Volume 12 Issue 1, January 2011

The lateral and medial subdivisions of the central amygdala mediate the acquisition and expression of conditioned fear.

Primary somatosensory cortex can drive motor responses independently of the motor cortex.

Primary somatosensory cortex can drive motor responses independently of the motor cortex.

The mTORC1 signalling cascade plays a key part in alcohol abuse disorders.

Manipulation of GABA signalling can promote recovery after stroke in mice.

Activation of central TRPV1 receptors by anandamide mediates long-term depression in the hippocampus and nucleus accumbens.

CaMKK signalling acts as a cell-autonomous homeostatic regulator of synaptic strength in response to excitation.

Normal pacemaking activity in dopamine neurons in the SNc results in high basal mitochondrial oxidative stress levels in these neurons, rendering them vulnerable to degeneration.

VGLUT2 is a key component of the circuits that mediate the regulation of itching and the suppression of itch by pain.

In this Progress article, Sacktor highlights the key role of protein kinase Mζ (PKMζ) — the constitutively active protein kinase C isoform — in perpetuating the synaptic events underlying long-term memory, and proposes a model of 'synaptic autotagging' by which this enzyme maintains its localization at the synapse.

Since its proposal in 1997, the synaptic tagging and capture hypothesis has been highly influential in furthering our understanding of memory persistence. Data that have emerged in the intervening years have necessitated a revision and expansion of the original concept, which is discussed in this Review by Redondo and Morris.

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are genetic disorders that cause a length-dependent, distal axonopathy of the corticospinal tract. Reid and colleages review the molecular cell biology underlying HSPs and consider the importance of membrane trafficking and organelle morphogenesis in axonal development and maintenance.

What does resting-state network (RSN) activity actually reflect? Deco and colleagues review computational models showing that local dynamics, signal transmission delays and noise contribute to emerging RSNs. They propose that multiple functional connectivity patterns can be expressed around the same anatomical framework, and that the resting brain explores these possible configurations.