Informatics in neuroscience

The application of informatics to neuroscience goes far beyond 'traditional' bioinformatics modalities such as DNA sequences. In this review, we describe how informatics is being used to study the nervous system at multiple levels, spanning scales from molecules to behavior. The continuing development of standards for data exchange and interoperability, together with increasing awareness and acceptance of the importance of data sharing, are among the key efforts required to advance the field.     

Computational neuroscience in China

The ultimate goal of Computational Neuroscience(CNS) is to use and develop mathematical models and approaches to elucidate brain functions.CNS is a young and highly multidisciplinary field.It heavily interacts with experimental neuroscience and such other research areas as artificial intelligence,robotics,computer vision,information science and machine learning.This paper reviews the history of CNS in China,its current status and the prospects for its future development.Examples of CNS research in China are...     

Cognitive neuroscience

The last decade of the 20th century has seen the development of cognitive neuroscience as an effort to understand how the brain represents mental events. We review the areas of emotional and motor memory, vision, and higher mental processes as examples of this new understanding. Progress in all of these areas has been swift and impressive, but much needs to be done to reveal the mechanisms of cognition at the local circuit and molecular levels. This work will require new methods for controlling gene expression in higher animals and in studying the interactions between neurons at multiple levels.     

Cognitive neuroscience

A selection of World Wide Web sites relevant to papers published in this issue of Current Opinion in Neurobiology.     

Integrating recent advances in neuroscience into undergraduate neuroscience and physiology courses

Neuroscience has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past 20 years, including a substantial increase in the number of neuroscience departments, programs, and courses at the undergraduate level. To meet the need of new neuroscience courses, there has also been growth in the number of introductory neuroscience textbooks designed for undergraduates. However, textbooks typically trail current knowledge by five to ten years, especially in neuroscience where our understanding is increasing rapidly. Consequently, it is often important to supplement neuroscience and physiology textbooks with information about recent findings in neuroscience. To design supplementary educational material, it is essential first to identify the educational objectives of the program and the characteristics of the learners, which can differ dramatically between undergraduate and graduate or professional students. Four principles that may serve the selection and design of supplementary material for undergraduate neuroscience and physiology courses are that (1) material must be interesting to the undergraduates, (2) material should reinforce previously learned concepts, (3) students must be adequately prepared, and (4) the teacher and student must have sufficient appropriate resources.     

Optogenetic approaches in neuroscience

The recently introduced term 'optogenetics' describes a variety of techniques for expressing genes in nerve cells that render them responsive to light. This approach makes use of light-sensitive channel proteins that can be used to manipulate neuronal function. Using genetic strategies, these channel proteins can be expressed in neurons defined by a common genetic identity, which can then be selectively activated or silenced through illumination. In?this minireview, we shall describe the basic principles of such manipulative optogenetic approaches in neuroscience and summarize how these tools are being exploited to investigate neuronal circuits and behavior.     

Circuit neuroscience in zebrafish

A central goal of modern neuroscience is to obtain a mechanistic understanding of higher brain functions under healthy and diseased conditions. Addressing this challenge requires rigorous experimental and theoretical analysis of neuronal circuits. Recent advances in optogenetics, high-resolution in vivo imaging, and reconstructions of synaptic wiring diagrams have created new opportunities to achieve this goal. To fully harness these methods, model organisms should allow for a combination of genetic and neurophysiological approaches in vivo. Moreover, the brain should be small in terms of neuron numbers and physical size. A promising vertebrate organism is the zebrafish because it is small, it is transparent at larval stages and it offers a wide range of genetic tools and advantages for neurophysiological approaches. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of zebrafish for exhaustive measurements of neuronal activity patterns, for manipulations of defined cell types in vivo and for studies of causal relationships between circuit function and behavior. In this article, we summarize background information on the zebrafish as a model in modern systems neuroscience and discuss recent results.