The plight of the precari - p1361

doi:10.1038/nn1208-1361

On the heels of a new law, scientists in Italy are facing precarious times yet again.

Full Text - The plight of the precari | PDF (201 KB) - The plight of the precari

From eIF2alpha to Ebbinghaus - p1363

Paul W Frankland & Karim Nader review The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory by Jerry W Rudy

doi:10.1038/nn1208-1363

Full Text - From eIF2alpha to Ebbinghaus | PDF (139 KB) - From eIF2alpha to Ebbinghaus

Glial progenitor cells in the adult brain reveal their alternate fate - pp1365 - 1367

Shin H Kang & Dwight E Bergles

doi:10.1038/nn1208-1365

Glial cells that express NG2 and platelet-derived growth factor receptor are found throughout the mature CNS. These cells are mitotically active, but their functions remain enigmatic. A genetic fate-mapping study in this issue shows that these abundant glial cells can generate both oligodendrocytes and some cortical projection neurons in the adult brain.

Full Text - Glial progenitor cells in the adult brain reveal their alternate fate | PDF (367 KB) - Glial progenitor cells in the adult brain reveal their alternate fate

See also: Article by Rivers et al.

Switching gears in the spinal cord - pp1367 - 1368

Abdeljabbar El Manira & Sten Grillner

doi:10.1038/nn1208-1367

A study in this issue shows that zebrafish larvae deploy different groups of excitatory spinal interneurons to drive slow, fast and top speed swimming. As one set is gradually activated, the others are partially or fully inhibited.

Full Text - Switching gears in the spinal cord | PDF (808 KB) - Switching gears in the spinal cord

See also: Article by McLean et al.

And motion changes it all - pp1369 - 1370

Ehud Ahissar

doi:10.1038/nn1208-1369

Demonstrating how specific motor signals modulate sensory processing in the rat vibrissal system, a new study in this issue shows that motor signals first attenuate and then amplify afferent sensory signals.

Full Text - And motion changes it all | PDF (291 KB) - And motion changes it all

See also: Article by Lee et al.

Paying attention to correlated neural activity - pp1371 - 1372

Alexandre Pouget & Gregory C DeAngelis

doi:10.1038/nn1208-1371

Correlations in firing rate between pairs of neurons can change depending on task and attentional demands. This new finding suggests that measuring correlations can help to reveal how neural circuits process information.

Full Text - Paying attention to correlated neural activity | PDF (208 KB) - Paying attention to correlated neural activity

A rose by any other name - p1372

Hannah Bayer

doi:10.1038/nn1208-1372

Full Text - A rose by any other name | PDF (133 KB) - A rose by any other name

See also: Brief Communication by Barnes et al.

Distinct gating modes determine the biphasic relaxation of NMDA receptor currents - pp1373 - 1375

Wei Zhang, James R Howe & Gabriela K Popescu

doi:10.1038/nn.2214

Following brief stimulation, macroscopic NMDA receptor currents decay with biphasic kinetics believed to reflect glutamate dissociation and receptor desensitization. The authors show that the fast and slow decay components arise from the deactivation of receptor populations that gate with short and long openings.

Abstract - | Full Text - Distinct gating modes determine the biphasic relaxation of NMDA receptor currents | PDF (984 KB) - Distinct gating modes determine the biphasic relaxation of NMDA receptor currents | Supplementary information

Real-time chemical responses in the nucleus accumbens differentiate rewarding and aversive stimuli - pp1376 - 1377

Mitchell F Roitman, Robert A Wheeler, R Mark Wightman & Regina M Carelli

doi:10.1038/nn.2219

fMRI studies suggest that nucleus accumbens (NAc) activation increases in response to stimuli of different hedonic valence, whereas physiological evidence suggests that NAc neurons show increases in activity for rewarding stimuli and pauses for aversive stimuli. Using cyclic voltammetry, the authors find that patterns of dopamine release and metabolic activity differentiate between rewarding and aversive stimuli.

Abstract - | Full Text - Real-time chemical responses in the nucleus accumbens differentiate rewarding and aversive stimuli | PDF (182 KB) - Real-time chemical responses in the nucleus accumbens differentiate rewarding and aversive stimuli | Supplementary information

Olfactory perceptual stability and discrimination - pp1378 - 1380

Dylan C Barnes, Rylon D Hofacer, Ashiq R Zaman, Robert L Rennaker & Donald A Wilson

doi:10.1038/nn.2217

No two roses smell exactly alike, but our brain accurately bundles these variations into a single percept 'rose'. The authors now report that although olfactory bulb neurons decorrelate odor mixtures that are quite similar, piriform cortex neuronal responses show pattern completion and predict olfactory perception.

