Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 807 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2394

Authors: V. Hugh Perry & Vincent O'Connor

The efficient and selective removal of apoptotic cells is an important feature of tissue development, homeostasis and pathology. In the nervous system, synapses and distal axons are selectively eliminated as part of the remodelling that underpins development and pathology, through a process that has some

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 881 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2512

Author: Mu-Ming Poo, Ley Sander, Marc Fivaz & Yasunori Hayashi

As investment in science and technology continues to grow in Asia, countries such as China, Japan and Singapore are witnessing great improvements in their neuroscience research environments; this is reflected in the opening of new research institutions and in the influx of neuroscientists trained abroad.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 856 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2478

Authors: Parashkev Nachev, Christopher Kennard & Masud Husain

The supplementary motor complex consists of the supplementary motor area, the supplementary eye field and the pre-supplementary motor area. In recent years, these areas have come under increasing scrutiny from cognitive neuroscientists, motor physiologists and clinicians because they seem to be crucial for linking cognition

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 801 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2517

Author: Katherine Whalley

The adult neural stem cells (NSCs) that reside in the walls of the lateral ventricle (LV) are thought to exist in specialized niches that regulate their behaviour. Three recent papers provide new details about the immediate environment and regulation of these NSCs.Adult NSCs —

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 802 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2518

Author: Monica Hoyos Flight

Following neuronal injury, inflammatory cells infiltrate the lesion site, but the role of these cells in axon regeneration is highly controversial. Two recent papers in J. Neurosci. further fuel the debate on whether macrophages in particular improve or hinder axon growth after injury.A

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 813 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2501

Authors: Geoffrey A. Kerchner & Roger A. Nicoll

Silent synapses abound in the young brain, representing an early step in the pathway of experience-dependent synaptic development. Discovered amidst the debate over whether long-term potentiation reflects a presynaptic or a postsynaptic modification, silent synapses — which in the hippocampal CA1 subfield are characterized by

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 802 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2519

Author: Katherine Whalley

The diversity of neuronal subtypes in the brain belies the fact that many of these neuronal populations arise from the same precursor pools. How the fate specification, differentiation and migration of these precursors are coordinated to generate this diversity is largely unknown. Two recent papers

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 800 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2520

Author: Craig Nicholson

In the mammalian brain, synapse development is regulated by the excitatory input that neurons receive. The molecular mechanisms that lead from excitation to the establishment of excitatory synapses are quite well understood, but less is known about the mechanisms that modulate the development of inhibitory

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 800 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2522

Author: Monica Hoyos Flight

Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides are thought to have a key role in the neurotoxicity and cognitive decline that occur in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but there have recently been several disappointments with late-stage clinical trials of agents that target Aβ. Two recent papers in Nature Medicine

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 804 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2524

Author: Monica Hoyos Flight

The formation of long-term memory is associated with structural changes at the synapse. The well-established role of the scaffolding protein β-catenin in regulating synapse size and strength prompted Maguschak and Ressler to examine its potential contribution to learning and memory. They now report in Nature

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 871 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2473

Authors: Stephen L. Macknik, Mac King, James Randi, Apollo Robbins, Teller, John Thompson & Susana Martinez-Conde

Just as vision scientists study visual art and illusions to elucidate the workings of the visual system, so too can cognitive scientists study cognitive illusions to elucidate the underpinnings of cognition. Magic shows are a manifestation of accomplished magic performers' deep intuition for and understanding

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 839 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2480

Authors: Robin J. M. Franklin & Charles ffrench-Constant

Remyelination involves reinvesting demyelinated axons with new myelin sheaths. In stark contrast to the situation that follows loss of neurons or axonal damage, remyelination in the CNS can be a highly effective regenerative process. It is mediated by a population of precursor cells called oligodendrocyte

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 826 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2499

Authors: Hwan-Ching Tai & Erin M. Schuman

Eukaryotic protein degradation by the proteasome and the lysosome is a dynamic and complex process in which ubiquitin has a key regulatory role. The distinctive morphology of the postmitotic neuron creates unique challenges for protein degradation systems with respect to cell-surface protein turnover and substrate

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 799 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2523

Author: Leonie Welberg

Innate preferences for and aversions to odours are thought to be encoded in many species by dedicated sensory neurons that induce either attraction or repulsion behaviour; however, a study by Bargmann and colleagues shows that in Caenorhabditis elegans a single sensory neuron can drive

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 802 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2525

Author: Katherine Whalley

The overwhelming quantity of information that is gathered by our sensory organs creates a challenge for the brain, as it must ensure that we attend to the information that is most relevant for the task in hand. The responses of cortical neurons to stimuli to

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 804 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2526

Author: Leonie Welberg

The nuclei of progenitor cells in the developing neuroepithelium move between the apical and basal surfaces of the cells as they progress through the cell cycle. The functional relevance of this interkinetic nuclear migration (INM) has remained elusive, but Del Bene et al. now

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 797 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2527

Neuroscience is a truly multidisciplinary field and, as usual, we aim to reflect that diversity in this month's issue, by providing a selection of articles that span the breadth of the discipline.On page 826, Tai and Schuman delineate neuron-specific mechanisms of protein degradation

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 803 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2528

AgingGene expression changes in the course of normal brain aging are sexually dimorphicBerchtold,N. C.et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA105, 15605–15610 (2008)The processes that underlie the cognitive decline that occurs during normal

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 805 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2529

Feeding behaviourHypothalamic IKKβ/NF-κB and ER stress link overnutrition to energy imbalance and obesityZhang,X.et al. Cell135, 61–73 (2008)Insulin and leptin are central regulators of feeding behaviour. This study shows that overnutrition leads to

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 804 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2530

Author: Claudia Wiedemann

In the cerebellum, integration of information at the cellular and systems levels is assumed to be a prerequisite for the learning of motor tasks; however, these levels have not been investigated simultaneously. Now, by analyzing the relationship between Purkinje cell (PC) plasticity and motor learning

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 800 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2531

Author: Leonie Welberg

A study published recently in Science showed that people who feel that they're not in control are more likely to see non-existing patterns.The researchers manipulated participants so that they felt a lack of control, or asked them to recall a situation in which