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Peripheral nerve myelination requires close contact between Schwann cells and the axon. Spiegel and colleagues report that Necl4 mediates glia-axon interaction during myelination. On the cover is an electron microscopy image of a myelinating Schwann cell in co-culture. (p 861)
Some data suggest that portable music players may damage hearing, but it will take years to settle the issue. In the meantime, it would be prudent to pursue educational efforts to help users choose their volume sensibly.
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.
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.
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.
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.
