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Volume 15 Issue 4, April 2014

'Brain folds' by Jennie Vallis, inspired by the Review on p217.

Research Highlight

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In Brief

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Research Highlight

  • 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.

    • Darran Yates
    Research Highlight
  • Adipose-derived interleukin-1β may mediate memory deficits in a mouse model of obesity.

    • Natasha Bray
    Research Highlight
  • Olfactory receptors signal through G protein βγ subunits to silence the expression of other olfactory receptors within a single olfactory sensory neuron.

    • Katherine Whalley
    Research Highlight
  • The period length of the circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus can be modulated by changes in DNA methylation induced by shortening the light–dark cycle.

    • Leonie Welberg
    Research Highlight
  • Connexin 30 regulates synaptic transmission by controlling the extension of astrocytic processes into the synaptic cleft.

    • Leonie Welberg
    Research Highlight
  • Opioids, acting mainly via δ-opioid receptors, may provide broad control of cutaneous mechanosensation, including touch.

    • Darran Yates
    Research Highlight
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Progress

  • Microglia are known to remove dead and dying neurons in the brain by phagocytosis. In this Progress article, Brown and Neher discuss recent evidence indicating that, in certain situations, microglia can instigate the death of viable neurons through phagocytosis, a process they term phagoptosis.

    • Guy C. Brown
    • Jonas J. Neher
    Progress
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Review Article

  • The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a homeostatic mechanism by which cells regulate levels of misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, Hetz and Mollereau provide an overview of the most recent findings addressing the relevance of ER stress in the nervous system.

    • Claudio Hetz
    • Bertrand Mollereau
    Review Article
  • Synaptic transmission occurs through two main modalities — namely, chemical and electrical transmission. In this Review, Pereda discusses the complex nature of electrical transmission and explores the mounting evidence that chemical and electrical synapses functionally interact both during development and in adulthood.

    • Alberto E. Pereda
    Review Article
  • 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.

    • György Buzsáki
    • Kenji Mizuseki
    Review Article
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Corrigendum

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