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A high-resolution crystal structure of the ligand-binding domain of the human nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α subunit, with three point mutations to improve its crystallization, provides both reassurance and exciting new insights.
Representations of pitch and space seem to interact. A new study now reports that people with amusia, a pitch processing deficit, do not show the interference between these concepts that is found in control subjects.
A recent paper suggests a new form of inhibitory circuit in cortex, in which a pyramidal cell directly excites the presynaptic terminal of an inhibitory interneuron, allowing the rapid and powerful inhibition of another pyramidal cell.
Numb's function in mammalian neural progenitors has been unclear. A paper in this issue shows a crucial role for Numb in the maintenance of radial glia adherens junctions and, consequently, the integrity of the neurogenic epithelium.
Humans and other animals use environmental cues to evaluate sources of danger and to react appropriately. A new study reports that mice lacking the serotonin 1a receptor overreact to ambiguous predictors of aversive events, whereas they respond normally to unambiguous predictors, illuminating the neural bases of contingency learning.
Synesthesia, in which letters or numbers elicit color perception, could be due to increased brain connectivity between relevant regions, or due to failure to inhibit feedback in cortical circuits. Diffusion tensor imaging now provides evidence for increased connectivity in word processing and binding regions of the brain.
The olfactory epithelium is one of the few sites of adult neurogenesis, but the identity of its stem cell has been debated. A report by Leung and colleagues identifies the horizontal basal cell as this progenitor.
Szapiro and Barbour describe a new mode of neuron-to-neuron communication mediated solely by spillover of neurotransmitter that diffuses out of the synaptic cleft to bind more distant receptors on postsynaptic neurons.
Reward-related events activate dopamine and other neurons in many brain areas. A report in Nature, however, now suggests that neurons in the lateral habenula signal to dopamine neurons when no reward is expected.
Contrary to the synaptic homeostasis theory, new work finds that reactivating memories during slow-wave sleep enhances learning and hippocampal activation. This may be useful for treating post-traumatic stress disorder.
Sensory cortex area 3a contains a map of the body. A new paper reports the location of eye position signals in this map, which should allow researchers to test the functions of eye position signals and visual gain fields in more detail.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by the selective degeneration of motor neurons. Two independent studies in this issue show that astrocytes expressing a mutation in the enzyme superoxide dismutase can exacerbate motor neuron death, supporting previous suggestions that non-neuronal cells contribute to ALS pathogenesis.
Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels participate in many diverse neuronal functions. A study in this issue now shows that TRPC-dependent calcium fluxes are also crucial to neurotrophin-induced cell survival signaling.
Damage to the insula enables some smokers to quit easily and without relapse, reports a recent paper. The lesion may disrupt a a representation of internal bodily urges that is normally cued by learned drug associations.
Neurosteroids generally reduce anxiety, but a new paper shows that they promote anxiety in female mice around puberty via the selective desensitization of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors made up of α4β2δ subunits. This change increases input resistance and excitation of hippocampal pyramidal neurons, thus promoting anxiety.
The timing of thalamocortical excitation and inhibition is critical to local microcircuits. Two new papers shed light on the development and performance of a somatosensory microcircuit that regulates the integration of thalamic inputs.
Jordan and colleagues report that activity causes the shuttling of a synaptic protein AIDA-1d from dendritic spines to the nucleus. This work sheds light on how nuclear protein synthesis is regulated in response to synaptic activity.