Abstract - | Full Text - Olfactory perceptual stability and discrimination | PDF (212 KB) - Olfactory perceptual stability and discrimination | Supplementary information

See also: News and Views by Bayer

Dopamine in amygdala gates limbic processing of aversive stimuli in humans - pp1381 - 1382

Thorsten Kienast, Ahmad R Hariri, Florian Schlagenhauf, Jana Wrase, Philipp Sterzer, Hans Georg Buchholz, Michael N Smolka, Gerhard Gründer, Paul Cumming, Yoshitaka Kumakura, Peter Bartenstein, Raymond J Dolan & Andreas Heinz

doi:10.1038/nn.2222

Dopamine is known to contribute to the amygdala-mediated aversive response, where increased dopamine release can augment amygdala function. Combining fMRI and PET imaging techniques, Kienast et al. present findings that suggest a functional link between anxiety temperament, dopamine storage capacity and emotional processing in the amygdala.

Abstract - | Full Text - Dopamine in amygdala gates limbic processing of aversive stimuli in humans | PDF (138 KB) - Dopamine in amygdala gates limbic processing of aversive stimuli in humans | Supplementary information

-catenin–mediated Wnt signaling regulates neurogenesis in the ventral telencephalon - pp1383 - 1391

Alexandra A Gulacsi & Stewart A Anderson

doi:10.1038/nn.2226

Genetic ablation of -catenin in the embryonic ventral forebrain restricted proliferation of neural precursors in the medial ganglionic eminence, resulting in fewer cholinergic projection neurons in basal forebrain and fewer calbindin- and somatostatin-positive interneurons in the cortex. This work suggests a crucial role for canonical Wnt signaling in ventral forebrain neurogenesis.

Abstract - | Full Text - -catenin–mediated Wnt signaling regulates neurogenesis in the ventral telencephalon | PDF (1,247 KB) - -catenin–mediated Wnt signaling regulates neurogenesis in the ventral telencephalon | Supplementary information

PDGFRA/NG2 glia generate myelinating oligodendrocytes and piriform projection neurons in adult mice - pp1392 - 1401

Leanne E Rivers, Kaylene M Young, Matteo Rizzi, Françoise Jamen, Konstantina Psachoulia, Anna Wade, Nicoletta Kessaris & William D Richardson

doi:10.1038/nn.2220

About 4% of the cells in the adult rodent brain are PDGFRA⁺ NG2⁺ glia, derived from the oligodendrocyte lineage. Rivers and colleagues constructed a transgenic mouse to fate map the PDGFRA⁺ glia. In the adult corpus callosum, these cells generated substantial numbers of late-myelinating oligodendrocytes. In the cortex, little late myelination was observed; instead, PDGFRA⁺ precursors seemed to continuously generate small numbers of projection neurons mainly in piriform cortex.

Abstract - | Full Text - PDGFRA/NG2 glia generate myelinating oligodendrocytes and piriform projection neurons in adult mice | PDF (2,859 KB) - PDGFRA/NG2 glia generate myelinating oligodendrocytes and piriform projection neurons in adult mice | Supplementary information

See also: News and Views by Kang & Bergles

FGF acts as a co-transmitter through adenosine A_2A receptor to regulate synaptic plasticity - pp1402 - 1409

Marc Flajolet, Zhongfeng Wang, Marie Futter, Weixing Shen, Nina Nuangchamnong, Jacob Bendor, Iwona Wallach, Angus C Nairn, D James Surmeier & Paul Greengard

doi:10.1038/nn.2216

Adenosine receptor A_2AR is known to antagonize dopaminergic signaling in the striatum and its malfunctions have been implicated in various striatum-related diseases. Flajolet et al. show that A_2AR and fibroblast growth factor receptor interact to synergistically activate ERK1/2 pathway and that such interaction modulates the morphological changes of cultured neurons and synaptic plasticity of cortico-striatal synapses.

