News & Views in 2010

A new study finds that retinoid X receptor-γ promotes remyelination. Its function in oligodendrocyte progenitor cell maturation sheds light on nuclear receptor signaling in myelin development and paves the way toward therapeutic ligands for myelin repair.

New work in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease suggests that early-stage synaptic and memory impairments are caused by abnormal activation of a protease and a phosphatase, both of which could be targeted by inhibitory drugs.

Pruning of excess branches is essential for the maturation of developing neuronal circuits. Cross-talk between TGF-β signaling and two antagonistic orphan nuclear receptors governs the pruning of larval γ neurons in the Drosophila pupa.

A study in this issue reveals gene expression differences between neurons that do, and those that do not, show recovery-associated growth after stroke. The differentially expressed genes may provide potential therapeutic targets.

Two studies in this issue find that postsynaptic TRPV1 receptors affect AMPA receptor endocytosis to mediate anandamide-induced long-term depression in the hippocampus and nucleus accumbens.

Optogenetic stimulation of the locus coeruleus noradrenergic neurons can increase wakefulness, and high-frequency stimulation decreases noradrenaline levels and produces loss of muscle tone similar to that seen in cataplexy.

Tiny gaze shifts, or microsaccades, have little function in the eye movement control system and were once thought to be suppressed during fine spatial judgements. A new study suggests that they are important for finely guided visuomotor tasks and may actively contribute to the acquisition of spatial information in the same way as do larger saccades.

Using direct electrode recordings in patients undergoing preoperative surgery, a new study demonstrates that neural responses in the secondary auditory cortex mirror perception, showing categorical responses to continuous stimuli.

In the mouse olfactory bulb, cells with common input respond to odors with similar firing rates but with different timing. This suggests that such 'sister' cells make independent and unique connections with local interneurons.

The mature phenotype of CNS neurons is thought to be set at an early progenitor stage. A study now shows that expression of Fezf2 alone can turn striatal GABAergic precursors into glutamatergic corticofugal neurons.

Could similar changes in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) underlie both familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)? A new study finds that wild-type SOD1 from sporadic ALS tissues shows conformational changes similar to those seen in familial ALS and may be pathogenic as a result of the same mechanism.

Sensory deprivation such as deafness or blindness leads to specific functional and neural reorganization. A new study gives insight into why and how certain abilities change, while others remain unaltered after the loss of a sense.

We often look back and forth between options before deciding which one to choose, even if we have seen them both before. A new study suggests that people are biased to choose things they look at more, providing new insight into how the subjective values of options are constructed.

Enhancers of endocannabinoid signaling are potential analgesics, but they cause unacceptable psychiatric side effects. A new study reports an inhibitor of endocannabinoid breakdown that has analgesic activity and cannot enter the CNS.

Stress primes the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to subsequent stressors. A new study finds that acute stress modifies the properties of excitatory synapses impinging on parvocellular neurons of the paraventricular nucleus.

Variation in neuronal properties is often thought of as noise that interferes with information processing. A study now suggests that neuronal diversity may actually improve the coding capacity of neural ensembles.

A new study examines the contribution of DNA methylation to long-term behavioral and morphological changes produced by cocaine exposure or chronic social defeat stress.