bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reviews
Authors: Mullen Mark , Bergstrom George , McKenney Craig , Fizek Sonia
Published: March 2010

Captains of industry:
Pirates of the Burning Sea and gameplay investment Pirates of the Burning Sea, Flying Lab Software (20082009), Seattle, WA: Sony Platform Publishing.

History intertwined: the relationship between war and games

From Sun Tzu to Xbox:
War and Video Games, Ed Halter (2006), New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 400 pp., ISBN: 978-1-56025-681-6, Paperback, $16.95 (USD)

Level up or level out? Rethinking physical/virtual gamespace

Space Time Play: Computer Games, Architecture and Urbanism: The Next
Level, Friedrich von Borries, Steffen P. Walz, and Matthias Bttger, (eds) (2007), Basel, Switzerland: Birkhuser Verlag AG, 495 pp. ISBN 978-3-7643-8414-2, Softcover, $39.95 (USD)

Eating stuff found on the floor is good for you: 1 academia takes media non grata
under her wings

Playing with Videogames, James Newman (2008), First Edition, New York, NY.: Routledge, 224 pp., ISBN: 978-0-41538-523-7, Paperback, $35.95 (USD).
A Fable: or, how to recognize a narrative when you play one
Authors: Rovner Adam
Published: March 2010

This article marshals various critical models to demonstrate to both ludologists and narratologists that their respective methodologies are not antinomic. Through an analysis of the narrative properties of two video games in the action-adventure genre, Fable and Fable II,
this article exposes commonalities between traditional narrative modes and electronic multimodal narratives. Nonetheless, this article's consideration of possible worlds semantics destabilizes established tenets of mimetic theory and points to a significant distinction between traditional
narrative worlds and the virtual worlds of video games.
How do you sleep at night?: Writing public art
Authors: Petrova Denitsa
Published: March 2010

The language used to propose and commission works of public art is particularly subject to close technocratic scrutiny. The risk of underestimating risk presses greatly upon all parties involved in the production process, resulting in a literary approach that favours legalese and the
hollow rhetoric of socio-economic enhancement. Could some small changes in the key vocabulary used in this field help to produce a public art practice that is more willing to take risk and more capable of engaging with complex evaluations of artistic merit?
Reviews
Authors: Lockheart Julia
Published: March 2010

Design Integrations: Research and Collaboration, eds. Sharon Poggenpohl and Keiichi Sato (2009) Bristol: Intellect, (306 pp.) ISBN: 978-1-84150-240-3, Paperback
Animation in South Asia
Authors: Lent John A
Published: March 2010

Until recently, South Asian animation has lagged far behind that of other parts of Asia for lack of the technological, financial, and personnel infrastructure. This is still the situation in most of the region, with India an exception. What has happened in the development of Indian
animation since the mid- 1990s is phenomenal. By 2007, India had about 300 animation studios, and by 2010, the country's animation industry was expected to hover around US$ one billion. Increasingly, Bollywood has taken a keen interest in Indian animation, as have foreign studios, including
Disney. Based on interviews and a thorough review of secondary sources, this article traces the history of Indian filmic cartoons from 1915 to the present, discussing reasons for the lag in development previously and the tremendous surge in the 21st Century. The limited amount of
animation production in Nepal and Sri Lanka is also discussed.
A Certification Anomaly: The Self-Sacrificial Female Body in Bombay Cinema
Authors: Mehta Monika
Published: March 2010

Released in 1989 after a long court battle, Pati Parmeshwar/My Husband, My God is an anomaly in the history of Indian censorship because the debates in which it was enmeshed sought to define what kinds of cinematic representations constituted woman's servility. For decades, committees
constituted by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had consistently overlooked such representations and focused on censoring sexually explicit images such as closeups of women's bosoms, thighs and gyrating hips. However, in the case of Pati Parmeshwar, the CBFC banned a film
which employed a ubiquitous Hindi film trope, namely, the self-sacrificial wife. This article examines this anomalous act and its subsequent consequences, revealing competing visions of the Indian state. These visions underscore that the state is not a monolithic entity.
Caricaturizing Freedom: Islam, Offence, and The Danish Cartoon Controversy
Authors: Peetush Ashwani K
Published: March 2010

