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Nature Reviews Neuroscience
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Paying attention to reading direction
The recent Perspective article by Han and Northoff (Culture-sensitive neural substrates of human cognition: a transcultural neuroimaging approach. Nature Rev. Neurosci.9, 646?654 (2008)) on the neuroimaging evidence of transcultural differences in neural substrates of cognitive functions
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Reading direction and culture
As we discussed in our recent article (Culture-sensitive neural substrates of human cognition: a transcultural neuroimaging approach. Nature Rev. Neurosci.9, 646?654 (2008)), neural activities of the human brain, in association with specific cognitive functions, are modulated
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Human volition: towards a neuroscience of will
The capacity for voluntary action is seen as essential to human nature. Yet neuroscience and behaviourist psychology have traditionally dismissed the topic as unscientific, perhaps because the mechanisms that cause actions have long been unclear. However, new research has identified networks of brain areas, including
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Beyond polemics: science and ethics of ADHD
What is attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Why are so many children being diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication? Are stimulant drugs an effective and safe treatment strategy? This article explores the current state of scientific research into ADHD and the key social and ethical concerns
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A cortical network for semantics: (de)constructing the N400
Measuring event-related potentials (ERPs) has been fundamental to our understanding of how language is encoded in the brain. One particular ERP response, the N400 response, has been especially influential as an index of lexical and semantic processing. However, there remains a lack of consensus on
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Neuropeptides: Vasopressin: not just for males
In the past few years there have been enormous advances in our understanding of how neuropeptides regulate social behaviour in mammals. Many studies have focused on the role of arginine vasopressin (AVP) in pair bonding and paternal behaviour in males, and on that of oxytocin
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Mirror neurons: Towards a clearer image
Mirror neurons were identified in monkeys as neurons that fire both when the monkey performs a particular action and when it sees that action being performed. Do humans also have mirror neurons? Imaging experiments have shown that select areas in the human brain, including in
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Development: It's all in the timing
The signalling factor Sonic hedgehog (SHH) has been shown to specify the identity of motor and interneurons in the developing spinal cord in a concentration-dependent manner. Bai and colleagues now report that SHH does not act alone: WNT signalling lends a helping hand
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Neurogenesis: Seeking stem cells
Recent evidence has suggested that the rostral migratory stream (RMS) ? the path that is followed by neuroblasts migrating from the subventricular zone (SVZ) to the olfactory bulb (OB) ? may contain its own population of neural stem cells; however, the characteristics and fate of
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Ion channels: Small conductance, big effects
Emotionally salient memories are better remembered than neutral ones, probably because they activate the amygdala; however, the cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to memory formation in the amygdala are not well understood. Faber et al. now provide evidence that activation of ?-adrenoceptors in
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The Kavli prize winners
The first ever Kavli prizes, in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience, have been awarded this year. The million-dollar-prize winners in neuroscience are Pasko Rakic, Professor of Neurobiology and Neurology at Yale University School of Medicine, USA; Sten Grillner at the Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Sweden;
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Synapse formation: The missing link
Synapse formation requires a complex interchange of signals to efficiently juxtapose presynaptic release sites with specialized postsynaptic sites. Neuronal agrin, a factor released from motor neurons, induces rapid phosphorylation of MuSK, a transmembrane tyrosine kinase of skeletal muscle cells. Phosphorylated MuSK is important for
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