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Spatial attention has been shown to enhance visual processing by increasing the strength of neural responses. A new study suggests that in cortical area MT it also shifts neural receptive fields toward attended targets.
The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) controls circadian behavior, and neurons in the SCN are intrinsic oscillators. Meredith et al. now identify the BK potassium channel as a key modulator of spontaneous firing of the SCN.
Dopaminergic neurons are thought to inform decisions by reporting errors in reward prediction. A new study reports dopaminergic responses as monkeys make choices, supporting one computational theory of appetitive learning.
Language functions are thought to be controlled largely by cortical areas. A study now finds that the subcortical caudate nucleus is sensitive to language change in bilingual speakers, suggesting a role for this area in control processes.
A recent study proposes that the random and spontaneous, NMDA receptor–dependent miniature postsynaptic currents at hippocampal synapses serve to regulate local postsynaptic protein synthesis, thereby stabilizing synaptic function.
With sufficient training, monkeys as well as people can be taught to ignore visually salient stimuli. Now Ipata and colleagues report that activity in monkey lateral intraparietal cortex (LIP) correlates with this ability to ignore salient stimuli, suggesting that activity in this area represents top-down modulation that adjusts visual salience.
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is thought to detect unfavorable outcomes and thus influence behavior. A new paper reports that ACC-lesioned monkeys respond normally to reduced rewards, but do not maintain their improved behavioral strategy. The ACC thus is not a simple error detector, but an integrator of past reward experience.
How does the decision-making process stop? Lo and Wang propose that a large-scale interconnected network encompassing parietal cortex, basal ganglia and motor structures controls the balance between speed and accuracy.
Microglia are thought to contribute to neurodegeneration. Now ablating the receptor for the chemokine fractalkine is shown to increase microglial inflammatory response and neuronal death in vivo in several models of CNS insult.
Lapses in attention can impair performance independent of the task. A new imaging study reports that reduced activity in prefrontal attentional control regions at the beginning of a trial predicts longer reaction times.
In Parkinson disease and related disorders, nitric oxide may disable PDI, an enzyme critical for proper protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum, resulting in the accumulation of damaged proteins and eventually neuronal death.
During development, neurons destined for different neocortical layers are sequentially generated. Shen et al. report that this timing is programmed within individual progenitor cells and depends mainly on cell-intrinsic mechanisms.
Exactly how animals switch between different sleep states remains unknown. A new study in Nature provides a glimpse into the mechanisms and anatomy of the brain regions that trigger rapid eye movement sleep.
Dendritic spines confine activity-dependent changes to the affected synapses. A paper in this issue reports that retarded diffusion in dendrites of aspiny interneurons may create dendritic biochemical compartments without spines.
Macrophages near neuronal cell bodies can promote regeneration in an otherwise inhibitory environment. Now Yin et al. identify oncomodulin as a factor secreted from macrophages that promotes extensive regeneration of lesioned optic nerve axons when applied together with elevated cyclic AMP (cAMP) and mannose.
Visual cortex neurons are arranged into maps according to their response selectivity. Ocular dominance and orientation selectivity maps can develop without visual experience. Unexpectedly, the direction selectivity map requires visual input during a critical period, as later visual experience cannot rescue the direction selectivity map in dark-reared ferrets.
Many forms of LTP involve insertion of new postsynaptic AMPA receptors. Plant et al. now report transient insertion of Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors after LTP induction, and find their activation is required for LTP maintenance.
