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In mice, the endocannabinoid system inhibits glutamatergic signalling from the olfactory cortex to the main olfactory bulb after fasting, increasing the detection of food odours and, consequently, enhancing food consumption.
Many physiological and anatomical parameters in the brain have a skewed distribution. Buzsáki and Mizuseki propose that this reflects a fundamental aspect of brain organization — namely, a network in which a minority of neurons does most of the work all of the time.
The membrane lipid arachidonic acid is released from the postsynaptic neuron and can potentiate synaptic transmission by inhibiting presynaptic voltage-gated potassium channels.
A sufficient number of microglia must be present during postnatal development to ensure normal long-range connectivity and social behaviour in adulthood.
In this Perspective, Seeburg and colleagues re-examine the role of the hippocampus in spatial learning in light of recent findings. They also suggest that the hippocampus has a role in resolving conflict or uncertainty that might also explain its role in anxiety.
This Review examines recent studies showing that music modulates activity in core brain structures involved in the processing of emotion. The ability of music to change activity in these structures has implications for the development of music therapies in the treatment of various neurological and psychiatric disorders.
In neurons, gephyrin self-assembles into a protein scaffold that interacts with the cytoskeleton and anchors glycine and type A GABA receptors at postsynaptic sites. Tyagarajan and Fritschy review the formation and regulation of these scaffolds and how they in turn regulate inhibitory synapse formation and function.
Fear extinction induces a shift in the balance of activity between 'fear neurons' and 'extinction neurons' in the basal amygdala, which project to prelimbic and infralimbic portions of the medial prefrontal cortex, respectively.
Left-handers are often excluded from neuroscience and neurogenetics studies in order to reduce variance in the data. In this Perspective, Willemset al. discuss the potential of studying this substantial but often-ignored portion of the population.
A new study shows that responsiveness of theCaenorhabditis elegansASH avoidance circuit to aversive stimuli is reduced during sleep and reveals that re-establishment of synchrony between interneurons in this circuit is crucial for rapid reversal to wakefulness.
