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Recent work suggests that the insula forms part of a network that mediates the processing of salient stimuli. In this Opinion article, Lucina Q. Uddin examines the role of the insula in salience processing before outlining that dysfunction of such processing in insular subdivisions might accompany several brain disorders.
Developmental dyslexia occurs across languages and has a major impact on the lives of affected individuals. Here, Usha Goswami considers the evidence for several prominent 'sensory' theories of dyslexia and outlines the key challenges for research in this area.
Retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) produce all of the retina's cells through an evolutionarily conserved series of divisions and cell fate decisions. In this article, Cepko describes recent studies that have shed light on the intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms that drive this process and argues that individual terminally dividing RPCs are molecularly specified to produce particular progeny.
Environmental noise is thought to have a negligible influence on the auditory system, but recent data casts doubt on this assumption. In this Opinion article, Gourévitch and colleagues provide their view on how long-term exposure to environmental noise alters the way sound is represented in the adult brain.
Bilingualism has attracted attention for its reported effects on linguistic and cognitive abilities. In this Opinion article, Costa and Sebastián-Gallés provide their view on how learning and speaking two languages affects language acquisition and processing as well as executive control processes.
The role of astrocytic Ca2+ signalling in synaptic function remains elusive. In this Opinion article, Volterra and colleagues discuss how recent data reveal an unexpected complexity of Ca2+dynamics in astrocytes, which both challenges current thinking and suggests a new conceptual and experimental framework to address astrocyte function.
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.
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.
The function of brain oscillations remains unclear, although a role in controlling the flow of signals among anatomically connected networks has been proposed. In this Opinion article, Akam and Kullmann discuss how network oscillations might convey multiplexed information that enables a flexible reconfiguration of effective connectivity among brain areas.
