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There are many parallels in the mechanisms that underlie the development and function of the vascular and nervous systems. Carmeliet and colleagues describe molecules that have activity on both neural and vascular cells and highlight their roles in neurodegenerative disease.
Bird and Burgess review the hippocampus's role in memory in light of a model of neuronal processing in which hippocampal activity constrains neocortical information to be perceivable from a single location. This enables spatially coherent mental imagery, explaining several recent findings and theoretical conflicts.
Advances in cellular imaging have been crucial for improving our understanding of many aspects of neuroscience. Kerr and Denk describe how sophisticated optical imaging techniques allow us to image activity in single neurons or neuron populations in living animals.
The unique dendritic morphology of pyramidal neurons is likely to have an impact on their function. Spruston discusses how the properties of these neurons' distinct dendritic domains might contribute to their integration of synaptic inputs.
Dystonia is characterized by involuntary movements and postures. Breakefield and colleagues provide insight into the underlying neuronal dysfunction through a comprehensive review of the genes that are responsible for primary dystonias, animal models of dystonia and brain imaging of dystonia patients.
Functional MRI has shown that aspects of cognitive and emotional processing and even conscious awareness might be retained in some patients who have been diagnosed as vegetative. Owen and Coleman discuss the clinical, legal and scientific implications of these findings.
