Analogous to broad syndromes such as mental retardation, autism has many etiologies and should be considered not as a single disorder but, rather, as 'the autisms'. However, recent genetic findings, coupled with emerging anatomical and functional imaging studies, suggest a potential unifying model in which higher-order association areas of the brain that normally connect to the frontal lobe are partially disconnected…

Volume 17, Issue 1, 01 February 2007, Pp 103-111
Geschwind, D.H. | Levitt, P.

Neurexin-neuroligin signaling in synapse development

Neurexins and neuroligins are emerging as central organizing molecules for excitatory glutamatergic and inhibitory GABAergic synapses in mammalian brain. They function as cell adhesion molecules, bridging the synaptic cleft. Remarkably, each partner can trigger formation of a hemisynapse: neuroligins trigger presynaptic differentiation and neurexins trigger postsynaptic differentiation. Recent protein interaction assays and cell culture studies indicate a selectivity of function conferred by…

Volume 17, Issue 1, 01 February 2007, Pp 43-52
Craig, A.M. | Kang, Y.

The role of extracellular matrix in CNS regeneration

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans are the principal inhibitory component of glial scars, which form after damage to the adult central nervous system and act as a barrier to regenerating axons. Recent findings have furthered our understanding of the mechanisms that result in a failure of regeneration after spinal cord injury and suggest that a multipartite approach will be required to facilitate long-distance regeneration and functional recovery. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Volume 17, Issue 1, 01 February 2007, Pp 120-127
Busch, S.A. | Silver, J.

Functional organization of the medial frontal cortex

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and adjacent areas of the medial frontal cortex (MFC) have been implicated in monitoring behaviour and in detecting errors. Recent evidence, however, suggests that the ACC not only registers the occurrence of errors but also represents other aspects of the reinforcement history that are crucial for guiding behaviour. Other studies raise the possibility that dorsal MFC areas not only monitor behaviour but also actually control response selection, particularly…

Volume 17, Issue 2, 01 April 2007, Pp 220-227
Rushworth, M.F. | Buckley, M.J. | Behrens, T.E. | Walton, M.E. | Bannerman, D.M.

Do thin spines learn to be mushroom spines that remember?

Dendritic spines are the primary site of excitatory input on most principal neurons. Long-lasting changes in synaptic activity are accompanied by alterations in spine shape, size and number. The responsiveness of thin spines to increases and decreases in synaptic activity has led to the suggestion that they are 'learning spines', whereas the stability of mushroom spines suggests that they are 'memory spines'. Synaptic enhancement leads to an enlargement of thin spines into mushroom spines and…

Volume 17, Issue 3, 01 June 2007, Pp 381-386
Bourne, J. | Harris, K.M.

Emotional and cognitive changes during adolescence

Adolescence is a critical period for maturation of neurobiological processes that underlie higher cognitive functions and social and emotional behavior. Recent studies have applied new advances in magnetic resonance imaging to increase understanding of the neurobiological changes that occur during the transition from childhood to early adulthood. Structural imaging data indicate progressive and regressive changes in the relative volumes of specific brain regions, although total brain volume is…

Volume 17, Issue 2, 01 April 2007, Pp 251-257
Yurgelun-Todd, D.

Homeostatic signaling: the positive side of negative feedback

Synaptic homeostasis provides a means for neurons and circuits to maintain stable function in the face of perturbations such as developmental or activity-dependent changes in synapse number or strength. These forms of plasticity are thought to utilize negative feedback signaling to sense some aspect of activity, compare this with an internal set point, and then adjust synaptic properties to keep activity close to this set point. However, the molecular identity of these signaling components has…

Volume 17, Issue 3, 01 June 2007, Pp 318-324
Turrigiano, G.

The role of neuronal synchronization in selective attention

Attention selectively enhances the influence of neuronal responses conveying information about relevant sensory attributes. Accumulating evidence suggests that this selective neuronal modulation relies on rhythmic synchronization at local and long-range spatial scales: attention selectively synchronizes the rhythmic responses of those neurons that are tuned to the spatial and featural attributes of the attended sensory input. The strength of synchronization is thereby functionally related to…

Volume 17, Issue 2, 01 April 2007, Pp 154-160
Womelsdorf, T. | Fries, P.

Development of neural stem cell in the adult brain

New neurons are continuously generated in the dentate gyrus of the mammalian hippocampus and in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles throughout life. The origin of these new neurons is believed to be from multipotent adult neural stem cells. Aided by new methodologies, significant progress has been made in the characterization of neural stem cells and their development in the adult brain. Recent studies have also begun to reveal essential extrinsic and intrinsic molecular…

Volume 18, Issue 1, 01 February 2008, Pp 108-115
Duan, X. | Kang, E. | Liu, C.Y. | Ming, G.-l. | Song, H.