I argue in this paper that the publication of cartoons caricaturing Islam by Jyllands- Posten is problematic for a number of reasons. First, within liberal political theory itself, there are reasonable arguments that the depictions (at least two) perpetuate prejudice and verge on hate
speech. Second, such depictions weaken the social conditions that make possible a thriving democracy (i.e., participation) by marginalizing the already marginalized. Moreover, the caricatures perpetuate an Orientalist discourse about the nature of Islam and the non-West, and hinder global
intercultural dialogue and understanding between nations.
Book Reviews
Authors: Kabir Ananya Jahanara
Published: March 2010

Bhangra: Birmingham and Beyond, Rajinder Dudrah, with contributions from Boy Chana and Ammo Talwar, (2007) Birmingham City Council Library and Archive Service, (81 pp.), ISBN 0-7093-0256-8, 16.99
Between the Godfather and the Mafia: Situating Right-Wing Interventions in the Bombay Film Industry (19922002)
Authors: Bose Nandana
Published: March 2010

Drawing primarily on trade press discourse, this article interrogates right-wing interventions in the Bombay film industry in the 1990s. It argues that there were unprecedented levels of investment by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena, both material and ideological, in
Hindi cinema. It examines the changing dynamics between the State and Hindi cinema leading to industry status in 1998 and its implications: the influential role of Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray as mediator of industrial disputes; the nexus between stars and politicians; underworld film financing;
the use of the cinematic apparatus and exhibition sites for right-wing propaganda and electoral campaigning, and controversies over growing instances of partisan tax exemptions and national film awards. What is also suggested is that there were industrial shifts towards corporatisation in
order to reinvent the Bombay film industry as a global player for diasporic consumption and investment, assisted by BJP-led State fiscal policies, incentives and conventions.
Nautanki and Hindi Cinema: Changing Representations
Authors: Bhatia Nandi
Published: March 2010

This essay examines the changing representations of Nautanki in Hindi cinema through an analysis ofTeesri Kasam(1966) andMain Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon(2003), and addresses the role and function of such representations in engaging intersecting questions of theatre, gender, modernity and nationalism. Produced at a distance of more than three decades, the films focus on Nautanki dancer-actresses, give them space to express their voices, and expose the difficulties and power-relations involved in negotiating their public and private lives. Yet the cinematic frames and aesthetics of these films, derived in part from Nautanki, function as technologies that both mark and participate in the shifting ideological perspectives on the place of theatre and its actresses in the cultural life of the nation, and in relation to Bollywood. WhileTeesri Kasamfunctions as a film that intends to produce for its audience a political consciousness about folk theatre at a time when the post-independence nation sought an autonomous identity through the revival and recuperation of its traditional cultural forms,Main Madhuri Dixit, produced in the post-1990s milieu of a globally growing Bollywood industry, suggests that cinema is the appropriate cultural medium for fulfilling the Nautanki actress's desire for greater social success and acknowledgement across national and transnational sites.
Intimate terrors: changing representations of structural violence against women in Malayali cinema
Authors: Menon Rajiv Kannan
Published: March 2010

