Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Alternative splicing generates much of the protein diversity that is required for many aspects of nervous system development and function. Black and colleagues describe the roles of alternative splicing in the nervous system and the mechanisms by which splicing is regulated.
For some genes, the two alleles are differentially expressed depending on whether they are inherited from the mother or the father. Wilkinson and colleagues review how this intriguing phenomenon plays a part in brain development and function.
Drugs of abuse alter synaptic plasticity mechanisms in key brain circuits. Kauer and Malenka review the drug-induced synaptic modifications that take place in the mesolimbic dopamine system, which is central to reward processing and contributes to addiction.
During vertebrate development a transcription factor 'code' specifies the identity of motor neurons. In this article, Sarah Guthrie reviews the latest findings on the differentiation programmes of cranial motor neurons and highlights the importance of diffusible axon guidance molecules for the correct navigation of these neurons to the muscles that control the head and neck.
Debate continues regarding the neural substrates of recollection and familiarity, the two components of recognition memory. Squire and colleagues review the data and provide a new perspective, arguing against a neuroanatomical separation of these processes in the medial temporal lobe.
For millennia, cannabis has been used for its relaxing and medicinal properties. Murray and colleagues shed light on recent findings concerning the potential adverse effects of cannabis use and discuss some societal issues that might benefit from research into the effects of cannabis on the brain.
Chemokines were discovered as cytokines that have chemotactic properties. They are receiving renewed attention, this time from neuroscientists, owing to the possibility that they might act as neurotransmitters or neuromodulators. In a provocative Opinion article, Rostène and colleages review the evidence for this possibility.
