Volume 10 Issue 8, August 2009

During the past decade it has become clear that the regulation of sleep is conserved across species. Cirelli discusses the genes that have been identified in sleep regulation and how sleep regulates the expression of genes in the brain.

In addiction, the prefrontal cortex fails to control drug-seeking behaviours. Peter Kalivas reviews the hypothesis that a loss of glutamate homeostasis at prefrontal-to-accumbens synapses, resulting in altered dendritic spine morphology and synaptic plasticity, impairs the prefrontal regulation of striatal circuitry.

The neurobiological underpinnings of anorexia nervosa are not well understood. Kaye and colleagues discuss how alterations in neurotransmitter systems and in the interacting brain circuits underlying reward, interoception and appetite might contribute to the vulnerability to and symptoms of this disorder.

What sets highly skilled sportspeople apart from novices? This article discusses the neural basis of sporting skills and emerging computational and physiological theories that help explain, and potentially predict, elite athletic performance.

How a reduction in the level of a ubiquitously expressed protein, SMN, causes the motor neuron–specific deficits that characterize spinal muscular atrophy is unknown. Burghes and Beattie discuss the function of SMN and the debate concerning the crucial pathways disrupted in SMA.

The olfactory glomeruli represent a remarkable example of nervous system organization — each glomerulus is innervated exclusively by sensory neurons expressing one of more than 1,000 olfactory receptors. Firestein and colleagues discuss recent insights into glomerular development that highlight the importance of signalling activity in this process.