In brief

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 537 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2894

Spatial awarenessNeural correlates of virtual route recognition in congenital blindnessKupers, R.et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA28 Jun 2010 (doi:10.1073/pnas.1006199107)Individuals who are affected by congenital blindness retain the ability to navigate a space based on

Synaptic plasticity: Yin and yang

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 538 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2895

Author: Claudia Wiedemann

Dependent on the phosphorylation state of CaMKII at T305/T306 long-term potentiation or long-term depression is induced.

GSK3 signalling in neural development

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 539 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2870

Authors: Eun-Mi Hur & Feng-Quan Zhou

Recent evidence suggests that glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) proteins and their upstream and downstream regulators have key roles in many fundamental processes during neurodevelopment. Disruption of GSK3 signalling adversely affects brain development and is associated with several neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we discuss the mechanisms

Transcriptional regulation of photoreceptor development and homeostasis in the mammalian retina

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 563 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2880

Authors: Anand Swaroop, Douglas Kim & Douglas Forrest

In the developing vertebrate retina, diverse neuronal subtypes originate from multipotent progenitors in a conserved order and are integrated into an intricate laminated architecture. Recent progress in mammalian photoreceptor development has identified a complex relationship between six key transcription-regulatory factors (RORβ, OTX2, NRL, CRX, NR2E3

Circadian rhythms and memory formation

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 577 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2881

Authors: Jason R. Gerstner & Jerry C. P. Yin

There has been considerable progress in elucidating the molecular mechanisms that contribute to memory formation and the generation of circadian rhythms. However, it is not well understood how these two processes interact to generate long-term memory. Recent studies in both vertebrate and invertebrate models have

Music training for the development of auditory skills

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 599 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2882

Authors: Nina Kraus & Bharath Chandrasekaran

The effects of music training in relation to brain plasticity have caused excitement, evident from the popularity of books on this topic among scientists and the general public. Neuroscience research has shown that music training leads to changes throughout the auditory system that prime musicians

Chemosensation: Tasteless mice prefer sugar

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 538 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2890

Author: Leonie Welberg

Carbohydrate preferences are determined by glucose oxidation levels rather than by the sweetness or the caloric value of a nutrient.

The axon initial segment and the maintenance of neuronal polarity

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 552 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2852

Author: Matthew N. Rasband

Ion channel clustering at the axon initial segment (AIS) and nodes of Ranvier has been suggested to be a key evolutionary innovation that enabled the development of the complex vertebrate nervous system. This innovation epitomizes a signature feature of neurons, namely polarity. The mechanisms that

Sleep and circadian rhythm disruption in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disease

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 589 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2868

Authors: Katharina Wulff, Silvia Gatti, Joseph G. Wettstein & Russell G. Foster

Sleep and circadian rhythm disruption are frequently observed in patients with psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative disease. The abnormal sleep that is experienced by these patients is largely assumed to be the product of medication or some other influence that is not well defined. However, normal

A neurocentric approach to Bayesian inference

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 605 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2787-c1

Author: Christopher D. Fiorillo

A primary function of the brain is to infer the state of the world in order to determine which motor behaviours will best promote adaptive fitness. Bayesian probability theory formally describes how rational inferences ought to be made, and it has been used with great

Is the free-energy principle neurocentric?

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 605 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2787-c2

Author: Karl Friston

Recently, a free-energy formulation of brain function was reviewed in relation to several other neurobiological theories (The free-energy principle: a unified brain theory? Nature Rev. Neurosci.11, 127–138 (2010)). Fiorillo raises some interesting questions about the formulation

Sensory systems: A balancing act

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 536 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2885

Author: Cristian Bodo

Modulation of the balance between excitatory and inhibitory inputs underlies the organization of auditory receptive fields during development

Repair: Chemokines show the way

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 536 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2887

Author: Leonie Welberg

The chemokine CXCL12 regulates remyelination in two animal models of demyelination

From the editors

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 451 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2879

Topics covered by this month's articles include computational neuroscience, the cellular and systems bases of memory, animal models for basic and clinical research, and the function of the habenula. Below, we highlight three of the articles. Although autism is arguably a quintessentially human disorder, its

In brief

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 454 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2877

Epigenetics

Synaptic plasticity: Depress or die

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 455 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2875

Author: Claudia Wiedemann

An unexpected and crucial role for caspase 3 and caspase 9 in synaptic depression has been identified.

Stress: Tough on the inside

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 455 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2876

Author: Cristian Bodo

Resilience to stress in mice is mediated by expression of the transcription factor ΔFosB and its target genes in the nucleus accumbens.

Small RNAs: Now you see me, now you don't

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 456 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2874

Author: Leonie Welberg

MicroRNAs in neurons are produced and degraded rapidly, unlike microRNAs in non-neuronal cells.

In brief

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 457 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2878

Cortical plasticitySpinal cord injury immediately changes the state of the brainAguilar, J.et al. J. Neurosci.30, 7528–7537 (2010)Spinal cord injury causes long-term reorganization of the cerebral cortex, but the initial stages of this

Long-term depression in the CNS

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 459 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrn2867

Authors: Graham L. Collingridge, Stephane Peineau, John G. Howland & Yu Tian Wang

Long-term depression (LTD) in the CNS has been the subject of intense investigation as a process that may be involved in learning and memory and in various pathological conditions. Several mechanistically distinct forms of this type of synaptic plasticity have been identified and their molecular