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Neural activity leads to the mobilization of energy from glycogen in astrocytes. A new paper reports that neurons have an ambivalent relationship with glycogen: they can synthesize it themselves, but that synthesis induces apoptosis. Presumably for this reason, neurons normally inhibit glycogen synthesis through two redundant pathways.
Faced with the metaphorical glass, most people see it as being half full. A new study shows that activity in two limbic areas, the rostral anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala, reflects an optimistic attitude.
Receptor neurons may not encode sensory information in an efficient manner. A new paper supports the idea that the brain achieves optimal encoding downstream of sensory transduction through additional processing.
Figure-ground segmentation is a key early step in visual perception. A study now finds that V2 neurons in monkeys signal border ownership pre-attentively and that the effects of attention are predicted by the neurons' border preferences.