The function of the CA3 region of the hippocampus can be explained in terms of a sequence predicting recoder. For the CA3 to act as a neural prediction device, each CA3 neuron must also act as a predictor. Thus, such neurons, as prediction devices, compute something that might approximate a conditional probability. In particular, we conjecture that each neuron forecasts its own firing. Here we ...

Neocortical pyramidal neurons (PNs) receive thousands of excitatory synaptic contacts on their basal dendrites. Some act as classical driver inputs while others are thought to modulate PN responses based on sensory or behavioral context, but the biophysical mechanisms that mediate classical-contextual interactions in these dendrites remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that if two excitato...

Neurons adapt to altered network activity through homeostatic changes in synaptic function. In this issue of Neuron, Goold and Nicoll report that chronic hyperactivation of individual CA1 pyramidal neurons drives cell-autonomous, compensatory synapse elimination via CaMKIV-dependent transcription. These findings suggest that neurons gauge their intrinsic activity to instruct homeostatic regulat...

The specificity of connections made by inhibitory interneurons in the neocortex is not well understood. In this issue of Neuron, Fino and Yuste (2011) use an enhanced version of two-photon glutamate uncaging, which preserves inhibitory synaptic transmission, to demonstrate that somatostatin-positive interneurons form densely convergent connections onto pyramidal cells in layer 2/3 of mouse fron...

In this issue of Neuron, Maroso et al. (2016) describe a novel link between cannabinoids and cognition. They show that CB1Rs bidirectionally modulate HCN-mediated Ih in a subset of CA1 pyramidal neurons to influence both short- and long-term circuit dynamics and alter spatial working memory in behaving mice.

In this issue of Neuron, Iurilli et al. (2012) demonstrate that auditory cortex activation directly engages local GABAergic circuits in V1 to induce sound-driven hyperpolarizations in layer 2/3 and layer 6 pyramidal neurons. Thereby, sounds can directly suppress V1 activity and visual driven behavior.

A hippocampal pyramidal neuron receives more than 10(4) excitatory glutamatergic synapses. Many of these synapses contain the molecular machinery for messenger RNA translation, suggesting that the protein complement (and thus function) of each synapse can be regulated on the basis of activity. Here, local postsynaptic protein synthesis, triggered by synaptic activation of metabotropic glutamate...

In a paper by Schmitz and colleagues in this issue of Neuron, new evidence for the existence of gap junctions between pyramidal cell axons uncovers a mechanism for fast neural communication in the hippocampus. Electrical coupling between axons may be crucial during fast oscillations, which have been proposed to mediate memory consolidation.

Determining how neurons integrate different streams of information is critical to understanding circuit computational functions. In this issue of Neuron, Harnett et al. (2013) show that voltage-gated K+ channels control multiple layers of dendritic integration in layer 5 pyramidal neurons.

The capacity for voluntary motor activity underpins all behavior. Although psychiatrists are acutely aware of behavior, we tend to think of its abstract motives more than its concrete mechanisms. This article reviews the basic brain mechanisms of voluntary motor activity, the most useful pyramidal tract or upper motor neuron signs, and their relevance to specific patient groups of interest to p...