Reviews & Analysis

Intracortical brain–machine interfaces with sensorimotor cortices are one approach by which a person can exert voluntary control over a prosthetic limb or paralysed muscles. In this Review, Bensmaia and Miller review recent achievements and remaining challenges in the development of intracortical brain–machine interfaces.

Microglia and macrophages have crucial roles in nervous system development, maintenance and disease. In this Review, Prinz and Priller describe recently discovered details of the embryonic origins and functions of microglia that distinguish them from the other macrophage populations that reside in the brain.

The size and the extent of gyrification of the cerebral cortex both influence brain function in mammals. In this Review, Sun and Hevner examine the mechanisms underlying cortical growth and folding, and discuss how dysfunction in these processes leads to cortical malformations.

Microglia are known to remove dead and dying neurons in the brain by phagocytosis. In this Progress article, Brown and Neher discuss recent evidence indicating that, in certain situations, microglia can instigate the death of viable neurons through phagocytosis, a process they term phagoptosis.

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a homeostatic mechanism by which cells regulate levels of misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, Hetz and Mollereau provide an overview of the most recent findings addressing the relevance of ER stress in the nervous system.

Synaptic transmission occurs through two main modalities — namely, chemical and electrical transmission. In this Review, Pereda discusses the complex nature of electrical transmission and explores the mounting evidence that chemical and electrical synapses functionally interact both during development and in adulthood.

Many physiological and anatomical parameters in the brain have a skewed distribution. Buzsáki and Mizuseki propose that this reflects a fundamental aspect of brain organization — namely, a network in which a minority of neurons does most of the work all of the time.

In this Perspective, Seeburg and colleagues re-examine the role of the hippocampus in spatial learning in light of recent findings. They also suggest that the hippocampus has a role in resolving conflict or uncertainty that might also explain its role in anxiety.

This Review examines recent studies showing that music modulates activity in core brain structures involved in the processing of emotion. The ability of music to change activity in these structures has implications for the development of music therapies in the treatment of various neurological and psychiatric disorders.

In neurons, gephyrin self-assembles into a protein scaffold that interacts with the cytoskeleton and anchors glycine and type A GABA receptors at postsynaptic sites. Tyagarajan and Fritschy review the formation and regulation of these scaffolds and how they in turn regulate inhibitory synapse formation and function.

Left-handers are often excluded from neuroscience and neurogenetics studies in order to reduce variance in the data. In this Perspective, Willemset al. discuss the potential of studying this substantial but often-ignored portion of the population.

Memories are thought to be represented in the brain by the 'memory trace' — altered levels of activity in specific neurons and synapses in a neural network. In this Review, Silva and colleagues discuss emerging evidence that the neurons and synapses involved in encoding a particular memory are not random but are specifically 'allocated' based on complex molecular signatures that are determined by the recent activity history of the neuron.

The roles of melanocortins extend well beyond the regulation of energy homeostasis. In this article, the authors review their involvement in different pathophysiological states, which could lead to the development of improved therapeutics for pain and mood disorders, and cognitive impairments.

In vivointracellular recordings and imaging of synaptic activity are revealing how sensory information is conveyed and processed in the brain. This article explores how dynamic interactions between evoked synaptic inputs and their integration within individual neurons generates sensory signalling in the cerebellar and cerebral cortices.

The function of brain oscillations remains unclear, although a role in controlling the flow of signals among anatomically connected networks has been proposed. In this Opinion article, Akam and Kullmann discuss how network oscillations might convey multiplexed information that enables a flexible reconfiguration of effective connectivity among brain areas.

Since their discovery in 2002, inflammasomes have been shown to be crucial mediators of caspase 1 activation, interleukin-1β and interleukin-18 release, and pyroptotic cell death. This Review describes our current understanding of the functions of different inflammasomes in the CNS and their roles in neurological diseases.