Hot off the presses! Nov 01 Nat Rev Neurosci

The Nov 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:

• 
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):727 (2010)
  
• Metabolism: Spotlight on aerobic glycolysis | PDF (234 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):729 (2010)
  In the brain, glucose acts through various metabolic pathways to produce energy — its most important function in the brain — but also acts through several other crucial regulatory (for example, apoptotic), protective (that is, against reactive oxygen species) and anabolic (for example, protein- and lipid-synthesizing) pathways. The most efficient pathway for energy generation involves oxidative phosphorylation, but glucose can also quickly and efficiently deliver energy directly to membrane processes, such as ion pumps.
• Psychiatric disorders: The risk of DISC — at the synapse | PDF (170 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):730 (2010)
  Disrupted in schizophrenia (DISC1) is an emerging risk factor for several psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, but its role in the aetiology of these disorders is not completely understood. As defective synaptic function has been linked to complex psychiatric conditions and as DISC1 is localized to the synapse, Brandon et al.
• Hormones | Neurotransmission | Development | Memory | PDF (159 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):730 (2010)
  Leptin therapy improves insulin-deficient type 1 diabetes by CNS-dependent mechanisms in mice Fujikawa, T.et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA20 Sep 2010 (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1008025107)
• Neurogenesis: Pathways for population balance | PDF (247 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):731 (2010)
  The subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricle is a neurogenic niche of the adult brain that maintains pools of indefinitely self-renewing neural stem cells (NSCs) and more restricted neural progenitor cells (NPCs). The balance of these pools is crucial to supply the brain with specific neural populations.
• Small RNAs: The enigma of Prozac resolved | PDF (168 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):731 (2010)
  Serotonin is a neurotransmitter associated with positive mood. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Prozac (developed by Eli Lilly; generic name fluoxetine), are used to treat depression by prolonging the action of released serotonin but often take weeks to improve symptoms.
• Neurotransmission: A new take on glutamate | PDF (210 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):732 (2010)
  In the brainstem and spinal cord, glutamate and glycine are the classic mediators of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission, respectively. However, previous studies have shown that glycine can also participate in excitatory transmission in the brain through allosteric modulation of the NMDAR (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor), which is activated by glutamate.
• Analgesia: Pain control at the periphery | PDF (174 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):732 (2010)
  Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and CB2 are expressed throughout the nervous system and are known to play a part in analgesia. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect in the periphery, including the identity of the endogenous ligand, are poorly understood.
• Development: Hedgehog does the two-step | PDF (222 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):732 (2010)
  In flies, olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in the antenna and maxillary palp project to glomeruli in the antennal lobe. The spatial arrangement of different classes of ORN cell bodies roughly corresponds with that of their projections in the antennal lobe.
• Psychiatric disorders | Neurodegenerative disease | Sensory systems | Neurodegenerative disease | PDF (159 KB)
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):733 (2010)
  Intermittent hypoxia promotes hippocampal neurogenesis and produces antidepressant-like effects in adult rats Zhu, X.- H.et al. J. Neurosci. 30, 12653–12663 (2010)
• The dual role of the extracellular matrix in synaptic plasticity and homeostasis
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):735 (2010)
  Recent studies have deepened our understanding of multiple mechanisms by which extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules regulate various aspects of synaptic plasticity and have strengthened a link between the ECM and learning and memory. New findings also support the view that the ECM is important for homeostatic processes, such as scaling of synaptic responses, metaplasticity and stabilization of synaptic connectivity. Activity-dependent modification of the ECM affects the formation of dendritic filopodia and the growth of dendritic spines. Thus, the ECM has a dual role as a promoter of structural and functional plasticity and as a degradable stabilizer of neural microcircuits. Both of these aspects are likely to be important for mental health.
• Twitter evolution: converging mechanisms in birdsong and human speech
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):747 (2010)
  Vocal imitation in human infants and in some orders of birds relies on auditory-guided motor learning during a sensitive period of development. It proceeds from 'babbling' (in humans) and 'subsong' (in birds) through distinct phases towards the full-fledged communication system. Language development and birdsong learning have parallels at the behavioural, neural and genetic levels. Different orders of birds have evolved networks of brain regions for song learning and production that have a surprisingly similar gross anatomy, with analogies to human cortical regions and basal ganglia. Comparisons between different songbird species and humans point towards both general and species-specific principles of vocal learning and have identified common neural and molecular substrates, including the forkhead box P2 (FOXP2) gene.
• Goal-directed and habitual control in the basal ganglia: implications for Parkinson's disease
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):760 (2010)
  Progressive loss of the ascending dopaminergic projection in the basal ganglia is a fundamental pathological feature of Parkinson's disease. Studies in animals and humans have identified spatially segregated functional territories in the basal ganglia for the control of goal-directed and habitual actions. In patients with Parkinson's disease the loss of dopamine is predominantly in the posterior putamen, a region of the basal ganglia associated with the control of habitual behaviour. These patients may therefore be forced into a progressive reliance on the goal-directed mode of action control that is mediated by comparatively preserved processing in the rostromedial striatum. Thus, many of their behavioural difficulties may reflect a loss of normal automatic control owing to distorting output signals from habitual control circuits, which impede the expression of goal-directed action.
• Emotion processing and the amygdala: from a 'low road' to 'many roads' of evaluating biological significance
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):773 (2010)
  A subcortical pathway through the superior colliculus and pulvinar to the amygdala is commonly assumed to mediate the non-conscious processing of affective visual stimuli. We review anatomical and physiological data that argue against the notion that such a pathway plays a prominent part in processing affective visual stimuli in humans. Instead, we propose that the primary role of the amygdala in visual processing, like that of the pulvinar, is to coordinate the function of cortical networks during evaluation of the biological significance of affective visual stimuli. Under this revised framework, the cortex has a more important role in emotion processing than is traditionally assumed.
• Neural stem cell systems: physiological players or in vitro entities?
  - Nat Rev Neurosci 11(11):782 (2010)
  In Table 1 of the above article, the source of ESCs should be "Blastocyst" and the source of iPSCs should be "Fetal and adult tissues".