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Volume 4 Issue 12, December 2001

Brain structure and function are determined by the interplay of genes and environment. Thompson and colleagues now report that the amount of gray matter in several brain regions, including language areas and frontal cortex, is more similar between identical twins than between fraternal twins. These heritable differences in brain structure were correlated with measures of cognitive performance, suggesting a possible link to general cognitive ability. See pages 1153 and 1253.

Volume 4 Issue 12

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  • By making maps of the differences in cortical gray matter volume between twins, Thompson et al. describe which brain regions are strongly determined by genetic factors; they further investigate how these brain differences correlate with measures of cognitive performance.

    • Robert Plomin
    • Stephen M. Kosslyn
    News & Views

  • Fluorescent synapsins were used to study the dissociation–reassociation cycle of this synaptic vesicle protein in situ, and how this process relates to regulation of exocytosis.

    • Venkatesh N. Murthy
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  • A new study finds two classes of synapses between layer 2/3 neurons in auditory cortex, and suggests they may be involved in processing transient versus sustained acoustic stimuli

    • Anthony M. Zador
    News & Views
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