A synaptic trek to autism

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are diagnosed on the basis of three behavioral features namely deficits in social communication, absence or delay in language, and stereotypy. The susceptibility genes to ASD remain largely unknown, but two major pathways are emerging. Mutations in TSC1/TSC2, NF1, or PTEN activate the mTOR/PI3K pathway and lead to syndromic ASD with tuberous sclerosis, neurofibromatosis, or macrocephaly. Mutations in NLGN3/4, SHANK3, or NRXN1 alter synaptic function and lead to…

Volume 19, Issue 2, 01 April 2009, Pp 231-234
Bourgeron, T.

Pink1, Parkin, DJ-1 and mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson's disease

Mutations in PARKIN, PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) and DJ-1 are found in autosomal recessive forms and some sporadic cases of Parkinson's disease. Recent work on these genes underscores the central importance of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in Parkinson's disease. In particular, pink1 and parkin loss-of-function mutants in Drosophila show similar phenotypes, and pink1 acts upstream of parkin in a common genetic pathway to regulate mitochondrial function. DJ-1 has a role in…

Volume 17, Issue 3, 01 June 2007, Pp 331-337
Dodson, M.W. | Guo, M.

The neuroscience of remote memory

Recently, there has been renewed interest in the organization and neurobiology of remote memory, and the pace of work in this area has accelerated. Yet the recent literature does not suggest that a consensus is developing, and there is disagreement about both facts and their interpretation. This article undertakes a comprehensive review of the three kinds of evidence that have been most prominent in recent discussion: studies of retrograde amnesia in memory-impaired patients who have…

Volume 17, Issue 2, 01 April 2007, Pp 185-196
Squire, L.R. | Bayley, P.J.

Cortico-striatal representation of time in animals and humans

Interval timing in the seconds-to-minutes range is crucial to learning, memory, and decision-making. Recent findings argue for the involvement of cortico-striatal circuits that are optimized by the dopaminergic modulation of oscillatory activity and lateral connectivity at the level of cortico-striatal inputs. Striatal medium spiny neurons are proposed to detect the coincident activity of specific beat patterns of cortical oscillations, thereby permitting the discrimination of supra-second…

Volume 18, Issue 2, 01 April 2008, Pp 145-152
Meck, W.H. | Penney, T.B. | Pouthas, V.

Reductions in cortical activity during priming

Priming is a nonconscious form of memory in which an encounter with a stimulus influences the subsequent identification, production or classification of the same or a related stimulus. Neuroimaging studies have revealed that behavioral priming is typically accompanied by reduced activity in several cortical regions. We review recent studies that have concerned two key issues. First, specificity effects produced by changes between study and test in either the physical features of stimuli or the…

Volume 17, Issue 2, 01 April 2007, Pp 171-176
Schacter, D.L. | Wig, G.S. | Stevens, W.D.

I feel how you feel but not always: the empathic brain and its modulation

The ability to share the other's feelings, known as empathy, has recently become the focus of social neuroscience studies. We review converging evidence that empathy with, for example, the pain of another person, activates part of the neural pain network of the empathizer, without first hand pain stimulation to the empathizer's body. The amplitude of empathic brain responses is modulated by the intensity of the displayed emotion, the appraisal of the situation, characteristics of the suffering…

Volume 18, Issue 2, 01 April 2008, Pp 153-158
Hein, G. | Singer, T.

Distinctions between dorsal and ventral premotor areas: anatomical connectivity and functional properties

The dorsal and ventral premotor areas, together with the primary motor cortex, are believed to have major roles in preparing and executing limb movements. Recent studies have expanded our knowledge of the dorsal and ventral premotor areas, which occupy the lateral part of area 6 in the frontal cortex. It is becoming clear that these two premotor areas, through involvement in distinct cortical networks, take part in unique aspects of motor planning and decision making. New lines of evidence also…

Volume 17, Issue 2, 01 April 2007, Pp 234-242
Hoshi, E. | Tanji, J.

Fear, faces, and the human amygdala

The amygdala's historical role in processing stimuli related to threat and fear is being modified to suggest a role that is broader and more abstract. Amygdala lesions impair the ability to seek out and make use of the eye region of faces, resulting in impaired fear perception. Other studies in rats and humans revive earlier proposals that the amygdala is important not only for fear perception as such, but also for detecting saliency and biological relevance. Debates about some features of this…

Volume 18, Issue 2, 01 April 2008, Pp 166-172
Adolphs, R.

