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.
Selective remodelling of synapses contributes to the successful wiring of the nervous system during development. Perry and O'Connor discuss recent studies that have implicated a key component of the immune system, the complement cascade, in this process.
Silent synapses cannot mediate neurotransmission. Kerchner and Nicoll discuss different mechanisms that have been proposed to underlie synaptic silence, and conclude that LTP and synaptic unsilencing occur by a postsynaptic mechanism that involves AMPA receptor recruitment.
The complex morphology of neurons requires distinctive adaptations for the molecular mechanisms of protein degradation. These are discussed by Tai and Schuman with respect to normal function and dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases.
In the CNS, remyelination of denuded axons occurs to reinstate neuronal function. Franklin and ffrench-Constant consider the cells and molecular signals that are required for remyelination and how this knowledge can be channelled towards more effective therapies for demyelinating diseases.
The supplementary motor complex has a role in regulating action, but whether each of its subregions has a distinct function is unclear. Husain and colleagues review the literature and discuss outstanding issues regarding the function of this complex.
Magic tricks require the manipulation of the audience's attention and awareness. Macknik, Martinez-Conde and their magician co-authors describe the visual and cognitive illusions that underlie many magic tricks, and the techniques that magicians use to achieve these illusions. An interview with Martinez-Conde for Neuropod is available fordownload.
As neuroscience research in Asia undergoes unprecedented growth, collaborations are being established between laboratories in Asia and the West. Four neuroscientists describe their experiences of such collaborations and give their input on the challenges and opportunities that they provide.
