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Despite extensive study, the exact role of human anterior cingulate cortex in forming behavioral strategies is still controversial. In this issue, Williams and colleagues describe a rare opportunity to test a hypothesis about the function of this brain area in humans, by not only recording from single neurons, but also monitoring behavior immediately after surgical ablation of the area.
Neuronal networks are built from neurons with different properties and from synapses of different strengths. Modeling suggests that networks can tune these parameters to many different combinations that nonetheless produce very similar network outputs.
Relating a particular odorant to a specific behavior has proven difficult. A recent study in Nature uses clever technology to show that fruit flies possess a specialized olfactory pathway that allows them to sense, and react to, elevated levels of carbon dioxide.