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The abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein seems to have a central role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease and related disorders. Masliah and colleagues review current knowledge regarding the conformational, oligomerization and aggregation states of this protein and how they influence α-synuclein function in health and disease.
Neurotrophins are key regulators of neural circuit development and function. In this Review, Park and Poo examine the mechanisms underlying this regulation, with a specific focus on brain-derived neurotrophic factor — the most widely expressed and studied neurotrophin in the brain.
Sandoval and colleagues discuss emerging evidence for a role of the CNS in the regulation of glucose homeostasis and show that this regulation involves several neural circuits and mechanisms that also control energy balance. Disruption of these overlapping pathways may link the metabolic impairments that are associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Mutations inSCN9A, which encodes the voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.7, can lead to severe neuropathic pain in humans. In this Review, Waxman and colleagues examine the mechanistic basis of NaV1.7-linked pain and explore strategies for targeting this channel in pain therapy.
Despite their structural similarities and seemingly coordinated expression patterns, oligodendrocyte transcription factor 1 (OLIG1) and OLIG2 have largely non-overlapping roles in CNS development, brain diseases and neural repair. Here, the authors review the molecular factors that may account for the divergent functions of these proteins.
Down syndrome is the most common genetic form of intellectual disability. In this Review, Mara Dierssen examines the underlying mechanisms that give rise to brain dysfunction in Down syndrome and discusses therapeutic approaches that are under investigation to combat cognitive deficits associated with this condition.
Many animals, from worms to humans, show structural and functional asymmetries in their nervous systems. Concha, Bianco and Wilson describe two fundamental types of nervous system asymmetry and discuss how they emerge during development and influence behaviour.
Honeybees exhibit complex social, navigational and communication behaviours, controlled by a nervous system of around 1 million neurons. In this Review, Randolf Menzel discusses the utility of the honeybee as a model organism for the study of a wide range of important cognitive functions, including learning and memory.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is associated with changes in psychophysiological, neuroimaging, endocrinological and genetic measures. Animal studies have begun to elucidate its neurobiological mechanisms. Pitman and colleagues review these findings and discuss directions for research aimed at identifying risk factors, biomarkers and preventive and therapeutic interventions.
Aberrant matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity is a well-known contributor to synaptic dysfunction and neuronal loss in CNS injury and disease. In this Review, George W. Huntley discusses how MMPs also make an important contribution to synaptic functional and structural remodelling under nonpathophysiological conditions.
The roles of the perirhinal, parahippocampal and retrosplenial cortices in memory are not well understood. Reviewing studies in rodents, monkeys and humans, Ranganath and Ritchey suggest that these areas are core components of two cortical networks that support different types of memory and different aspects of cognition.
Gut microbiota are increasingly being recognized as influencing many aspects of human health. In this Review, Cryan and Dinan discuss rapidly emerging evidence that the gut microbiota also influence brain and behaviour and may have a role in anxiety, mood, cognition and pain.
The neuropilin and tolloid-like (NETO) proteins were recently identified as auxiliary subunits of kainate-type glutamate receptors, which mainly have a modulatory role in synaptic transmission. In this Review, Copits and Swanson discuss how NETO proteins influence the biophysical properties and the synaptic localization of these receptors.
Our understanding of neuronal circuit function has benefitted from methods that allow the activity of individual cells and populations of neurons to be monitored. Thomas Knöpfel reviews recent advances in the technology of genetically encoded indicators of neural activity, which are enabling circuits to be examined in an increasingly sophisticated manner.
Crone and Dahl review functional imaging studies of cognitive, affective and social processing in adolescents. They suggest that, together with the development of cognitive control networks, changes in social and affective processing in adolescence may both confer adaptive advantages and induce vulnerability to risky behaviours.
The semaphorins have integral roles in various processes that underlie the development of neural circuits. In this article, Jeroen Pasterkamp explores novel aspects of neuronal semaphorin receptor regulation before discussing recent research into the involvement of semaphorins in establishing complex neuronal connections.
In this Review, De Zeeuw and colleagues discuss the types of plasticity that occur at different synapses within the cerebellar cortex. They propose that the distributed and synergistic character of the various forms of plasticity promotes optimal motor learning.
The recent characterization of non-coding RNAs and their astonishingly diverse functions has led to a radical shift in our understanding of how the genome influences neuronal function. In this Review, Qureshi and Mehler describe the numerous classes of non-coding RNAs and how they might contribute to neuronal physiology and disease.
Bodily self-consciousness includes the conscious experience of identifying with the body, of where 'I' am in space, and of the perspective from where 'I' perceive the world. Olaf Blanke discusses the cortical mechanisms that underlie these experiences, highlighting data from neuroimaging, neurology and virtual reality.
The α2δ and β subunits of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) modulate the biophysical properties and trafficking of such channels. In this Review, Annette Dolphin examines the traditional roles of these auxillary subunits and their involvement in neuronal processes that are not linked to VGCC function.