This article examines the opposing attitudes towards structural violence against women in Ramu Kariat's Chemmeen (1965) and Fazil's Manichitrathazhu (1993). While both films are considered mainstream releases and have an iconic status in the history of Malayali cinema,
the films convey starkly different attitudes towards the enforcement of gender ideologies. While Chemmeen critiques the employment of restrictive constructions of womanhood, Manichitrathazhu nostalgically celebrates patriarchy and depicts unrestricted women as a source of terror.
While this trend could be attributed to a decline of the status of women in the state, I argue that this dramatic difference in attitude is largely the product of the changing nature of Kerala's film industry, which has developed distinct categories of mainstream and parallel cinema since
the release of Chemmeen. By bringing established discussions of gender in Kerala in conversation with studies of the state's film industry, this inquiry seeks to examine the evolutionary relationship between the popular film industry in Kerala and attitudes concerning gender identity.
Error Effects in Anterior Cingulate Cortex Reverse when Error Likelihood Is High
Authors: Jessup Ryan K. , Busemeyer Jerome R. , Brown Joshua W.
Published: March 2010

Strong error-related activity in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been shown repeatedly with neuroimaging and event-related potential studies for the last several decades. Multiple theories have been proposed to account for error effects, including comparator models and conflict detection models, but the neural mechanisms that generate error signals remain in dispute. Typical studies use relatively low error rates, confounding the expectedness and the desirability of an error. Here we show with a gambling task and functional magnetic resonance imaging that when losses are more frequent than wins, the mPFC error effect disappears, and moreover, exhibits the opposite pattern by responding more strongly to unexpected wins than losses. These findings provide perspective on recent ERP studies and suggest that mPFC error effects result from a comparison between actual and expected outcomes.
Nurture versus Nature: Long-Term Impact of Forced Right-Handedness on Structure of Pericentral Cortex and Basal Ganglia
Authors: Klöppel Stefan , Mangin Jean-Francois , Vongerichten Anna , Frackowiak Richard S. J. , Siebner Hartwig R.
Published: March 2010

Does a conflict between inborn motor preferences and educational standards during childhood impact the structure of the adult human brain? To examine this issue, we acquired high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance scans of the whole brain in adult “converted” left-handers who had been forced as children to become dextral writers. Analysis of sulcal surfaces revealed that consistent right- and left-handers showed an interhemispheric asymmetry in the surface area of the central sulcus with a greater surface contralateral to the dominant hand. This pattern was reversed in the converted group who showed a larger surface of the central sulcus in their left, nondominant hemisphere, indicating plasticity of the primary sensorimotor cortex caused by forced use of the nondominant hand. Voxel-based morphometry showed a reduction of gray matter volume in the middle part of the left putamen in converted left-handers relative to both consistently handed groups. A similar trend was found in the right putamen. Converted subjects with at least one left-handed first-degree relative showed a correlation between the acquired right-hand advantage for writing and the structural changes in putamen and pericentral cortex. Our results show that a specific environmental challenge during childhood can shape the macroscopic structure of the human basal ganglia. The smaller than normal putaminal volume differs markedly from previously reported enlargement of cortical gray matter associated with skill acquisition. This indicates a differential response of the basal ganglia to early environmental challenges, possibly related to processes of pruning during motor development.
Striatal Prediction Error Modulates Cortical Coupling
Authors: den Ouden Hanneke E. M. , Daunizeau Jean , Roiser Jonathan , Friston Karl J. , Stephan Klaas E.
Published: March 2010

Both perceptual inference and motor responses are shaped by learned probabilities. For example, stimulus-induced responses in sensory cortices and preparatory activity in premotor cortex reflect how (un)expected a stimulus is. This is in accordance with predictive coding accounts of brain function, which posit a fundamental role of prediction errors for learning and adaptive behavior. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and recent advances in computational modeling to investigate how (failures of) learned predictions about visual stimuli influence subsequent motor responses. Healthy volunteers discriminated visual stimuli that were differentially predicted by auditory cues. Critically, the predictive strengths of cues varied over time, requiring subjects to continuously update estimates of stimulus probabilities. This online inference, modeled using a hierarchical Bayesian learner, was reflected behaviorally: speed and accuracy of motor responses increased significantly with predictability of the stimuli.

