Table of contents
From the Editors
p413 | doi:10.1038/nrn1946
Research Highlights
Neurogenetics: Sizing up social interaction
p415 | doi:10.1038/nrn1941
Neuroimaging: Nanoscale neuroimaging
p416 | doi:10.1038/nrn1935
Behavioural neuroscience: Circannual control
p416 | doi:10.1038/nrn1944
In the news
The biology of dread
p416 | doi:10.1038/nrn1948
In brief
Cognitive neuroscience | Neurodegenerative diseases | Cell biology of the neuron
p417 | doi:10.1038/nrn1947
Development: Top-notch neural induction
p418 | doi:10.1038/nrn1934
Synaptogenesis: Neurexins and new synapses
p418 | doi:10.1038/nrn1939
Neurotransmitter receptors: Synaptic tuning
p419 | doi:10.1038/nrn1936
Development: Dishevelled effect
p420 | doi:10.1038/nrn1940
Neuropharmacology: Illicit entry
p420 | doi:10.1038/nrn1943
Sensory systems: Behaviour and the synapse
p420 | doi:10.1038/nrn1945
Cell biology of the neuron: Dynamic duo regulate microtubule plasticity
p421 | doi:10.1038/nrn1942
Reviews
Purinergic signalling in neuron–glia interactions
R. Douglas Fields and Geoffrey Burnstock
p423 | doi:10.1038/nrn1928
Purinergic signalling is one of the most pervasive mechanisms of intercellular communication in the nervous system. Fields and Burnstock review the history and recent development of neuron–glia signalling and the important role of extracellular ATP in these interactions.
Cerebral preconditioning and ischaemic tolerance
Jeffrey M. Gidday
p437 | doi:10.1038/nrn1927
The brain can be rendered more tolerant to injury by prior exposure to certain non-injurious stimuli. Gidday describes the adaptations that occur at multiple levels in response to preconditioning stimuli, which lead to the establishment of an ischaemia-tolerant phenotype.
Article series: Neuroimaging
In vivo imaging of the diseased nervous system
Thomas Misgeld and Martin Kerschensteiner
p449 | doi:10.1038/nrn1905
Misgeld and Kerschensteiner review how in vivo optical imaging techniques can be used to study the aetiology and therapeutics of neurological disorders. They discuss the challenges of integrating real-time observations with the molecular mechanisms and clinical manifestation of neurological diseases.
The role of the basal ganglia in habit formation
Henry H. Yin and Barbara J. Knowlton
p464 | doi:10.1038/nrn1919
Recent work has shed light on how goal-directed actions are transformed into habitual responses. Yin and Knowlton outline a framework for our understanding of habit formation based on behavioural studies and the anatomy and physiology of the basal ganglia circuitry.
Why sex matters for neuroscience
Larry Cahill
p477 | doi:10.1038/nrn1909
Male–female differences can be seen in brain anatomy, chemistry and function. Cahill reviews the latest findings on sex-related influences on the brain and discusses the importance of recognizing these differences, particularly in the context of disease states.
Perspectives
Opinion
Seeing at a glance, smelling in a whiff: rapid forms of perceptual decision making
Naoshige Uchida, Adam Kepecs and Zachary F. Mainen
p485 | doi:10.1038/nrn1933
Uchida and colleagues consider integration of information for perceptual decision making, focusing on olfactory and visual systems. They argue that there are neural mechanisms that construct discrete sensory samples from a continuous input stream to facilitate important computational functions.
Science and society
Neuroleptic drugs in dementia: benefits and harm
Clive Ballard and Robert Howard
p492 | doi:10.1038/nrn1926
Psychiatric symptoms are frequently observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. Ballard and Howard discuss the current knowledge, and present an analysis of the efficacy of neuroleptic drugs in treating these symptoms and their adverse effects.
