Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
A morphological study suggests a new view of synapse formation by demonstrating that presynaptic elements are assembled into ‘prototerminals’ before being transported down axons by fast, saltatory movement. These structures stop moving when the axon contacts a dendrite.
A new study shows that sodium channels interact with receptor-like tyrosine phosphatase β, which increases sodium currents and may also help localize the channels.
A recent report in Nature suggests that the stability of adult birdsong is maintained by error correction via an auditory feedback pathway involved in juvenile song learning.
A sophisticated study of error-related brain potentials in patients with prefrontal lesions addresses how we monitor performance and adjust cognitive control based on task demands.
The full sequence of the Drosophila genome is now available. A comparison with other genomes promises to yield many new insights into how genes control neural development and function.
The claim that there are too many life sciences graduate students has generated much debate, including a recent editorial in Nature Neuroscience . A 1998 survey suggests that these concerns are misplaced, and that career prospects for neuroscience graduates remain bright.
