Review Articles in 2007

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) was developed to treat movement disorders, but translational research has revealed new targets for this procedure. Aziz and colleagues elucidate the neurophysiological and translational principles of DBS and provide a model for its underlying mechanisms.

Tumours rely on blood vessels for survival and growth. Jain and colleagues review the mechanisms by which malignant brain tumours stimulate the formation of new blood vessels, and discuss the latest methods for monitoring and treating brain tumours with anti-VEGF agents.

Synaptic transmission is temporally and spatially tightly regulated to serve the needs of fast information flow in the nervous system. Lisman and colleagues bridge the synaptic cleft and review the sequence of pre- and postsynaptic events of quantal release.

Fibroblast growth factors have emerged as key regulators of almost all aspects of neural development, from induction to axonal pathfinding. Mason provides a comprehensive overview of these diverse roles and identifies the major themes from a wealth of experimental data.

Peelen and Downing review recent evidence for body-selective neural mechanisms in the visual cortex and discuss how body-selective brain regions might relate to action perception and the 'mirror' system, perception of the self and the 'body schema', and understanding the emotions of others.

Uncontrolled aggression and violence have enormous effects on human societies. Nelson and Trainor review and integrate the findings that have shown the complex interactions between genes, biological signals, neural circuits and the environment that influence the development and expression of aggressive behaviour.

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels contribute to mechanosensation in several systems, yet direct channel gating by mechanical stimuli has been difficult to prove. Christensen and Corey consider the criteria that aim to establish direct channel gating and apply these to potential mechanosensory TRP channels.

Sensory stimuli are interpreted in light of their spatial and temporal context, which can sometimes lead to visual illusions. Schwartz, Hsu and Dayan consider the possible functional benefits of contextual biases and discuss computational models that may explain why spatial and temporal context effects are so similar.

Playing a musical instrument involves the precise control of both timing and pitch. Zatorre and colleagues consider the requirements of music perception and production, and discuss the neural mechanisms that mediate interactions between the auditory and motor systems during music performance.

The amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide accumulates in extracellular plaques that are linked to Alzheimer's disease, and recent evidence indicates that Aβ can also accumulate intraneuronally. LaFerla and colleagues review the production and regulation of intracellular Aβ and discuss its potential contribution to neuronal pathology.

Enteric nervous system (ENS) development attracts the interest of developmental biologists and human geneticists alike. Heanue and Pachnis review ENS development, the molecular basis of Hirschprung's disease and the potential for stem cell therapies to treat this condition.

An increasing number of genes have been identified that control the specification and development of projection neuron subtypes in the neocortex. Macklis and colleagues review recent progress in understanding their function and discuss the implications for progenitor plasticity.

Lau and Zukin focus on the contribution of NMDARs to synaptic plasticity, reviewing the molecular mechanisms that underlie the regulation of subunit composition and receptor numbers in the postsynaptic density. They also discuss how these regulatory mechanisms are thought to contribute to addiction and neurological diseases.

Bean discusses how the diversity of ion channels expressed by mammalian central neurons underlies the generation of a variety of action potential shapes, frequencies and firing patterns that allows the nervous system to encode complex information.

The development of the mammalian cortex, with its unique layered and areal complexity, is at the centre of this article. Dehay and Kennedy review our knowledge of the interrelationship between cell-cycle regulation — specifically the G1 phase — and the proliferation and differentiation of cortical precursors.

The formation of complex neuronal circuitry requires precise spatial, temporal and cell-type-specific regulation of the responses of neurons to extracellular guidance and synaptogenic cues. Ghosh and colleagues discuss the key roles of transcription factors in regulating connectivity in the nervous system.

Once neurogenesis is complete, mature neurons do not divide. Herrup and Yang outline the evidence that, in order to achieve this, adult neurons must constantly hold their cell cycle in check, and discuss the pathological consequences of failure of cell cycle regulation.

Epigenetic regulation of gene expression occurs in the developing and the mature brain. Nestler and colleagues review recent evidence that epigenetic mechanisms, by causing stable changes in gene expression, are involved in learning and memory and in several psychiatric disorders.

Keene and Waddell explore evidence from cutting-edge genetic, imaging and physiological studies and review how the genetic model system of the fly has enabled us to identify the neurons involved and the circuitry of olfactory memory formation and consolidation.

Subtle differences between the images formed by each eye enable us to perceive stereoscopic depth. Parker describes examples of the features of stereoscopic vision that have led to revised hypotheses about the roles of different cortical areas in binocular depth perception.