The hazards of time

Temporal expectations are continuously formed and updated, and interact with expectations about other relevant attributes of events, in order to optimise our interaction with unfolding sensory stimulation. In this paper, we will highlight some evidence revealing the pervasive effects of temporal expectations in modulating perception and action, and reflect on the current state of understanding about their underlying neural systems and mechanisms. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Volume 17, Issue 4, 01 August 2007, Pp 465-470
Nobre, A. | Correa, A. | Coull, J.

Neurodevelopmental changes in working memory and cognitive control

One of the most salient ways in which our behavior changes during childhood and adolescence is that we get better at working towards long-term goals, at ignoring irrelevant information that could distract us from our goals, and at controlling our impulses - in other words, we exhibit improvements in cognitive control. Several recent magnetic resonance imaging studies have examined the developmental changes in brain structure and function that underlie improvements in working memory and…

Volume 17, Issue 2, 01 April 2007, Pp 243-250
Bunge, S.A. | Wright, S.B.

From chills to chilis: mechanisms for thermosensation and chemesthesis via thermoTRPs

Six highly temperature-sensitive ion channels of the transient receptor potential (TRP) family have been implicated to mediate temperature sensation. These channels, expressed in sensory neurons innervating the skin or the skin itself, are active at specific temperatures ranging from noxious cold to burning heat. In addition to temperature sensation thermoTRPs are the receptors of a growing number of environmental chemicals (chemesthesis). Recent studies have provided some striking new insights…

Volume 17, Issue 4, 01 August 2007, Pp 490-497
Bandell, M. | Macpherson, L.J. | Patapoutian, A.

Glutamate and monoamine transporters: new visions of form and function

Neurotransmitters are rapidly removed from the extracellular space primarily through the actions of plasma membrane transporters. This uptake process is not only essential in the termination of neurotransmission but also serves to replenish intracellular levels of transmitter for further release. Neurotransmitter transporters couple the inward movement of substrate to the movement of Na+ down a concentration gradient and, in addition to their transport function, some carriers also display…

Volume 17, Issue 3, 01 June 2007, Pp 304-312
Torres, G.E. | Amara, S.G.

Wrapping it up: the cell biology of myelination

During nervous system development, oligodendroglia in the central nervous system (CNS) and Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) synthesise large amounts of specific proteins and lipids to generate myelin, a specialised membrane that spirally ensheathes axons and facilitates fast conduction of the action potential. Myelination is initiated after glial processes have attached to the axon and polarisation of the plasma membrane has been triggered. Myelin assembly is a multi-step…

Volume 17, Issue 5, 01 October 2007, Pp 533-540
Simons, M. | Trotter, J.

Signaling in adult neurogenesis: from stem cell niche to neuronal networks

The mechanisms that determine why neurogenesis is restricted to few regions of the adult brain in mammals, in contrast to its more widespread nature in other vertebrates such as zebrafish, remain to be fully understood. The local environment must provide key signals that instruct stem cell and neurogenic fate, because non-neurogenic progenitors can be instructed towards neurogenesis in this environment. Here, we discuss the recent progress in understanding key factors in the local stem cell…

Volume 17, Issue 3, 01 June 2007, Pp 338-344
Ninkovic, J. | Götz, M.

Function and regulation of local axonal translation

An increasing body of evidence indicates that local axonal translation is required for growing axons to respond appropriately to guidance cues and other stimuli. Recent studies suggest that asymmetrical synthesis of cytoskeletal proteins mediates growth cone turning and that local translation and retrograde transport of transcription factors mediate neuronal survival. Axonal translation is regulated partly by selective axonal localization of mRNAs and by translation initiation factors and…

Volume 18, Issue 1, 01 February 2008, Pp 60-68
Lin, A.C. | Holt, C.E.

Synaptic development: insights from Drosophila

In Drosophila, the larval neuromuscular junction is particularly tractable for studying how synapses develop and function. In contrast to vertebrate central synapses, each presynaptic motor neuron and postsynaptic muscle cell is unique and identifiable, and the wiring circuit is invariant. Thus, the full power of Drosophila genetics can be brought to bear on a single, reproducibly identifiable, synaptic terminal. Each individual neuromuscular junction encompasses hundreds of synaptic…

Volume 17, Issue 1, 01 February 2007, Pp 35-42
Collins, C.A. | DiAntonio, A.

Neural systems for recognizing emotion

Mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy in Parkinson's disease: disordered cellular power plant becomes a big deal in a major movement disorder

Wnt signaling during synaptic development and plasticity

Neurotechnology: Summa technologiae

Genetically encoded neural activity indicators

Reshaping the optical dimension in optogenetics

Regulation of AMPA receptor trafficking and synaptic plasticity

Functional imaging in freely moving animals

Real neuroscience in virtual worlds

FOXP2 and the role of cortico-basal ganglia circuits in speech and language evolution