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Ensuring that neurons migrate to where they are needed in the brain is essential for the establishment, maintenance and modification of neural circuitry. Anton and colleagues describe how neurons migrate in the postnatal brain, specifically the adult brain.
Plasticity at central glutamatergic synapses is central to learning and memory and involves alterations in the functional properties and trafficking of synaptic AMPA receptors. The authors provide insights into AMPA receptor regulation and subsequent changes in synaptic strength.
The sensory nervous system provides an attractive model in which to study the establishment of neuronal diversity and connectivity. Beginning with neural crest cell migration, Marmigère and Ernfors discuss the molecular basis of specification, survival, axon growth and selection of termination fields.
The mitotic spindle is crucial for cell division and might have an important role in segregating cell fate determining factors. Buchman and Tsai review studies investigating spindle regulation duringDrosophila melanogasterneuroblast mitosis and relate this to our understanding of mammalian neurogenesis.
Understanding the mechanisms involved in the development of mesodiencephalic dopaminergic neurons might contribute to the success of cell-replacement strategies for disorders such as Parkinson's disease. Smidt and Burbach review the factors governing specification, migration, differentiation and maintenance of these neurons.
With combination antiretroviral therapy, HIV becomes a chronic, manageable condition. Ellis and colleagues explore how this has altered the time course of cognitive impairment associated with infection, the mechanisms underlying HIV-mediated neuropathology and potential strategies for diagnosis and treatment.
Microglial activation in response to environmental toxins or endogenous proteins might make a key contribution to neuronal damage after injury and in neurodegenerative diseases. Block and colleagues describe recent insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the overactivation of microglia.
A central issue that has persisted throughout centuries of pain research concerns whether pain is an independent sensation with dedicated neural mechanisms. Perl documents the history of research since 1800, highlighting this and other important ideas about pain.
Gamma oscillations have been implicated in higher brain functions, including memory formation, and may be disturbed in some psychiatric disorders. Jonas and colleagues describe the synaptic mechanisms by which gamma oscillations are generated in inhibitory interneuron networks in the hippocampus.
