Volume 8 Issue 2, February 2005

Comm downregulates the Slit receptor Robo on commissural axons, thereby enabling midline crossing. Elegant new experiments show that Comm functions by diverting Robo to the endosomal pathway, preventing its delivery to the growth cone.

Despite 20 years of study, the mechanism underlying the cochlear amplifier remains contentious. In this issue, a novel in vitro cochlear preparation implicates calcium current–driven active stereocilia motion in generating amplification.

Voltage-gated ion channels shape the integration of synaptic input in dendrites. Forebrain-restricted deletion of the hyperpolarization-activated channel HCN1 enhances spatial learning, demonstrating a behavioral role for an active dendritic conductance.