Reviews & Analysis

Recording from neuronal populations is a promising and powerful neuroscience technique; however, interpreting the resulting spike trains presents several challenges. Quian Quiroga and Panzeri discuss how decoding algorithms and information theory can be used to extract information from population recordings.

Do remote memories re-stabilize after reactivation? Nader and Hardt analyse data and interpretations from consolidation and reconsolidation studies and establish that newly acquired and reactivated remote memories share almost all of their basic characteristics, concluding that reconsolidation restores reactivated memories.

In this Review, Imeri and Opp describe how interactions between cytokines and the serotonin system contribute to the regulation of both normal sleep and the sleep alterations that occur during infection, and discuss the possible adaptive function of altered sleep during sickness.

The locus coeruleus (LC) is the sole source of noradrenaline in the forebrain. Susan Sara revisits the early theories of the function of the LC noradrenaline system and discusses recent data that implicate this system in sensory processing, learning and memory.

In recent years, the principles of network science have increasingly been applied to the study of the brain's structural and functional organization. Bullmore and Sporns review this growing field of research and discuss its contributions to our understanding of brain function.

The existence of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the walls of the lateral ventricle is well known, yet debate about the precise identity of these cells continues. Weiss and colleagues describe tools used to study NSCs and consider the controversies in the field.

Catalytically inactive scaffold proteins are major constituents of the postsynaptic density. Feng and Zhang describe the distinct binding properties of multi-PDZ-domain-containing scaffold proteins that enable them to actively participate in the dynamic regulation of signalling events at the synapse.

Models of conflict-induced behavioural adjustment suggest that the anterior cingulate cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex have specific roles in this process. Mansouri and colleagues discuss and provide an update of these models based on recent human and animal data.

A number of transgenic mouse strains show enhanced learning and memory. Silva and Lee analyse the molecular pathways affected in these mice, highlighting the central role of the NMDA receptor, the transcription factor CREB and long-term potentiation.

Most models of sensory processing consider the spatial and temporal aspects of sensory stimuli separately. Here, Buonomano and Maass describe a framework in which spatiotemporal computations emerge from the interaction between incoming stimuli and the internal dynamic state of neural networks.

DNA repair pathways are essential for normal nervous system development and function. McKinnon reviews the mechanisms of DNA damage and repair in the nervous system and how deficits in these pathways cause specific neuropathological symptoms.

In recent years the function of NG2-expressing cells in the developing and adult CNS has attracted the attention of many researchers. Nishiyama and colleagues discuss recent findings and the outstanding questions about these cells' lineage and contribution to CNS function.

Activated glia exert both positive and negative effects on pain processing. Milligan and Watkins review the molecular mechanisms that underlie neuron–glia interactions in this context. Manipulation of these interactions could represent a new and more efficient approach to treating chronic pain.

The anterior insular cortex is activated by a wide range of conditions and behaviours that go beyond interoception. In a provocative Perspective, Bud Craig proposes that the anterior insula has a fundamental role in human awareness.