Volume 11 Issue 7, July 2010

Sensory afferent signals in visual cortical neurons are highly tuned to stimulus characteristics at the level of local Ca²⁺transients throughout the dendritic tree.

The size of the active zone determines the probability of synaptic release and can undergo rapid structural alterations.

An unexpected and crucial role for caspase 3 and caspase 9 in synaptic depression has been identified.

Resilience to stress in mice is mediated by expression of the transcription factor ΔFosB and its target genes in the nucleus accumbens.

MicroRNAs in neurons are produced and degraded rapidly, unlike microRNAs in non-neuronal cells.

The level of CREB expression and activity predicts whether long-term memory will decline or improve with age after life-extending strategies.

Dicer plays a key part in Schwann cell maturation and axon myelination.

In this comprehensive Review, Collingridge and colleagues describe the mechanisms underlying the induction and expression of various forms of long-term depression (LTD), and discuss the role of LTD in learning and memory as well as in various pathological processes.

Individual neurons transform the relationship between synaptic input and output firing by utilizing both linear and nonlinear mechanisms. Angus Silver discusses the various underlying biophysical mechanisms in relation to the complexity of neuronal morphology and the neural coding regimes in which they are likely to operate.

The diagnosis of autism is based on behavioural criteria. Robust phenotypes in mouse models hold great promise for the discovery of effective treatments for the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders. Crawley and colleagues review the behavioural assays that are most relevant to the symptoms of human autism, along with the essential control measures.

The habenula is present in vertebrate brains but its function has remained obscure. Okihide Hikosaka reviews data from animal and human studies that indicate that the habenula, through its effects on dopamine and serotonin systems, regulates motor suppression in various contexts.

Studies in fruit flies have greatly aided our understanding of the nervous system. Bellen and colleagues take us through the key findings in the last century. They argue that thanks to the unmatched wealth of tools that can be used inDrosophila melanogaster, research in flies will continue to contribute to many aspects of vertebrate neuroscience.

The traditional distinction between declarative and nondeclarative forms of memory is based on conscious versus non-conscious learning and recall. Katharina Henke argues that consciousness is a poor criterion and presents an alternative model of memory systems that is based on processing operations.