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In the primate visual system, area V4 is located in the ventral pathway and is traditionally thought to be involved in processing color and form information. However, little is known about its functional role in processing motion information. Using intrinsic signal optical imaging over large fields of view in V1, V2, and V4, we mapped the direction of motion responses in anesthetized macaques. We...
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau, tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (ptau), and Aβ 42 are established biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and have been used as quantitative traits for genetic analyses. We performed the largest genome-wide association study for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau/ptau levels published to date (n = 1,269), identifying three genome-wide significant loci for CSF...
Changes in the correlated activity in the population code can increase neural discrimination by facilitating noise suppression. In this issue, Jeanne et al. (2013) observe learning-dependent changes in high-level avian auditory cortical neurons after a song discrimination task.
Control of protein synthesis is critical for synaptic plasticity and memory formation. However, the molecular mechanisms linking neuronal activity to activation of mRNA translation are not fully understood. Here, we report that the translational repressor poly(A)-binding protein (PABP)-interacting protein 2A (PAIP2A), an inhibitor of PABP, is rapidly proteolyzed by calpains in stimulated neurons and...
In the study of decision making, emphasis is placed on different forms of perceptual integration, while the influence of other factors, such as memory, is ignored. In addition, it is believed that the information underlying decision making is carried in the rate of the neuronal response, while its variability is considered unspecific. Here we studied the influence of recent experience on motor decision...
The concept of the CNS as an immune-privileged organ has led to a common misunderstanding that it is not an active immunological organ, guarded from its surroundings by the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Recent advances in this field clearly demonstrate that the CNS is a highly immunologically active organ, with complex immune responses mostly based on innate immune processes. Such responses implicate...
In this issue of Neuron, Cruchaga et al. (2013) identify genetic variability linked to altered levels of tau protein in cerebrospinal fluid. They show that the same genetic variants can also confer risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
Gradual changes in the sensory environment can lead to abrupt changes in brain computations and perception. However, mechanistic understanding of the mediating microcircuits is missing. By sliding through light levels from starlight to daylight, we identify retinal ganglion cell types in the mouse that abruptly and reversibly switch the weighting of center and surround interactions in their receptive...
While it is commonly assumed that decisions taken slowly result in superior outcomes, is it possible that optimal decision making does not always require sacrificing speed? For odor categorization decisions, it was previously shown that rats use <300 ms regardless of difficulty, but these findings could be interpreted as a tradeoff of accuracy for speed. Here, by systematically manipulating the...
Learning-dependent cortical encoding has been well described in single neurons. But behaviorally relevant sensory signals drive the coordinated activity of millions of cortical neurons; whether learning produces stimulus-specific changes in population codes is unknown. Because the pattern of firing rate correlations between neurons—an emergent property of neural populations—can significantly impact...
Adaptive behaviors increase the likelihood of survival and reproduction and improve the quality of life. However, it is often difficult to identify optimal behaviors in real life due to the complexity of the decision maker’s environment and social dynamics. As a result, although many different brain areas and circuits are involved in decision making, evolutionary and learning solutions adopted by...
The neuronal mechanisms underlying perceptual grouping of discrete, similarly oriented elements are not well understood. To investigate this, we measured neural population responses using voltage-sensitive dye imaging in V1 of monkeys trained on a contour-detection task. By mapping the contour and background elements onto V1, we could study their neural processing. Population response early in time...
Neurotransmission involves calcium-triggered fusion of docked synaptic vesicles at specialized presynaptic release sites. While many of the participating proteins have been identified, the molecular composition of these sites has not been characterized comprehensively. Here, we report a procedure to biochemically isolate fractions highly enriched in docked synaptic vesicles. The fraction is largely...
The mechanisms by which early spatiotemporal expression patterns of transcription factors such as Pax6 regulate cortical progenitors in a region-specific manner are poorly understood. Pax6 is expressed in a gradient across the developing cortex and is essential for normal corticogenesis. We found that constitutive or conditional loss of Pax6 increases cortical progenitor proliferation by amounts that...
To what extent dorsal horn interneurons contribute to the modality specific processing of pain and itch messages is not known. Here, we report that loxp/cre-mediated CNS deletion of TR4, a testicular orphan nuclear receptor, results in loss of many excitatory interneurons in the superficial dorsal horn but preservation of primary afferents and spinal projection neurons. The interneuron loss is associated...
Cognitive flexibility is fundamental to adaptive intelligent behavior. Prefrontal cortex has long been associated with flexible cognitive function, but the neurophysiological principles that enable prefrontal cells to adapt their response properties according to context-dependent rules remain poorly understood. Here, we use time-resolved population-level neural pattern analyses to explore how context...
In this issue of Neuron, Stokes et al. (2013) demonstrate that cortical neurons that adapt their properties with task demands form patterns reflecting the shifting mental states needed to solve the task. Adaptive neurons may be critical to hallmarks of cognition: behavioral complexity and flexibility.
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