Abstract - | Full Text - FGF acts as a co-transmitter through adenosine A2A receptor to regulate synaptic plasticity | PDF (530 KB) - FGF acts as a co-transmitter through adenosine A2A receptor to regulate synaptic plasticity | Supplementary information

GABA_B receptor activation mediates frequency-dependent plasticity of developing GABAergic synapses - pp1410 - 1418

Chun Xu, Man-xia Zhao, Mu-ming Poo & Xiao-hui Zhang

doi:10.1038/nn.2215

Hippocampal GABAergic synapses are excitatory during the early postnatal period and can undergo spike timing-dependent modifications of synaptic strength. Xu and colleagues demonstrate that this plasticity can be modulated bidirectionally by frequency and that it depends on the action of GABA_B receptors.

Abstract - | Full Text - GABAB receptor activation mediates frequency-dependent plasticity of developing GABAergic synapses | PDF (631 KB) - GABAB receptor activation mediates frequency-dependent plasticity of developing GABAergic synapses | Supplementary information

Continuous shifts in the active set of spinal interneurons during changes in locomotor speed - pp1419 - 1429

David L McLean, Mark A Masino, Ingrid Y Y Koh, W Brent Lindquist & Joseph R Fetcho

doi:10.1038/nn.2225

The authors here show that two completely different classes of spinal premotor interneurons drive motoneurons during slow and fast swimming of zebrafish larvae. As the fish accelerate, the 'slow' interneurons are progressively silenced, while the 'fast' interneurons take over, and vice versa.

Abstract - | Full Text - Continuous shifts in the active set of spinal interneurons during changes in locomotor speed | PDF (961 KB) - Continuous shifts in the active set of spinal interneurons during changes in locomotor speed | Supplementary information

See also: News and Views by El Manira & Grillner

Motor modulation of afferent somatosensory circuits - pp1430 - 1438

SooHyun Lee, George E Carvell & Daniel J Simons

doi:10.1038/nn.2227

In sedated and whisking rats, the authors show that motor cortex activity enhances sensory processing through a cortico-cortico-thalamic feedback circuit. In whisking rats, however, inhibitory brainstem input to the thalamus was also enhanced, leading to a net suppression of thalamic sensory responses.

Abstract - | Full Text - Motor modulation of afferent somatosensory circuits | PDF (592 KB) - Motor modulation of afferent somatosensory circuits | Supplementary information

See also: News and Views by Ahissar

Feedback of visual object information to foveal retinotopic cortex - pp1439 - 1445

Mark A Williams, Chris I Baker, Hans P Op de Beeck, Won Mok Shim, Sabin Dang, Christina Triantafyllou & Nancy Kanwisher

doi:10.1038/nn.2218

The authors report that fMRI responses in human foveal retinotopic cortex contain information about objects presented in the periphery. This information is position invariant and correlated with perceptual discrimination accuracy.

Abstract - | Full Text - Feedback of visual object information to foveal retinotopic cortex | PDF (402 KB) - Feedback of visual object information to foveal retinotopic cortex | Supplementary information

Sensory-motor mechanisms in human parietal cortex underlie arbitrary visual decisions - pp1446 - 1453

Annalisa Tosoni, Gaspare Galati, Gian Luca Romani & Maurizio Corbetta

doi:10.1038/nn.2221

It has been proposed that neurons in the intraparietal cortex gradually accumulate evidence supporting different response options. Here the authors show that this model generalizes to arbitrary stimulus-response associations in humans.

Abstract - | Full Text - Sensory-motor mechanisms in human parietal cortex underlie arbitrary visual decisions | PDF (606 KB) - Sensory-motor mechanisms in human parietal cortex underlie arbitrary visual decisions | Supplementary information

Estimating the sources of motor errors for adaptation and generalization - pp1454 - 1461

Max Berniker & Konrad Kording

doi:10.1038/nn.2229

The nervous system produces accurate movements by adapting to environmental changes. The authors construct a probabilistic model that compensates for motor errors and estimates their sources, finding that if the motor system used such a strategy, it would explain many previously observed movement-generalization phenomena.

Abstract - | Full Text - Estimating the sources of motor errors for adaptation and generalization | PDF (674 KB) - Estimating the sources of motor errors for adaptation and generalization | Supplementary information

Corrigendum: Deciphering citation statistics - p1463

doi:10.1038/nn1208-1463a

Full Text - Corrigendum: Deciphering citation statistics | PDF (152 KB) - Corrigendum: Deciphering citation statistics

Erratum: The uncrowded window of object recognition - p1463

Denis G Pelli & Katharine A Tillman

doi:10.1038/nn1208-1463b

Full Text - Erratum: The uncrowded window of object recognition | PDF (152 KB) - Erratum: The uncrowded window of object recognition