Paying attention to reading direction

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 965 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2456-c1

Authors: Seta Kazandjian & Sylvie Chokron

The recent Perspective article by Han and Northoff (Culture-sensitive neural substrates of human cognition: a transcultural neuroimaging approach. Nature Rev. Neurosci.9, 646–654 (2008)) on the neuroimaging evidence of transcultural differences in neural substrates of cognitive functions

Reading direction and culture

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 965 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2456-c2

Authors: Shihui Han & Georg Northoff

As we discussed in our recent article (Culture-sensitive neural substrates of human cognition: a transcultural neuroimaging approach. Nature Rev. Neurosci.9, 646–654 (2008)), neural activities of the human brain, in association with specific cognitive functions, are modulated

Human volition: towards a neuroscience of will

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 934 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2497

Author: Patrick Haggard

The capacity for voluntary action is seen as essential to human nature. Yet neuroscience and behaviourist psychology have traditionally dismissed the topic as unscientific, perhaps because the mechanisms that cause actions have long been unclear. However, new research has identified networks of brain areas, including

Beyond polemics: science and ethics of ADHD

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 957 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2514

Author: Ilina Singh

What is attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Why are so many children being diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication? Are stimulant drugs an effective and safe treatment strategy? This article explores the current state of scientific research into ADHD and the key social and ethical concerns

A cortical network for semantics: (de)constructing the N400

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 920 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2532

Authors: Ellen F. Lau, Colin Phillips & David Poeppel

Measuring event-related potentials (ERPs) has been fundamental to our understanding of how language is encoded in the brain. One particular ERP response, the N400 response, has been especially influential as an index of lexical and semantic processing. However, there remains a lack of consensus on

Neuropeptides: Vasopressin: not just for males

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 890 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2543

Author: Leonie Welberg

In the past few years there have been enormous advances in our understanding of how neuropeptides regulate social behaviour in mammals. Many studies have focused on the role of arginine vasopressin (AVP) in pair bonding and paternal behaviour in males, and on that of oxytocin

Mirror neurons: Towards a clearer image

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 888 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2544

Author: Leonie Welberg

Mirror neurons were identified in monkeys as neurons that fire both when the monkey performs a particular action and when it sees that action being performed. Do humans also have mirror neurons? Imaging experiments have shown that select areas in the human brain, including in

Development: It's all in the timing

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 892 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2545

Author: Monica Hoyos Flight

The signalling factor Sonic hedgehog (SHH) has been shown to specify the identity of motor and interneurons in the developing spinal cord in a concentration-dependent manner. Bai and colleagues now report that SHH does not act alone: WNT signalling lends a helping hand

Neurogenesis: Seeking stem cells

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 888 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2546

Author: Katherine Whalley

Recent evidence has suggested that the rostral migratory stream (RMS) — the path that is followed by neuroblasts migrating from the subventricular zone (SVZ) to the olfactory bulb (OB) — may contain its own population of neural stem cells; however, the characteristics and fate of

Ion channels: Small conductance, big effects

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 890 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2547

Author: Claudia Wiedemann

Emotionally salient memories are better remembered than neutral ones, probably because they activate the amygdala; however, the cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to memory formation in the amygdala are not well understood. Faber et al. now provide evidence that activation of β-adrenoceptors in

The Kavli prize winners

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 893 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2548

The first ever Kavli prizes, in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience, have been awarded this year. The million-dollar-prize winners in neuroscience are Pasko Rakic, Professor of Neurobiology and Neurology at Yale University School of Medicine, USA; Sten Grillner at the Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Sweden;

Synapse formation: The missing link

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 886 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2549

Author: Claudia Wiedemann

Synapse formation requires a complex interchange of signals to efficiently juxtapose presynaptic release sites with specialized postsynaptic sites. Neuronal agrin, a factor released from motor neurons, induces rapid phosphorylation of MuSK, a transmembrane tyrosine kinase of skeletal muscle cells. Phosphorylated MuSK is important for

From the editors

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 885 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2550

As the year 2008 draws to a close, excitement and an expectation of change hang in the air, and not least in the field of neuroscience. “We have recently had a decade of the brain, and there is a sense that this will be a

In Brief

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 892 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2551

NeurogenomicsFunctional organization of the transcriptome in human brainOldham,M. C.et al. Nature Neurosci.11, 1271–1282 (2008)How the genome encodes the complexity of the human brain has baffled scientists for years. A systematic analysis of

In Brief

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 889 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2552

GliaGlia are essential for sensory organ function in C. elegansBacaj,T., Tevlin,M. & Shaham,S.Science322, 744–747 (2008)Sensory organs contain glia, but whether these glia contribute to sensory function is unknown. Here

Rain man?

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 888 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2553

Author: Leonie Welberg

An epidemiological study published recently in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that counties in the United States with high levels of precipitation have higher rates of autism than counties with low levels.“If there were no rain, the autism rate would

Remyelination in the CNS: from biology to therapy

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 839 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2480

Authors: Robin J. M. Franklin & Charles ffrench-Constant

Remyelination involves reinvesting demyelinated axons with new myelin sheaths. In stark contrast to the situation that follows loss of neurons or axonal damage, remyelination in the CNS can be a highly effective regenerative process. It is mediated by a population of precursor cells called oligodendrocyte

Ubiquitin, the proteasome and protein degradation in neuronal function and dysfunction

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 826 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2499

Authors: Hwan-Ching Tai & Erin M. Schuman

Eukaryotic protein degradation by the proteasome and the lysosome is a dynamic and complex process in which ubiquitin has a key regulatory role. The distinctive morphology of the postmitotic neuron creates unique challenges for protein degradation systems with respect to cell-surface protein turnover and substrate

Chemosensation: A behavioural U-turn

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 799 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2523

Author: Leonie Welberg

Innate preferences for and aversions to odours are thought to be encoded in many species by dedicated sensory neurons that induce either attraction or repulsion behaviour; however, a study by Bargmann and colleagues shows that in Caenorhabditis elegans a single sensory neuron can drive

Attention: The guard and the gate

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 802 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrn2525

Author: Katherine Whalley

The overwhelming quantity of information that is gathered by our sensory organs creates a challenge for the brain, as it must ensure that we attend to the information that is most relevant for the task in hand. The responses of cortical neurons to stimuli to