We used nonlinear dynamic causal modeling to demonstrate that striatal prediction errors are used to tune functional coupling in cortical networks during learning. Specifically, the degree of striatal trial-by-trial prediction error activity controls the efficacy of visuomotor connections and thus the influence of surprising stimuli on premotor activity. This finding substantially advances our understanding of striatal function and provides direct empirical evidence for formal learning theories that posit a central role for prediction error-dependent plasticity.
Training of Working Memory Impacts Structural Connectivity
Authors: Takeuchi Hikaru , Sekiguchi Atsushi , Taki Yasuyuki , Yokoyama Satoru , Yomogida Yukihito , Komuro Nozomi , Yamanouchi Tohru , Suzuki Shozo , Kawashima Ryuta
Published: March 2010

Working memory is the limited capacity storage system involved in the maintenance and manipulation of information over short periods of time. Individual capacity of working memory is associated with the integrity of white matter in the frontoparietal regions. It is unknown to what extent the integrity of white matter underlying the working memory system is plastic. Using voxel-based analysis (VBA) of fractional anisotropy (FA) measures of fiber tracts, we investigated the effect of working memory training on structural connectivity in an interventional study. The amount of working memory training correlated with increased FA in the white matter regions adjacent to the intraparietal sulcus and the anterior part of the body of the corpus callosum after training. These results showed training-induced plasticity in regions that are thought to be critical in working memory. As changes in myelination lead to FA changes in diffusion tensor imaging, a possible mechanism for the observed FA change is increased myelination after training. Observed structural changes may underlie previously reported improvement of working memory capacity, improvement of other cognitive functions, and altered functional activity following working memory training.
μ-Opioid Receptor Endocytosis Prevents Adaptations in Ventral Tegmental Area GABA Transmission Induced during Naloxone-Precipitated Morphine Withdrawal
Authors: Madhavan Anuradha , He Li , Stuber Garret D. , Bonci Antonello , Whistler Jennifer L.
Published: March 2010

Chronic morphine drives adaptations in synaptic transmission thought to underlie opiate dependence. Here we examine the role of μ-opioid receptor (MOR) trafficking in one of these adaptations, specifically, changes in GABA transmission in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). To address this question, we used a knock-in mouse, RMOR (for recycling MOR), in which genetic change in the MOR promotes morphine-induced receptor desensitization and endocytosis in GABA interneurons of the VTA. In wild-type mice (postnatal days 23–28) chronic morphine (10 mg/kg, s.c., twice daily for 5 d), induced a cAMP-dependent increase in the probability of GABA release onto VTA dopamine neurons. The increased GABA release frequency correlated with physical dependence on morphine measured by counting somatic signs of morphine withdrawal, such as, tremors, jumps, rears, wet-dog shakes, and grooming behavior precipitated by subcutaneous administration of naloxone (NLX) (2 mg/kg). This adaptation in GABA release was prevented in RMOR mice given the same morphine treatment, implicating MOR trafficking in this morphine-induced change in plasticity. Importantly, treatment with the cAMP activity inhibitor rp-cAMPS [(R)-adenosine, cyclic 3′,5′-(hydrogenphosphorothioate) triethylammonium] (50 ng/0.5 μl), directly to the VTA, attenuated somatic withdrawal signs to systemic morphine produced by intra-VTA NLX (500 ng/0.5 μl), directly tying enhanced cAMP-driven GABA release to naloxone-precipitated morphine withdrawal in the VTA.
Phosducin Regulates Transmission at thePhotoreceptor-to-ON-Bipolar Cell Synapse
Authors: Herrmann Rolf , Lobanova Ekaterina S. , Hammond Timothy , Kessler Christopher , Burns Marie E. , Frishman Laura J. , Arshavsky Vadim Y.
Published: March 2010

