Reviews & Analysis

There is no known cure for spinal cord injury, although numerous promising cellular, molecular and rehabilitative strategies are being tested in animal models and clinical trials. Emerging findings suggest that a combination of therapies will lead to optimal functional outcome.

During development, precisely coordinated processes allow the formation of complex neural circuitry, but after CNS injury in adult mammals, functional circuits fail to reform. Recent work indicates that the recapitulation of developmental processes will be advantageous for successful functional recovery.

The human left and right hemispheres have distinct functions. Sun and Walsh discuss recent genetic, imaging and neurological studies in an attempt to unravel the molecular mechanisms of brain asymmetry and handedness and to understand their evolutionary underpinning.

Mammals keep track of relative position and orientation by integrating self-motion cues. McNaughton and colleagues discuss the neurobiological evidence for a synaptic matrix capable of performing this task, and propose a model for how this neuronal network might arise developmentally.

Glial inhibition — involving myelin inhibitors and astroglial scarring — represents one of the major barriers to regeneration after CNS injury. Knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of these processes could be crucial for developing therapies to promote axon regeneration and plasticity.

Many neuronal and network behaviours are surprisingly stable in the face of ongoing fluctuations in channels and receptors. The authors discuss issues relevant to the homeostatic regulation of synaptic and intrinsic currents necessary for stable neuronal and network activity.

Recent evidence suggests that the primate cerebellum contributes not only to motor control, but also to higher cognitive function. Ramnani suggests that the uniform cellular organization of the cerebellum enables established models for motor information processing to be extended to information processing of a far more abstract nature.

The appropriate targeting of voltage-gated ion channels is essential for the normal functioning of neurons. Lai and Jan review the mechanisms involved in the trafficking and retention of these channels, and discuss how their localization affects neuronal activity.

Itch and pain are distinct sensations processed by different but overlapping neural pathways. Ikomaet al. review recent evidence on the molecular mechanisms that underlie itch sensation, highlighting the complex interaction with pain processing, and discuss the therapeutic implications.

To understand and decode human consciousness is the holy grail in cognitive neuroscience. Haynes and Rees review emerging approaches to reconstruct mental states from non-invasive measurements of brain activity in humans, and discuss the practical and ethical implications.

Purinergic signalling is one of the most pervasive mechanisms of intercellular communication in the nervous system. Fields and Burnstock review the history and recent development of neuron–glia signalling and the important role of extracellular ATP in these interactions.

Misgeld and Kerschensteiner review howin vivooptical imaging techniques can be used to study the aetiology and therapeutics of neurological disorders. They discuss the challenges of integrating real-time observations with the molecular mechanisms and clinical manifestation of neurological diseases.

Recent work has shed light on how goal-directed actions are transformed into habitual responses. Yin and Knowlton outline a framework for our understanding of habit formation based on behavioural studies and the anatomy and physiology of the basal ganglia circuitry.

The brain can be rendered more tolerant to injury by prior exposure to certain non-injurious stimuli. Gidday describes the adaptations that occur at multiple levels in response to preconditioning stimuli, which lead to the establishment of an ischaemia-tolerant phenotype.

Male–female differences can be seen in brain anatomy, chemistry and function. Cahill reviews the latest findings on sex-related influences on the brain and discusses the importance of recognizing these differences, particularly in the context of disease states.

Williams syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder with a distinct behavioural and neuropsychological profile. Meyer-Lindenberget al. describe new research relating structural and functional differences to the underlying genetics of this disorder and their influence on cognition and behaviour.

Sensory and motor information in the brain is represented as activity in populations of neurons. But how does correlated noise affect population coding? These authors evaluate empirical and theoretical evidence on the interactions between correlations, population codes and neural computations.

Attention represents the crucial links between the brain and behaviour, and has attracted increasing interest from neuroscience and psychology alike. Raz and Buhle review the recent evidence for the existence of several anatomically and functionally distinct attentional networks.

The sympathetic nervous system is an important regulator of blood pressure. Guyenet describes the central control regions that influence the activity of sympathetic efferent neurons and their potential contribution to neurogenic hypertension.

Birdsong learning in avian species has strong similarities with speech acquisition in human infants. Recent research on the song system has shed fresh light on the neural substrate of song memory and sensorimotor learning in both male and female songbirds.