Volume 15 Issue 7, July 2014

CB1 cannabinoid receptors at the terminals of glutamatergic corticostriatal neurons exert neuroprotective effects by preventing excitotoxicity.

Pain-sensitive sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglion release calcitonin gene-related peptide, which could over time have long-term consequences on metabolism and longevity by reducing pancreatic release of insulin.

Stimulation of sleepers' brains with 40 Hz currents during rapid eye movement sleep can induce lucid dreaming.

Neurogenesis — in infancy or adulthood — induces forgetting of established memories.

A high-fat diet causes persistent changes in the structure and function of the mouse olfactory system.

Müller glia in the fish retina respond to injury by reprogramming to a stem-cell-like state that enables them to regenerate all of the major retinal cell types. Goldman reviews our current understanding of the mechanisms that regulate this regenerative response and considers how this knowledge might be applied to improve repair in the mammalian retina.

Alterations in normal patterns of exposure to light disrupt circadian rhythms and sleep, and have a profound effect on health and mood. Hattar and colleagues describe the role of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in mediating the direct and indirect effects of light on mood and cognition.

Malignant gliomas are notoriously difficult cancers to treat. The majority of current therapeutics target the traditional oncological traits of glioma cells. In this Review, Cuddapahet al. explore the unique biology of glioma cells and propose novel, brain-specific therapeutic targets.

Nervous systems recreate properties of the environment in activity patterns referred to as neural representations. In this Review, Moser and colleagues examine how grid cells in the medial entorhinal cortex contribute to the neural representation of external space.

Environmental noise is thought to have a negligible influence on the auditory system, but recent data casts doubt on this assumption. In this Opinion article, Gourévitch and colleagues provide their view on how long-term exposure to environmental noise alters the way sound is represented in the adult brain.