The rate of synaptic transmission between photoreceptors and bipolar cells has been long known to depend on conditions of ambient illumination. However, the molecular mechanisms that mediate and regulate transmission at this ribbon synapse are poorly understood. We conducted electroretinographic recordings from dark- and light-adapted mice lacking the abundant photoreceptor-specific protein phosducin and found that the ON-bipolar cell responses in these animals have a reduced light sensitivity in the dark-adapted state. Additional desensitization of their responses, normally caused by steady background illumination, was also diminished compared with wild-type animals. This effect was observed in both rod- and cone-driven pathways, with the latter affected to a larger degree. The underlying mechanism is likely to be photoreceptor specific because phosducin is not expressed in other retina neurons and transgenic expression of phosducin in rods of phosducin knock-out mice rescued the rod-specific phenotype. The underlying mechanism functions downstream from the phototransduction cascade, as evident from the sensitivity of phototransduction in phosducin knock-out rods being affected to a much lesser degree than b-wave responses. These data indicate that a major regulatory component responsible for setting the sensitivity of signal transmission between photoreceptors and ON-bipolar cells is confined to photoreceptors and that phosducin participates in the underlying molecular mechanism.
Neocortical Activation of the Hippocampus during Sleep in Infant Rats
Authors: Mohns Ethan J. , Blumberg Mark S.
Published: March 2010

We recently reported that the majority of hippocampal neurons in newborn rats increase their activity in association with myoclonic twitches, which are indicative of active sleep. Because spindle bursts in the developing somatosensory neocortex occur in response to sensory feedback from myoclonic twitching, we hypothesized that the state-dependent activity of the newborn hippocampus arises from sensory feedback that sequentially activates the neocortex and then hippocampus, constituting an early form of neocortical–hippocampal communication. Here, in unanesthetized 5- to 6-d-old rats, we test this hypothesis by recording simultaneously from forelimb and barrel regions of somatosensory neocortex and dorsal hippocampus during periods of spontaneous sleep and wakefulness and in response to peripheral stimulation. Myoclonic twitches were consistently followed by neocortical spindle bursts, which were in turn consistently followed by bursts of hippocampal unit activity; moreover, spindle burst power was positively correlated with hippocampal unit activity. In addition, exogenous stimulation consistently evoked this neocortical-to-hippocampal sequence of activation. Finally, parahippocampal lesions that disrupted functional connections between the neocortex and hippocampus effectively disrupted the transmission of both spontaneous and evoked neocortical activity to the hippocampus. These findings suggest that sleep-related motor activity contributes to the development of neocortical and hippocampal circuits and provides a foundation on which coordinated activity between these two forebrain structures develops.
Internal and External Features of the Face Are Represented Holistically in Face-Selective Regions of Visual Cortex
Authors: Andrews Timothy J. , Davies-Thompson Jodie , Kingstone Alan , Young Andrew W.
Published: March 2010

The perception and recognition of familiar faces depends critically on an analysis of the internal features of the face (eyes, nose, mouth). We therefore contrasted how information about the internal and external (hair, chin, face outline) features of familiar and unfamiliar faces is represented in face-selective regions. There was a significant response to both the internal and external features of the face when presented in isolation. However, the response to the internal features was greater than the response to the external features. There was significant adaptation to repeated images of either the internal or external features of the face in the fusiform face area (FFA). However, the magnitude of this adaptation was greater for the internal features of familiar faces. Next, we asked whether the internal features of the face are represented independently from the external features. There was a release from adaptation in the FFA to composite images in which the internal features were varied but the external features were unchanged, or when the internal features were unchanged but the external features varied, demonstrating a holistic response. Finally, we asked whether the holistic response to faces could be influenced by the context in which the face was presented. We found that adaptation was still evident to composite images in which the face was unchanged but body features were varied. Together, these findings show that although internal features are important in the neural representation of familiar faces, the face's internal and external features are represented holistically in face-selective regions of the human brain.
Neurons in Anterior Cingulate Cortex Multiplex Information about Reward and Action
Authors: Hayden Benjamin Y. , Platt Michael L.
Published: March 2010

