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Showing papers in "Trends in Neurosciences in 2010"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Although the majority of evidence linking mTOR function to synaptic plasticity comes from studies utilizing rapamycin, studies in genetically modified mice also suggest that mTOR couples receptors to the translation machinery for establishing long-lasting synaptic changes that are the basis for higher order brain function, including long-term memory.

990 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The onset of long-term potentiation, spine-volume growth and an increase in receptor trafficking are coincident, enabling a 'functional readout' of spine structure that links the age, size, strength and lifetime of a synapse.

759 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Recent studies that show SAT is modulated in association and pre-motor areas rather than in sensory or primary motor areas and suggest that emphasis on response speed increases the baseline firing rate of cortical integrator neurons.

619 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Recent paradoxical data are discussed, which either support or oppose the hypothesis that drug- induced changes in dendritic spines drive addictive behavior, and areas where future investigation can provide a more detailed picture of drug-induced synaptic reorganization are defined.

597 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Temporal multiplexing could be a key strategy used by the brain to form an information-rich and stable representation of the environment.

488 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A "mesocircuit" model is proposed that predicts specific roles for different structural and dynamic changes that may occur gradually during recovery of consciousness following severe brain injuries.

457 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Emerging evidence suggests that sharp wave/ripple (SWR) events in the hippocampus could coordinate the reactivation of memory traces and direct their reinstatement in cortical circuits.

430 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The intercellular transfer of inclusions made of tau, alpha-synuclein, huntingtin and superoxide dismutase 1 has been demonstrated, revealing the existence of mechanisms reminiscent of those by which prions spread through the nervous system.

415 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work has revealed new intriguing connections between intrinsic and synaptic plasticity and is likely to have a significant impact on the understanding of the role of CREB in memory formation.

403 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Evidence that a reduction in neurogenesis underlies aging-related cognitive deficits and impairments in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease is considered, and knowledge of the underlying neurogenic signaling pathways could lead to novel therapeutic strategies for preserving brain function.

362 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Recent studies are discussed in relation to how the combinatorial use of tubulin modifications could generate a dynamic microtubule code, and how such a code might regulate basic as well as higher-order neuronal functions.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Evidence for defective transport of vesicles, mitochondria, degradative organelles, and signaling endosomes in models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease is discussed, including evidence for faulty transport of microtubule motors.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The concept that dysfunction of motor, limbic and associative cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical loops underlies these various disorders, which might now be amenable to DBS treatment, is discussed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Investigations of synaptic transmission and plasticity in mouse models of Huntington's disease (HD) demonstrate neuronal dysfunction long before the onset of classical disease indicators, and recent human studies reveal synaptic dysfunction decades before predicted clinical diagnosis in HD gene carriers.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Understanding how altered serotonin signaling affects neuronal morphology and plasticity, and ultimately animal physiology and pathophysiology, will be of great significance.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is proposed that a mechanism for generating diversity in the brain could broaden the spectrum of behavioral phenotypes that can originate from any single genome.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is indeed a systematic organization across PFC areas, with an important functional distinction between ventral and dorsal regions characterized as processing What versus How information, respectively, and this distinction has implications for the rostro-caudal and medial-lateral axes of organization.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Novel functions for the pannexin channels are likely to be discovered as current understanding of how they are regulated in physiological and pathological situations improves.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work has revealed that nonsynaptic processes, such as modulation of voltage-dependent membrane conductances, which are expressed as changes in neuronal excitability, might serve as mechanisms through which a neural circuit is set to a permissive state to facilitate synaptic modifications that are necessary for memory storage.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that a better understanding of the rest-stimulus interaction is likely to be crucial to the elucidation of the brain's contribution to mental states.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Recent findings from genome-wide association studies, which reveal the involvement of α-synuclein gene variants in sporadic PD, are brought together to provide a central link between the genetic findings and neurodegeneration observed in sporadicPD.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Recently published electron cryomicroscopy and X-ray crystallographic structures of the BK channel provided the first glimpse into the assembly of these domains, corroborating the close interactions among these domains during channel gating that have been suggested by functional studies.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The current understanding of the production and inhibition of itch is described and a model of itch processing within the CNS is proposed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: With the ongoing development of molecular, genetic and genomic tools for this species, prairie voles will likely maintain their current trajectory becoming an unprecedented model organism for basic and translational research focusing on the biology of the social brain.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Three major categories of neuroadaptations that influence the ability of glutamate inputs to activate medium spiny neurons in nucleus accumbens are considered: changes in synaptic AMPA receptor levels, changes in extracellular non-synaptic glutamate levels and changes in MSN intrinsic membrane excitability.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review highlights the pathophysiological roles of autophagy and its potential therapeutic implications in debilitating neurodegenerative disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The extracellular matrix contributes to functional compartmentalization in the brain by directing the clustering of neurotransmitter receptors in the postsynaptic compartment and presenting barriers to reduce the lateral diffusion of membrane proteins away from synapses.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Key findings about direct axonal damage processes, demyelination-related neuronal pathology and cell-body pathology, the major pathologic correlates that underlie brain atrophy in MS are reviewed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review focuses on age-associated changes in synaptic function, how these alterations might contribute to cognitive decline, and the extent to which altered hippocampal circuit properties are detrimental or reflect compensatory processes.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review highlights current advances in understanding how mRNA translation is repressed during transport and how local translation is activated by stimuli and addresses the function of local translation in the context of fragile X mental retardation.