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Volume 10 Issue 11, November 2007

Glial cells contribute significantly to neuronal health and disease. Glia are implicated in the regulation of brain vasculature (and therefore ischemia and stroke) as well as myelination and repair, suggesting a role in neurodegenerative diseases. In this issue, we present six reviews and perspectives on the importance of glia in disease. The cover shows astrocytes in human parietal cortex, identified by GFAP labeling, courtesy of NancyAnn Oberheim and Takahiro Takano. (pp 1349-1394)

Volume 10 Issue 11

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Editorial

  • The number of biology PhDs has increased without a corresponding change in tenure-track positions. This oversupply has led to an intense competition for jobs and funding that may be damaging the culture of science.

    Editorial

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Book Review

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News & Views

  • Neural activity leads to the mobilization of energy from glycogen in astrocytes. A new paper reports that neurons have an ambivalent relationship with glycogen: they can synthesize it themselves, but that synthesis induces apoptosis. Presumably for this reason, neurons normally inhibit glycogen synthesis through two redundant pathways.

    • Pierre J Magistretti
    • Igor Allaman
    News & Views

  • Receptor neurons may not encode sensory information in an efficient manner. A new paper supports the idea that the brain achieves optimal encoding downstream of sensory transduction through additional processing.

    • L F Abbott
    • Sean X Luo
    News & Views

  • Figure-ground segmentation is a key early step in visual perception. A study now finds that V2 neurons in monkeys signal border ownership pre-attentively and that the effects of attention are predicted by the neurons' border preferences.

    • Sabine Kastner
    • Stephanie A McMains
    News & Views

  • Faced with the metaphorical glass, most people see it as being half full. A new study shows that activity in two limbic areas, the rostral anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala, reflects an optimistic attitude.

    • Daniel L Schacter
    • Donna Rose Addis
    News & Views
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Introduction

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Perspective

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Review Article

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Brief Communication

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Article

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Focus

  • Glia are critical to many brain disorders. Glial cells regulate brain vasculature and the blood-brain barrier, modulating ischemia and blood flow changes in response to neural activity. Moreover, they are important in brain repair after injury and contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. This special focus on glia and disease contains four reviews and two perspectives that highlight recent research in these areas and discuss how advances in understanding glial biology may lead to new treatments.

    Focus
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