Review Articles in 2014

Do social decisions and material decisions involve the same neural circuits and computations? In this article, Ruff and Fehr review the social decision-making literature and propose a theoretical framework that may help to address this question.

The ventral temporal cortex (VTC) rapidly and flexibly categorizes visual stimuli. In this Review, Grill-Spector and Weiner discuss how the structural features of the VTC support the computations that are necessary to achieve this categorization.

Malignant gliomas are notoriously difficult cancers to treat. The majority of current therapeutics target the traditional oncological traits of glioma cells. In this Review, Cuddapahet al. explore the unique biology of glioma cells and propose novel, brain-specific therapeutic targets.

Nervous systems recreate properties of the environment in activity patterns referred to as neural representations. In this Review, Moser and colleagues examine how grid cells in the medial entorhinal cortex contribute to the neural representation of external space.

Alterations in normal patterns of exposure to light disrupt circadian rhythms and sleep, and have a profound effect on health and mood. Hattar and colleagues describe the role of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in mediating the direct and indirect effects of light on mood and cognition.

Müller glia in the fish retina respond to injury by reprogramming to a stem-cell-like state that enables them to regenerate all of the major retinal cell types. Goldman reviews our current understanding of the mechanisms that regulate this regenerative response and considers how this knowledge might be applied to improve repair in the mammalian retina.

Obsessive–compulsive disorder has been scrutinized in many genetic, neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies. Pauls and colleagues provide an overview of our current understanding of the vulnerability factors, triggers and mechanisms underlying this devastating condition.

The auditory system is finely tuned to the unique statistical structure of natural sounds. In this Review, Theunissen and Elie discuss how specific neurons found at the higher levels of the auditory system respond selectively to perceptually salient sounds such as vocalizations used in communication.

Cortical spreading depressions and spreading depolarizations are associated with migraines and stroke, respectively. In this Review, Pietrobon and Moskowitz discuss recent data that provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the initiation and propagation of cortical spreading depressions and spreading depolarizations, and highlight the therapeutic potential of pharmacological targeting of these mechanisms.

The energy homeostasis system maintains stability of body fat stores over time but can be overridden by activation of feeding neurocircuits during emergent or stressful conditions. In this Review, Schwartz and colleagues highlight crosstalk between homeostatic and emergency feeding circuits in the regulation of energy balance.

Recent work has identified novel modifiers of axon degeneration following injury, known as Wallerian degeneration, and new examples of convergence between this mechanism and axon degeneration occurring in some neurodegenerative diseases. Coleman and colleagues outline our current understanding of the Wallerian degeneration pathway and consider its links to disease mechanisms.

JUN amino-terminal kinases (JNKs) regulate various processes in neurodevelopment and the adult brain. In this Review, Coffey examines the neuronal functions of JNKs and the therapeutic potential of targeting these kinases in various diseases of the nervous system.

Intracortical brain–machine interfaces with sensorimotor cortices are one approach by which a person can exert voluntary control over a prosthetic limb or paralysed muscles. In this Review, Bensmaia and Miller review recent achievements and remaining challenges in the development of intracortical brain–machine interfaces.

Microglia and macrophages have crucial roles in nervous system development, maintenance and disease. In this Review, Prinz and Priller describe recently discovered details of the embryonic origins and functions of microglia that distinguish them from the other macrophage populations that reside in the brain.

The size and the extent of gyrification of the cerebral cortex both influence brain function in mammals. In this Review, Sun and Hevner examine the mechanisms underlying cortical growth and folding, and discuss how dysfunction in these processes leads to cortical malformations.

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.

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.

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.

This Review examines recent studies showing that music modulates activity in core brain structures involved in the processing of emotion. The ability of music to change activity in these structures has implications for the development of music therapies in the treatment of various neurological and psychiatric disorders.

In neurons, gephyrin self-assembles into a protein scaffold that interacts with the cytoskeleton and anchors glycine and type A GABA receptors at postsynaptic sites. Tyagarajan and Fritschy review the formation and regulation of these scaffolds and how they in turn regulate inhibitory synapse formation and function.