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Although inter-individual differences in performance are often considered to be 'noise', recent data show that they are linked to structural differences. Kanai and Rees argue that studying these links can help in understanding how structural variation influences the functional capacity of brain regions.
The growth cones of developing axons are guided towards their targets by gradients of cues. Kamiguchi and colleagues propose a mechanism for this process whereby cues trigger an alteration in the balance of endocytosis and exocytosis on one side of the growth cone, biasing the direction of turning.
In this Review, Shackman and colleagues challenge claims that emotion and cognition are functionally segregated in the cingulate cortex. They show that negative affect, pain and cognitive control activate a common subdivision of the cingulate cortex, and propose that this region uses punishment-related information to optimize goal-directed behaviour.
A great many aspects of neuronal physiology and pathology involve or affect the brain barriers. Recent insights into the role of the blood–brain barrier during development, and advances in our understanding of how it affects neurological disorders, have led to closer links between the two topics.
Faithful transmission of information within and between neural circuits is underpinned by tight coupling between exocytosis and endocytosis at individual synapses. In this Review, Haucke and colleagues unravel the mechanisms underlying this coupling and explain how it is crucial to robust neurotransmission.
Mechanotransduction — the conversion of a mechanical stimulus into an electrical signal — underpins the senses of touch, pain and proprioception. Delmas and colleagues review emerging data on the characteristics of mechanosensitive currents in mammalian sensory neurons and discuss candidate proteins that might constitute the underlying mechanotransducer channels.
In the adult brain, neurogenesis occurs in a few restricted niches. However, the activation of glia following brain injury can endow these cells with stem cell properties. Götz and colleagues discuss how a more detailed knowledge of reactive gliosis might enable the stem cell potential of glia to be harnessed.
Thathiah and De Strooper discuss the complex interactions between G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and the amyloid-β cascade in Alzheimer's disease, highlighting new targets for drug discovery efforts and the need for a multi-target approach to therapy.
In this Review, Fell and Axmacher discuss how phase synchronization of neural oscillations facilitates neural communication and plasticity, and thereby promotes memory processes. They propose that working memory and long-term memory might interact through phase–phase and phase–amplitude synchronization in the hippocampus.
