Table of contents
January 2008 Vol 9 No 1
From the editors
p1 | doi:10.1038/nrn2313
Research Highlights
Stem cells: A bumper month for stem cells | PDF (226 KB)
p3 | doi:10.1038/nrn2307
Neural stem cells: Taking a 'peak' into neurogenesis | PDF (161 KB)
p4 | doi:10.1038/nrn2300
Learning and memory: Day to remember | PDF (192 KB)
p4 | doi:10.1038/nrn2301
In the news
Scanning politics | PDF (76 KB)
p4 | doi:10.1038/nrn2311
In brief
Affective disorders | Axon growth | Reward | Motor control | PDF (96 KB)
p5 | doi:10.1038/nrn2310
Psychiatric disorders: Digging deeper into epigenetic regulation | PDF (146 KB)
p6 | doi:10.1038/nrn2299
Neurodegenerative disorders: ASIC mind | PDF (346 KB)
p6 | doi:10.1038/nrn2302
Neurodegenerative disorders: Normalizing Parkinsonian networks | PDF (291 KB)
p7 | doi:10.1038/nrn2306
Neurogenesis: Par for the course | PDF (182 KB)
p7 | doi:10.1038/nrn2308
Place cells: A few moves ahead | PDF (154 KB)
p8 | doi:10.1038/nrn2305
Memory: The dual path to recognition | PDF (219 KB)
p8 | doi:10.1038/nrn2312
Neurotransmission: Getting vesicles ready for action | PDF (159 KB)
p9 | doi:10.1038/nrn2304
In brief
Glucose homeostasis | Genetics | Synaptic plasticity | Neurodegenerative disorders | PDF (94 KB)
p9 | doi:10.1038/nrn2309
Reviews
The expectant brain: adapting for motherhood
Paula J. Brunton & John A. Russell
p11 | doi:10.1038/nrn2280
The pregnant female's brain undergoes multiple adaptations that ensure a successful pregnancy, birth and lactation. Brunton and Russell review the mechanisms that regulate these adaptations, focusing on allopregnanolone and opioids, and discuss how these changes might predispose the mother to post-partum mood disorders.
Polysialic acid in the plasticity of the developing and adult vertebrate nervous system
Urs Rutishauser
p26 | doi:10.1038/nrn2285
The functional roles of polysialic acid (PSA) stem from its ability to regulate cell–cell interactions. Urs Rutishauser describes the properties of PSA that underlie this activity and outlines its contribution to the development, function and repair of the nervous system.
Glucose neurotoxicity
David R. Tomlinson & Natalie J. Gardiner
p36 | doi:10.1038/nrn2294
Glucose uptake in neurons depends on the extracellular concentration of glucose. In this Review, Tomlinson and Gardiner discuss the functional consequences of persistent episodes of hyperglycaemia, such as occur in diabetes, and potential pharmacological targets for alleviating the signs and symptoms associated with diabetic neuropathy.
From inflammation to sickness and depression: when the immune system subjugates the brain
Robert Dantzer, Jason C. O'Connor, Gregory G. Freund, Rodney W. Johnson & Keith W. Kelley
p46 | doi:10.1038/nrn2297
Cytokines, produced in response to peripheral infections, act in the brain to cause sickness behaviour. Dantzer and colleagues consider the intriguing hypothesis that prolonged immune signalling in the brain can cause symptoms of depression and discuss the mechanisms that might underlie this phenomenon.
Perspectives
Science and society
Be smart, exercise your heart: exercise effects on brain and cognition
Charles H. Hillman, Kirk I. Erickson & Arthur F. Kramer
p58 | doi:10.1038/nrn2298
Mounting evidence suggests that aerobic exercise improves cognitive function throughout the lifespan. In this article, Hillman and colleagues describe the latest research in humans and non-human animals and discuss the implications for our increasingly sedentary lifestyles.
Opinion
Synaptic plasticity, memory and the hippocampus: a neural network approach to causality
Guilherme Neves, Sam F. Cooke & Tim V. P. Bliss
p65 | doi:10.1038/nrn2303
The hippocampus has an undisputed role in memory and has been key in discovering synaptic plasticity as the basis for learning. Bliss and colleagues provide an update on unresolved problems that surround LTP and memory, and propose strategies for finding answers that centre on new technologies.