The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) is thought to play a critical role in forming associations between rewards and actions. Currently available physiological data, however, remain inconclusive regarding the question of whether dACC neurons carry information linking particular actions to reward or, instead, encode abstract reward information independent of specific actions. Here we show that firing rates of a majority of dACC neurons in a population studied in an eight-option variably rewarded choice task were sensitive to both saccade direction and reward value. Furthermore, the influences of reward and saccade direction on neuronal activity were approximately equal in magnitude over the range of rewards tested and were statistically independent. Our results indicate that dACC neurons multiplex information about both reward and action, endorsing the idea that this area links motivational outcomes to behavior and undermining the notion that its neurons solely contribute to reward processing in the abstract.
Predictive Coding as a Model of Response Properties in Cortical Area V1
Authors: Spratling Michael W.
Published: March 2010

A simple model is shown to account for a large range of V1 classical, and nonclassical, receptive field properties including orientation tuning, spatial and temporal frequency tuning, cross-orientation suppression, surround suppression, and facilitation and inhibition by flankers and textured surrounds. The model is an implementation of the predictive coding theory of cortical function and thus provides a single computational explanation for a diverse range of neurophysiological findings. Furthermore, since predictive coding can be related to the biased competition theory and is a specific example of more general theories of hierarchical perceptual inference, the current results relate V1 response properties to a wider, more unified, framework for understanding cortical function.
Dynamics of Synaptic Transmission between Fast-Spiking Interneurons and Striatal Projection Neurons of the Direct and Indirect Pathways
Authors: Planert Henrike , Szydlowski Susanne N. , Hjorth J. J. Johannes , Grillner Sten , Silberberg Gilad
Published: March 2010

The intrastriatal microcircuit is a predominantly inhibitory GABAergic network comprised of a majority of projection neurons [medium spiny neurons (MSNs)] and a minority of interneurons. The connectivity within this microcircuit is divided into two main categories: lateral connectivity between MSNs, and inhibition mediated by interneurons, in particular fast spiking (FS) cells. To understand the operation of striatum, it is essential to have a good description of the dynamic properties of these respective pathways and how they affect different types of striatal projection neurons.

We recorded from neuronal pairs, triplets, and quadruplets in slices of rat and mouse striatum and analyzed the dynamics of synaptic transmission between MSNs and FS cells. Retrograde fluorescent labeling and transgenic EGFP (enhanced green fluorescent protein) mice were used to distinguish between MSNs of the direct (striatonigral) and indirect (striatopallidal) pathways. Presynaptic neurons were stimulated with trains of action potentials, and activity-dependent depression and facilitation of synaptic efficacy was recorded from postsynaptic neurons. We found that FS cells provide a strong and homogeneously depressing inhibition of both striatonigral and striatopallidal MSN types. Moreover, individual FS cells are connected to MSNs of both types. In contrast, both MSN types receive sparse and variable, depressing and facilitating synaptic transmission from nearby MSNs. The connection probability was higher for pairs with presynaptic striatopallidal MSNs; however, the variability in synaptic dynamics did not depend on the types of interconnected MSNs. The differences between the two inhibitory pathways were clear in both species and at different developmental stages. Our findings show that the two intrastriatal inhibitory pathways have fundamentally different dynamic properties that are, however, similarly applied to both direct and indirect striatal projections.
Critical Period for Inhibitory Plasticity in RodentBinocular V1
Authors: Maffei Arianna , Lambo Mary E. , Turrigiano Gina G.
Published: March 2010

