Articles in 2012

Long-term potentiation does not require the GluA1 C-tail but instead relies on the availability of an extrasynaptic pool of glutamate receptors.

Cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 1, which promotes mRNA translation, is an important regulator of neuronal mitochondrial ATP generation.

p40-specific antibodies ameliorate pathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

The abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein seems to have a central role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease and related disorders. Masliah and colleagues review current knowledge regarding the conformational, oligomerization and aggregation states of this protein and how they influence α-synuclein function in health and disease.

Neurotrophins are key regulators of neural circuit development and function. In this Review, Park and Poo examine the mechanisms underlying this regulation, with a specific focus on brain-derived neurotrophic factor — the most widely expressed and studied neurotrophin in the brain.

microRNA priming enables asymmetric gene expression patterns in ASE gustatory neurons inCaenorhabditis elegans.

Childhood trauma can predispose people with certain genotypes to disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder in adulthood. Now, Klengelet al. show that a particular polymorphism in a gene involved in glucocorticoid regulation can interact with childhood trauma, leading to lasting epigenetic changes in the stress response system.

The role of GABAergic projections from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in associative learning is poorly understood. Brownet al. now show that these neurons terminate on a class of interneurons only sparsely represented in the NAc and enhance associative learning by halting their tonic firing.

A new study suggests that synchronization in neuronal assemblies in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex supports rule selection.

Sandoval and colleagues discuss emerging evidence for a role of the CNS in the regulation of glucose homeostasis and show that this regulation involves several neural circuits and mechanisms that also control energy balance. Disruption of these overlapping pathways may link the metabolic impairments that are associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Mutations inSCN9A, which encodes the voltage-gated sodium channel Na_V1.7, can lead to severe neuropathic pain in humans. In this Review, Waxman and colleagues examine the mechanistic basis of Na_V1.7-linked pain and explore strategies for targeting this channel in pain therapy.

This study shows that stress-induced glucocorticoid signalling acts rapidly through various signalling pathways to promote memory consolidation.