Hot off the presses! Aug 01 Nat Rev Neurosci

The Aug 01 issue of the Nat Rev Neurosci is now up on Pubget (About Nat Rev Neurosci): if you're at a subscribing institution, just click the link in the latest link at the home page. (Note you'll only be able to get all the PDFs in the issue if your institution subscribes to Pubget.)

Latest Articles Include:

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  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):427 (2011)
  
• Autism: The importance of getting the dose right | PDF (201 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):429 (2011)
  Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have a strong genetic component, but the genetic events that contribute to the aetiology of ASDs have mostly remained elusive. Three studies published in Neuron used data from the same, large cohort of families to show that 5–8% of simplex cases of ASD are due to rare or unique de novo copy number variations involving genes that are mainly associated with synaptogenesis, axon guidance and neuron motility.
• Psychiatric disorders: The stress of city life | PDF (158 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):430 (2011)
  City living is associated with a stressful social environment as well as an increased risk of mental illness; of note, the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders is higher in urban areas than in rural areas and the incidence of schizophrenia is greater in people born and brought up in cities. Longitudinal studies suggest that the effects of the urban environment on mental health disorders are causal, but it is unclear how urbanicity affects brain function.
• Dendrites | Neurological disorders | Glia | Sensory systems | PDF (90 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):430 (2011)
  Functional mapping of single spines in cortical neurons in vivo Chen, X.et al. Nature26 Jun 2011 (doi:10.1038/nature10193)
• Pain: Blocking painful interactions | PDF (179 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):431 (2011)
  The neuronal voltage gated calcium channel Cav2.2 is an established contributor to many persistent pain syndromes; however, existing calcium channel blockers are relatively non-specific and result in undesirable side effects. A paper published in Nature Medicine now reveals a new approach to target the function of Cav2.2 using a small synthetic peptide, alleviating inflammatory and neuropathic pain with minimal adverse effects.
• Sensory systems: A promising line of defence | PDF (143 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):431 (2011)
  Each year, mosquito-borne infectious diseases such as malaria and dengue fever cause millions of deaths worldwide. Olfactory cues that are emitted from breath, skin and sweat attract female blood-feeding mosquitoes to vertebrate hosts.
• Learning and memory: Flies know their way | PDF (192 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):432 (2011)
  By learning and associating visual cues with locations in space, insects such as ants and bees are able to walk or fly over long distances, find food and return to their nest. However, little is known about the underlying neural circuits that are responsible for such impressive navigation.
• Stem cells: Experiences direct fate | PDF (233 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):432 (2011)
  The hippocampus is one of the principal sites of neurogenesis in the adult mammalian brain, but the contribution of adult-born neurons to hippocampal structure and hence normal brain function is unclear, as is the influence of an animal's environment on the generation of such cells. Now, Dranovsky et al.
• Autism | Psychiatric disorders | Synaptic homeostasis | Behavioural neuroscience | PDF (97 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):433 (2011)
  Disrupted neural synchronization in toddlers with autism Dinstein, I.et al. Neuron 70, 218–1225 (2011)
• Circadian rhythms: Calcium sets the tempo | PDF (201 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):434 (2011)
  Daily variations in physiology and behaviour are driven by circadian pacemakers, led by the master pacemaker: the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Astrocytes in the SCN and elsewhere exhibit periodic daily fluctuations in gene expression and extracellular ATP accumulation, and have been implicated in coordinating the timing of circadian oscillations.
• Behavioural neuroscience: Fly fisticuffs | PDF (262 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):434 (2011)
  Social isolation causes behavioural and physiological changes in many animal species, from flies to humans. Collectively, such changes can lead to a phenomenon known as 'isolation syndrome', which is attenuated by social interaction, but the mechanisms underlying this attenuating effect are unknown.
• Psychiatric disorders: The dark side of depression | PDF (238 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):435 (2011)
  Depression is associated with disruptions in circadian rhythms, including altered sleep–wake patterns, and with immune system activation, as indicated by increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Monje et al.
• Fighting neurodegeneration with rapamycin: mechanistic insights
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):437 (2011)
  A growing number of studies point to rapamycin as a pharmacological compound that is able to provide neuroprotection in several experimental models of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3. In addition, rapamycin exerts strong anti-ageing effects in several species, including mammals. By inhibiting the activity of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), rapamycin influences a variety of essential cellular processes, such as cell growth and proliferation, protein synthesis and autophagy. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of rapamycin and discuss the therapeutic potential of this compound for neurodegenerative diseases.
• Gut feelings: the emerging biology of gut–brain communication
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):453 (2011)
  The concept that the gut and the brain are closely connected, and that this interaction plays an important part not only in gastrointestinal function but also in certain feeling states and in intuitive decision making, is deeply rooted in our language. Recent neurobiological insights into this gut–brain crosstalk have revealed a complex, bidirectional communication system that not only ensures the proper maintenance of gastrointestinal homeostasis and digestion but is likely to have multiple effects on affect, motivation and higher cognitive functions, including intuitive decision making. Moreover, disturbances of this system have been implicated in a wide range of disorders, including functional and inflammatory gastrointestinal disorders, obesity and eating disorders.
• Neural mechanisms of the cognitive model of depression
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):467 (2011)
  In the 40 years since Aaron Beck first proposed his cognitive model of depression, the elements of this model — biased attention, biased processing, biased thoughts and rumination, biased memory, and dysfunctional attitudes and schemas — have been consistently linked with the onset and maintenance of depression. Although numerous studies have examined the neural mechanisms that underlie the cognitive aspects of depression, their findings have not been integrated with Beck's cognitive model. In this Review, we identify the functional and structural neurobiological architecture of Beck's cognitive model of depression. Although the mechanisms underlying each element of the model differ, in general the negative cognitive biases in depression are facilitated by increased influence from subcortical emotion processing regions combined with attenuated top-down cognitive control.
• Differentiating the rapid actions of cocaine
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):479 (2011)
  The subjective effects of intravenous cocaine are felt almost immediately, and this immediacy plays an important part in the drug's rewarding impact. The primary rewarding effect of cocaine involves blockade of dopamine reuptake; however, the onset of this action is too late to account for the drug's initial effects. Recent studies suggest that cocaine-predictive cues — including peripheral interoceptive cues generated by cocaine itself — come to cause more direct and earlier reward signalling by activating excitatory inputs to the dopamine system. The conditioned activation of the dopamine system by cocaine-predictive cues offers a new target for potential addiction therapies.
• Linking lipids to Alzheimer's disease: cholesterol and beyond
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):484 (2011)
  On page 284 of this article, in the author addresses section, the e-mail address for Gilbert Di Paolo was incorrect. The correct e-mail address is: Email: gil.dipaolo@columbia.edu
• Using theoretical models to analyse neural development
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 12(8):484 (2011)
  On page 326 of this article, the acknowledgements section should have included the following information: The work was supported by the Self-Constructing Computing Systems project (216593) of the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union, and the NETFORM project (635.100.017) of the Computational Life Sciences programme of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.