Postnatal cortical circuit development is characterized by windows of heightened plasticity that contribute to the acquisition of mature connectivity and function. What drives the transition between different critical plasticity windows is not known. Here we show that a switch in sign of inhibitory plasticity correlates with the reported transition between the precritical period (pre-CP) and the critical period (CP) for ocular dominance plasticity (ODP). In layer 4 of binocular visual cortex (V1b), depression of inhibitory synapses onto pyramidal neurons is induced when rats are monocularly deprived for 2 d at the end of the third postnatal week (pre-CP), whereas potentiation is induced if the monocular deprivation is started in the fourth postnatal week (CP). The magnitude of potentiation increases with deprivations started close to the peak of the CP for ODP. The direction of inhibitory plasticity depends on the differential manipulation of circuits activated by the two eyes. During development, these two forms of plasticity shift the balance between excitation and inhibition of the circuit in opposite directions, whereas the excitatory synaptic drive remains unaffected. Inhibitory plasticity is thus fundamental in modulating cortical circuit refinement and might be one of the mechanisms promoting ocular dominance shifts.
A Role for RhoB in Synaptic Plasticity and the Regulation of Neuronal Morphology
Authors: McNair Kara , Spike Rosemary , Guilding Clare , Prendergast George C. , Stone Trevor W. , Cobb Stuart R. , Morris Brian J.
Published: March 2010

Actin-rich dendritic spines are the locus of excitatory synaptic transmission and plastic events such as long-term potentiation (LTP). Morphological plasticity of spines accompanies activity-dependent changes in synaptic strength. Several Rho GTPase family members are implicated in regulating neuronal and, in particular, spine structure via actin and the actin-binding protein cofilin. However, despite expression in hippocampus and cortex, its ability to modulate actin-regulatory proteins, and its induction during aging, RhoB has been relatively neglected. We previously demonstrated that LTP is associated with specific RhoB activation. Here, we further examined its role in synaptic function using mice with genetic deletion of the RhoB GTPase (RhoB−/−mice). Normal basal synaptic transmission accompanied reduced paired-pulse facilitation and post-tetanic potentiation in the hippocampus of RhoB−/−mice. Early phase LTP was significantly reduced in RhoB−/−animals, whereas the later phase was unaffected. In wild-type mice (RhoB+/+), Western blot analysis of potentiated hippocampus showed significant increases in phosphorylated cofilin relative to nonpotentiated slices, which were dramatically impaired in RhoB−/−slices. There was also a deficit in phosphorylated Lim kinase levels in the hippocampus from RhoB−/−mice. Morphological analysis suggested that lack of RhoB resulted in increased dendritic branching and decreased spine number. Furthermore, an increase in the proportion of stubby relative to thin spines was observed. Moreover, spines demonstrated increased length along with increased head and neck widths. These data implicate RhoB in cofilin regulation and dendritic and spine morphology, highlighting its importance in synaptic plasticity at a structural and functional level.
Control of Rhodopsin's Active Lifetime by Arrestin-1 Expression in Mammalian Rods
Authors: Gross Owen P. , Burns Marie E.
Published: March 2010

In rod photoreceptors, deactivation of the light-activated G-protein-coupled receptor rhodopsin (R*) is initiated by phosphorylation and completed through subsequent binding of visual arrestin (Arr1). Thein vivokinetics of these individual interactions have proven difficult to determine with precision since R* lifetime is much shorter than the lifetimes of downstream G-protein and effector molecules. Here, we have used a transgenic mouse line with accelerated downstream deactivation kinetics to reveal the contribution of Arr1 binding to the overall time course of rhodopsin deactivation. Photoresponses revealed that the lifetime of R* is significantly increased in rods that express half of the normal amount of Arr1, in a manner consistent with a twofold decrease in the rate of Arr1 binding across a wide range of flash strengths. A basic model of photoresponse deactivation consistent with established photoreceptor biochemistry shows that R* phosphorylation and Arr1 binding occur with a time constant of ∼40 ms in wild-type mouse rods, much faster than previous estimates.
Calcium and Cyclic AMP Promote Axonal Regeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans and Require DLK-1 Kinase
Authors: Ghosh-Roy Anindya , Wu Zilu , Goncharov Alexandr , Jin Yishi , Chisholm Andrew D.
Published: March 2010

