Articles in 2012

Post-traumatic stress disorder is associated with changes in psychophysiological, neuroimaging, endocrinological and genetic measures. Animal studies have begun to elucidate its neurobiological mechanisms. Pitman and colleagues review these findings and discuss directions for research aimed at identifying risk factors, biomarkers and preventive and therapeutic interventions.

Aberrant matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity is a well-known contributor to synaptic dysfunction and neuronal loss in CNS injury and disease. In this Review, George W. Huntley discusses how MMPs also make an important contribution to synaptic functional and structural remodelling under nonpathophysiological conditions.

The mechanisms underlying hearing loss following traumatic noise exposure are not well understood. In this study, Chenet al. show that the cellular energy depletion that occurs following traumatic noise exposure results in activation of small GTPases and downstream effectors that mediate apoptotic and necrotic cell death.

The transition in worker bees between nursing and foraging subcastes is shown to be associated with reversible changes in gene methylation in the honeybee brain.

Social isolation during a critical post-weaning period reduces myelination in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) by altering oligodendrocyte neuregulin 1–receptor tyrosine kinase ERBB3 signalling and impairs PFC function.

Since its emergence, the field of neuroeconomics has gained much attention but has also been subject to criticism. In this Perspective, the authors analyse the neuroeconomics literature and the social networks within the neuroeconomics community and consider whether the field represents a truly integrated discipline.

Gamma activity in neuron groups in visual area V4 synchronizes selectively with gamma activity in those neuron groups in primary visual cortex that provide behaviourally relevant input.

Investigation of the transcriptomes of samples from human, chimpanzee and macaque brains gives new insight into human brain evolution.

Chronic stress in mice causes ryanodine receptors in the brain to become leaky, and this leads to neuronal damage and cognitive dysfunction.

The roles of the perirhinal, parahippocampal and retrosplenial cortices in memory are not well understood. Reviewing studies in rodents, monkeys and humans, Ranganath and Ritchey suggest that these areas are core components of two cortical networks that support different types of memory and different aspects of cognition.

Selective attention-induced synchronous activity in cortical regions seems to depend on pulvinar–cortical interactions.

A study inDrosophila melanogastershows that the mechanism responsible for axon regrowth during development is distinct to that underlying initial axon growth.

Gut microbiota are increasingly being recognized as influencing many aspects of human health. In this Review, Cryan and Dinan discuss rapidly emerging evidence that the gut microbiota also influence brain and behaviour and may have a role in anxiety, mood, cognition and pain.