Primitive agriculture in a social amoeba pp393 - 396
Agriculture has been central to the success of humans and some social  insects. This paper shows that social amoebae can do it too. Some  isolates of Dictyostelium discoideum refrain from consuming all the  available bacteria at a site and instead they incorporate them into  their reproductive assemblages to seed a new bacterial crop at another  location.
Debra A. Brock, Tracy E. Douglas, David C. Queller and Joan E.  Strassmann
doi:10.1038/nature09668
Abstract: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v469/n7330/abs/nature09668.html
Article: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v469/n7330/full/nature09668.html

Preplay of future place cell sequences by hippocampal cellular  assemblies pp397 - 401
Place cells in the hippocampus track an animal's position as it  travels through space. Previous work contends that sequential place  cell maps are produced upon the initial navigation of a new area and  subsequently consolidated at rest or during sleep. Here, place-cell  firing patterns during rest or sleep are observed before a novel  spatial experience, a phenomenon termed 'preplay'. These sequences  were separate from the replay of pervious experience and suggest that  internal dynamics during rest may organize cell assemblies to be ready  for any novel encoding that may occur in the immediate future.
George Dragoi and Susumu Tonegawa
doi:10.1038/nature09633
Abstract: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v469/n7330/abs/nature09633.html
Article: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v469/n7330/full/nature09633.html

Development of asymmetric inhibition underlying direction selectivity  in the retina pp402 - 406
In the retina, highly selective wiring from inhibitory cells  contributes to determine the direction-selection characteristics of an  individual ganglion cell, yet how the asymmetric wiring inherent to  these connections is established was unknown. Here, two independent  studies using complementary techniques, including pharmacology,  electrophysiology and optogenetics, find that although inhibitory  inputs to both sides of the direction-selective cell are uniform early  in development, by the second postnatal week, inhibitory synapses on  the null side strengthen whereas those on the preferred side remain  constant. These plasticity changes occur independent of neural  activity, indicating that a specific developmental program is executed  to produce the direction-selective circuitry in the retina.
Wei Wei, Aaron M. Hamby, Kaili Zhou and Marla B. Feller
doi:10.1038/nature09600
Abstract: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v469/n7330/abs/nature09600.html
Article: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v469/n7330/full/nature09600.html

Spatially asymmetric reorganization of inhibition establishes a motion- sensitive circuit pp407 - 410
In the retina, highly selective wiring from inhibitory cells  contributes to determine the direction-selection characteristics of an  individual ganglion cell, yet how the asymmetric wiring inherent to  these connections is established was unknown. Here, two independent  studies using complementary techniques, including pharmacology,  electrophysiology and optogenetics, find that although inhibitory  inputs to both sides of the direction-selective cell are uniform early  in development, by the second postnatal week, inhibitory synapses on  the null side strengthen whereas those on the preferred side remain  constant. These plasticity changes occur independent of neural  activity, indicating that a specific developmental program is executed  to produce the direction-selective circuitry in the retina.
Keisuke Yonehara et al.
doi:10.1038/nature09711

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