Table of contents
April 2008 Vol 9 No 4
From the editors
p245 | doi:10.1038/nrn2364
Research Highlights
Consciousness: Be aware of your brother | PDF (139 KB)
p247 | doi:10.1038/nrn2366
Learning and memory: Cease or persist? | PDF (276 KB)
p248 | doi:10.1038/nrn2354
Olfactory processing: Lighting up the path to romance | PDF (216 KB)
p248 | doi:10.1038/nrn2359
In the news
Pattern interpretation | PDF (79 KB)
p248 | doi:10.1038/nrn2365
Transport: Keeping motors running smoothly | PDF (237 KB)
p249 | doi:10.1038/nrn2360
Development: Upsetting neurogenesis | PDF (243 KB)
p250 | doi:10.1038/nrn2358
Neurodegenerative disease: Capturing MS targets | PDF (264 KB)
p250 | doi:10.1038/nrn2363
In brief
Synaptic transmission | Cognitive neuroscience | Language | Molecular neuroscience | PDF (92 KB)
p250 | doi:10.1038/nrn2367
Addiction: Damping down alcohol dependence | PDF (219 KB)
p251 | doi:10.1038/nrn2361
Learning and memory: Restoring balance in diabetes | PDF (262 KB)
p252 | doi:10.1038/nrn2355
Psychiatric disorders: Double GPCR trouble | PDF (249 KB)
p252 | doi:10.1038/nrn2362
In the news
Depressing news | PDF (76 KB)
p252 | doi:10.1038/nrn2369
In brief
Computational neuroscience | Synaptic physiology | Pain | Technology | PDF (89 KB)
p253 | doi:10.1038/nrn2368
Reviews
Multisensory integration: current issues from the perspective of the single neuron
Barry E. Stein & Terrence R. Stanford
p255 | doi:10.1038/nrn2331
Multisensory integration allows information from multiple senses to be combined, with benefits for nervous-system processing. Stein and Stanford discuss the principles of multisensory integration in single neurons in the CNS and consider the questions that the field must address.
The social brain in adolescence
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
p267 | doi:10.1038/nrn2353
Social behaviour changes dramatically during adolescence. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore reviews the recent evidence of structural and functional alterations in areas of the social brain during this period and discusses how these changes might contribute to the development of social behaviour in adolescents. An interview with Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is available for download from the Neuropod podcast (April 2008).
Effects of development and enculturation on number representation in the brain
Daniel Ansari
p278 | doi:10.1038/nrn2334
Many animal species have the ability to discriminate different numerical quantities. Daniel Ansari reviews the neurobiology of basic number processing and discusses how, in humans, systems of basic numerical-magnitude processing and representation are changed through development, learning and culture.
Noise in the nervous system
A. Aldo Faisal, Luc P. J. Selen & Daniel M. Wolpert
p292 | doi:10.1038/nrn2258
Noise contributes significantly to neuronal and behavioural trial-to-trial variability. Faisal and colleagues discuss the sources and effects of noise in the nervous system as well as the principles used to counter its detrimental effects.
Perspectives
Opinion
Control of mental activities by internal models in the cerebellum
Masao Ito
p304 | doi:10.1038/nrn2332
In recent years the role of the cerebellum in the control of non-motor functions has been acknowledged. Here, Ito elaborates on his hypothesis of internal-model control of mental functions and describes recent findings that provide supporting evidence for the theory.
Science and society
A common neurobiology for pain and pleasure
Siri Leknes & Irene Tracey
p314 | doi:10.1038/nrn2333
Tracey and Leknes review the emerging evidence of extensive similarities between the anatomical substrates and signalling systems that mediate painful and pleasant sensations. Understanding the relationship between these powerful modulators of behaviour could be important for alleviating unnecessary suffering and improving well-being.