Axons of adultCaenorhabditis elegansneurons undergo robust regenerative growth after laser axotomy. Here we show that axotomy of PLM sensory neurons triggers axonal calcium waves whose amplitude correlates with the extent of regeneration. Genetic elevation of Ca2+or cAMP accelerates formation of a growth cone from the injured axon. Elevated Ca2+or cAMP also facilitates apparent fusion of axonal fragments and promotes branching to postsynaptic targets. Conversely, inhibition of voltage-gated calcium channels or calcium release from internal stores reduces regenerative growth. We identify the fusogen EFF-1 as critical for axon fragment fusion and the basic leucine zipper domain (bZip) protein CREB (cAMP response element-binding protein) as a key effector for branching. The effects of elevated Ca2+or cAMP on regrowth require the MAPKKK (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase) DLK-1. Increased cAMP signaling can partly bypass the requirement for the bZip protein CEBP-1, a downstream factor of the DLK-1 kinase cascade. These findings reveal the relationship between Ca2+/cAMP signaling and the DLK-1 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) cascade in regeneration.
Striatal Muscarinic Receptors Promote Activity Dependence of Dopamine Transmission via Distinct Receptor Subtypes on Cholinergic Interneurons in Ventral versus Dorsal Striatum
Authors: Threlfell Sarah , Clements Michael A. , Khodai Tansi , Pienaar Ilse S. , Exley Richard , Wess Jürgen , Cragg Stephanie J.
Published: March 2010

Striatal dopamine (DA) and acetylcholine (ACh) regulate motivated behaviors and striatal plasticity. Interactions between these neurotransmitters may be important, through synchronous changes in parent neuron activities and reciprocal presynaptic regulation of release. How DA signaling is regulated by striatal muscarinic receptors (mAChRs) is unresolved; contradictory reports indicate suppression or facilitation, implicating several mAChR subtypes on various neurons. We investigated whether mAChR regulation of DA signaling varies with presynaptic activity and identified the mAChRs responsible in sensorimotor- versus limbic-associated striatum. We detected DA in real time at carbon fiber microelectrodes in mouse striatal slices.

Broad-spectrum mAChR agonists [oxotremorine-M, APET (arecaidine propargyl ester tosylate)] decreased DA release evoked by low-frequency stimuli (1–10 Hz, four pulses) but increased the sensitivity of DA release to presynaptic activity, even enhancing release by high frequencies (e.g., >25 Hz for four pulses). These bidirectional effects depended on ACh input to striatal nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) on DA axons but not GABA or glutamate input. In caudate–putamen (CPu), knock-out of M2- or M4-mAChRs (not M5) prevented mAChR control of DA, indicating that M2- and M4-mAChRs are required. In nucleus accumbens (NAc) core or shell, mAChR function was prevented in M4-knock-outs, but not M2- or M5-knock-outs.

These data indicate that striatal mAChRs, by inhibiting ACh release from cholinergic interneurons and thus modifying nAChR activity, offer variable control of DA release probability that promotes how DA release reflects activation of dopaminergic axons. Furthermore, different coupling of striatal M2/M4-mAChRs to the control of DA release in CPu versus NAc suggests targets to influence DA/ACh function differentially between striatal domains.
Phosphorylation at S87 Is Enhanced in Synucleinopathies, Inhibits α-Synuclein Oligomerization, and Influences Synuclein-Membrane Interactions
Authors: Paleologou Katerina E. , Oueslati Abid , Shakked Gideon , Rospigliosi Carla C. , Kim Hai-Young , Lamberto Gonzalo R. , Fernandez Claudio O. , Schmid Adrian , Chegini Fariba , Gai Wei Ping , Chiappe Diego , Moniatte Marc , Schneider Bernard L. , Aebischer Patrick , Eliezer David , