Articles in 2010

Rosenzweig and colleagues show that incomplete cervical spinal cord injury in macaques triggers substantially greater sprouting of spared corticospinal axons below the lesion. The monkeys also recovered significant locomotor ability, correlating with the extent of anatomical 'repair'.

Cortical visual area V4 contains cells with diverse response properties, including preference for color, orientation, disparity and higher order features. Tanigawa et al. used intrinsic optical imaging to reveal that regions with preferential response to color or luminance are largely separate from orientation-selective regions.

The authors report that the cation channel TRPV1 suppresses excitatory synaptic transmission in dentate gyrus via a Ca²⁺-calcineurin and clathrin-dependent internalization of AMPA receptors. Activation of TRPV-1 triggers a form of LTD that is mediated by anandamide, but is independent of type 1 endocannabinoid receptors.

He et al. identify the transcription factor YY1 as being critical for peripheral myelination. YY1 phosphorylation by neuregulin is required for transcriptional activation of Egr2/Krox20, a critical regulator of peripheral myelination.

This study shows that the transcriptional repressor Otx2 negatively regulates the expression of the dopamine transporter DAT in dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Elevated Otx2 confers resistance to the neurotoxin MPTP and may explain why a subpopulation of VTA neurons resist degeneration in Parkinson's disease.

Evidence suggests that covert visual attention can improve behavioral performance by modulating contrast or response gain. Herrmann et al. find that the size of the stimulus and the attention field determine which mechanism is used. These results support predictions of the normalization model of attention.

The authors compare the whole-genome expression profiles of peri-infarct neurons that show axonal sprouting after stroke to their non-sprouting neighbors. They describe a 'sprouting transcriptome' and perform further gain- and loss-of-function studies, finding novel roles in sprouting for a DNA-modifying molecule, a growth factor, and inhibitory myelin receptors.

Liu and colleagues report that toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7), which is typically thought to be expressed in immune cells and to function to regulate innate immunity, is expressed and acts in C-fiber primary sensory neurons. In mice, they find that TLR7 is important for inducing itch, but is not necessary for eliciting pain.

5-hydroxytryptamine 2C receptors (5-HT2CRs) in the brain have been shown to regulate glucose homeostasis. Xu and colleagues find that 5-HT2CRs expressed specifically by hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin neurons are involved in the regulation of insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis in liver.

It had been thought that microscopic relocations of gaze (microsaccades) were suppressed during fine spatial judgments. Ko et al. find that microsaccades move the eye to locations of interest and are influenced by task demands. This suggests that they may actively contribute to the acquisition of fine spatial detail.

The nuclei of radial glia divide and complete mitosis at the apical surface of the embryonic brain. They then migrate to the basal surface and back before dividing again. This study shows that these nuclei travel along microtubules, driven by KIF1A in the basal direction and by dynein in the apical direction.

A screen for mutations depressing AMPA receptor expression in C. elegans revealed a gene encoding a putative RNA binding protein, dubbed GRLD-1. Wang et al. find that GRLD-1 acts on the glr-1 introns to boost expression and speculate that it may excise a destabilizing intron.

Using optogenetic tools, Carter et al. find a frequency-dependent causal relationship between locus coeruleus firing, sleep-to-wake transitions and locomotor arousal in mice.

We present a special focus on epigenetics in the nervous system, highlighting recent advances in our understanding of epigenetic mechanisms and their regulation in neurons, as well as their role in nervous system function.

Using direct electrode recordings in patients undergoing preoperative surgery, a new study demonstrates that neural responses in the secondary auditory cortex mirror perception, showing categorical responses to continuous stimuli.

In the mouse olfactory bulb, cells with common input respond to odors with similar firing rates but with different timing. This suggests that such 'sister' cells make independent and unique connections with local interneurons.

The mature phenotype of CNS neurons is thought to be set at an early progenitor stage. A study now shows that expression of Fezf2 alone can turn striatal GABAergic precursors into glutamatergic corticofugal neurons.

Could similar changes in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) underlie both familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)? A new study finds that wild-type SOD1 from sporadic ALS tissues shows conformational changes similar to those seen in familial ALS and may be pathogenic as a result of the same mechanism.