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How are volatile molecules entering the nose converted to odor percepts in the brain? A fMRI study finds that distributed patterns of activity in the human posterior piriform cortex code the perceived category of odorants. This categorization of odors into objects is independent of their chemical structure.
A study shows that the histone deacetylases HDAC1 and HDAC2 stimulate oligodendrocyte differentiation by antagonizing the inhibitory action of Wnt signaling, linking genetic and epigenetic control of oligodendrocyte development.
A recent study shows that GABA switches from stimulating to inhibiting interneuron motility during neocortical development. This change in response is gated by the expression of the chloride transporter KCC2.
How different frontal brain regions contribute to goal-directed behavior is not fully understood. A study now suggests a parallel functional architecture in medial and lateral prefrontal cortex for motivating and selecting behavior.
Mitochondria are considered to be the main source of reactive oxygen species during glutamate excitotoxicity. Data now support a prominent role in this process for NADPH oxidase, the enzyme that neutrophils use to kill bacteria.
A study in this issue uses a new technique to show that synaptic vesicles released spontaneously and those released in response to action potentials are drawn from distinct, non-overlapping pools that coexist in presynaptic terminals.
The orientation of the mitotic spindle determines whether divisions of the polarized neural progenitors in the ventricular zone cause their expansion or lead to neurogenesis. A guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the small GTPase RhoA is now shown to tip this balance in favor of neurogenesis.
The olfactory bulb is densely innervated by serotonergic fibers. A study now shows that serotonin activates periglomerular interneurons, which release GABA to reduce transmitter release from olfactory sensory neurons.
Projections from the amygdala to the ventral striatum are important for learning. A study finds that fleeting epochs of coherent gamma oscillations between these brain areas may be important for reinforcement learning.
Playing action-based video games has been shown to improve attentional processing. A study now finds that it also induces long-lasting improvements in contrast sensitivity, a basic visual function that commonly deteriorates with age. These improvements do not happen for an equivalent group who played a non-action video game.
A study now demonstrates that the transduction channel responsible for converting sound to neural signals in the mammalian cochlea is excluded from the tallest row of stereocilia and is instead more likely in the bottom row.
Ih is an excitatory inward current at subthreshold voltages, but enhancing Ih in CA1 pyramidal neurons leads to inhibition of action potential firing. A report in this issue suggests activation of the potassium current IM underlies this paradox.
A recent study in Nature shows that sister neurons of the same lineage are preferentially interconnected to each other, thereby suggesting a local guidance mechanism using chemospecific markers.
How can the multifunctional factor Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) elicit specific responses from its target cells? A study now pinpoints proteoglycans as crucial anchors and modulators of SHH signaling, eliciting a proliferation response.
Neural stem cells transition through several progenitor stages before finally generating postmitotic neurons. New work shows that one of these steps, the generation of neuroblasts from transient amplifying precursors in the adult subventricular zone, requires downregulation of the transcription factor Sox9 by the microRNA miR-124.
What controls the functional connections between sending and receiving neurons? A new model suggests that each receiver circuit has a local switch that is controlled by the balance between excitation and inhibition.
A subset of neurons in rat barrel cortex integrate information about the object a whisker contacts with the motion of the whisker at the time of contact, setting the stage for a highly specialized object localization system.
Rat models implicate epigenetic regulation of hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor expression in mediating the effects of early life experience on adult behavior. A report now suggests that the same mechanism might also be at work in humans.
Rett syndrome (RTT) is caused by mutations in the X-linked gene encoding methyl CpG–binding protein (MeCP2). The loss of MeCP2 function in neurons was thought to cause the disease. A study now challenges this assumption by showing that MeCP2 is expressed in glia and that MeCP2 loss in glia causes abnormalities in neighboring neurons.
