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Axon degeneration in the adult brain is usually pathological, but a new study finds that mis-sprouting cholinergic axons in the healthy mouse brain are eliminated by a degenerative process that is triggered by myelin via p75NTR.
A study identifies a previously unknown neuropeptide-based feedback signaling pathway in C. elegans that modulates the response of primary sensory neurons to chemical stimuli and odorant-evoked behaviors.
A new study finds causal evidence that the lateral prefrontal cortex, implicated in executive function, is critical for making decisions in which forgoing a small immediate reward can lead to a better future outcome. These results suggest that this area provides a neural signal that biases behavior in favor of delaying gratification.
A study in this issue reports that mice can be fear conditioned through observation of other mice receiving aversive stimuli and identifies some of the brain regions involved in this observational fear learning.
Memories are continually adapted by ongoing experience. A study now suggests that the reactivation of previously stored memories during the formation of new memories is a critical mechanism for determining memory survival.
Vasopressin release increases late in sleep. Suprachiasmatic clock neurons modulate osmosensory synapses onto vasopressin neurons to facilitate osmoregulated vasopressin release, reports a study in this issue. This explains the increased late-night vasopressin release, and such facilitation prevents dehydration during sleep.
A study finds that the DNA methylation enzymes Dnmt1 and Dnmt3a are needed to maintain the epigenetic landscape in nondividing, postmitotic neurons and that this process is required for normal learning and memory.
Investigating the organization of tone representation in the rodent auditory cortex at high resolution, two new studies in this issue find that the arrangement of relative frequency responsiveness is not preserved at a fine-scale cortical level.
A new localization element in the 3′ untranslated region of the IMPA1 mRNA enables its NGF-dependent targeting to sympathetic axons, suggesting that high local inositol levels are required for axon growth and maintenance.
Axonal integrity depends on an intact myelin sheath, but the role of the axon in myelin maintenance is more mysterious. A new study reports that preservation of the myelin sheath requires neuronal expression of the enigmatic prion protein.
Synaptic long-term potentiation and depression are determined by the frequency and timing of coactivated synapses. A new model explains many experimental plasticity observations and allows new predictions about neural circuit function.
What is the minimal sensory processing time before we can make a decision about a stimulus? A study now reports that, for simple perceptual decisions, this can take as little as 30 ms.
How does axonal loss, a hallmark of multiple sclerosis, occur? A study in this issue implicates histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), better known for regulating DNA transcription, in such axon degeneration. HDAC1 is exported from the nucleus and interacts with motor proteins, blocking axonal transport and leading to axon loss.
New work identifies a latent population of neuronal progenitor cells in neocortical layer 1 of adult rats. These cells proliferate in response to forebrain ischemia, then integrate into the cortical network as interneurons.
A study reveals that a largely ignored cell type in the dentate gyrus, semilunar granule cells, are persistently depolarized after a transient input and recruit interneurons to regulate the gating of information into the hippocampus.
Many headaches are worsened by light exposure. A new study uses a combination of human and rat experiments to suggest that a previously unknown retinal input to the thalamus may be important in such photophobia.
By demonstrating that inactivation of gustatory cortex influences olfactory recognition, a new study finds that the interaction between taste and smell is bidirectional.
A study in this issue finds that the chemoattractant cue, Sonic Hedgehog, can activate a repulsive response of commissural axonal pathfinding to Semaphorins, thereby acting as a 'switch' in axon guidance.
