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.
Two recent studies report changes in the activity of cerebellar granule cells during two different types of learning, providing insights into the function of these cells.
Lindenberger and colleagues suggest that research into the possible effects of 'brain training' should build on an understanding of the mechanisms of human brain plasticity.
Our growing understanding of cortical interneuron diversity has been matched by increasing interest in the underlying developmental mechanisms. Wamsley and Fishell describe current models of interneuron specification, highlighting the contribution of activity-dependent mechanisms to this process.
There is little agreement on the definition of emotions or the neural mechanisms by which they are realized. Bach and Dayan here use decision theory to shed light on the nature and implementation of the algorithms that underlie emotion-related behaviours.
Amyloid precursor protein (APP) has been heavily implicated in Alzheimer disease, but the physiological roles of APP and the related APP-like proteins (APLPs) remain less well understood. This Review examines the functions of the APP family and its fragments in CNS development, synaptic function, brain injury and ageing.
The endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol increases the tonic and evoked firing rate of mouse dopamine midbrain neurons by inhibiting A-type potassium currents through a direct lipid interaction with Kv4.3 channels.
Stroke survivors often adapt to the loss of upper-limb function by adopting compensatory strategies. Jones discusses evidence that these compensatory strategies may influence the neural remodelling processes that occur after the initial stroke and can have mixed effects on functional outcome of the paretic limb.
In a new, chimeric model of Alzheimer disease (AD), in which human neurons were transplanted into an AD mouse model, amyloid-β-related pathology was associated with robust degeneration of the human neurons but no neurofibrillary tangle formation.
Kinetic models of NMDA receptor activation derived from single-molecule observations explain the biologically salient features of the excitatory current as a dynamic sequence of quasi-stable receptor states. In this Review, Iacobucci and Popescu discuss how these models will help to match emerging atomic structures with biologically important functional states.
Optogenetics is widely used to study the consequences of neuronal activity with high spatiotemporal precision. In this Review, Kimet al. discuss the integration of this approach with other technological and methodological advances to gain insights into neuronal function that were previously inaccessible.
The year 2017 marks 200 years since James Parkinson'sAn Essay on the Shaking Palsywas published. In this Timeline article, Serge Przedborski provides an overview of the various avenues of research into Parkinson disease that have been pursued over these two centuries to better understand this neurodegenerative disorder.
