December 2007

• Learning and memory: Day to remember

  Standfirst

  Zebrafish memory formation is better during the day than at night, due in part to regulation by melatonin.

  Craig Nicholson
  Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9 4 - 5
  doi:10.1038/nrn2301

• Neurodegenerative disorders: Normalizing Parkinsonian networks

  Standfirst

  In people with Parkinson's disease, gene therapy that improves motor function normalizes activity in brain regions and networks associated with locomotion.

  Leonie Welberg
  Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9 7
  doi:10.1038/nrn2306

• Association studies: The best of the rest

  Standfirst

  A new analysis technique for genome-wide association studies identifies disease-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms with common biological pathways.

  Tanita Casci
  Nature Reviews Genetics 8 907
  doi:10.1038/nrg2280

• Dendrites: Getting to the roots of branches

  Standfirst

  A cytoskeletal GTP-binding protein that is important for membrane compartmentalization in yeast is involved in dendritic branching and spine formation in the mammalian brain.

  Katherine Whalley
  Nature Reviews Neuroscience 8 910 - 911
  doi:10.1038/nrn2281

• Informatics: The ABCD of data management

  Standfirst

  A new platform allows diverse datasets to be integrated.

  Peter Kirkpatrick
  Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 6 956 - 957
  doi:10.1038/nrd2471

• Molecular neuroscience: Fat chance of survival

  Standfirst

  A low-abundance lipid is important for neuronal survival.

  Katherine Whalley
  Nature Reviews Neuroscience 8 908
  doi:10.1038/nrn2287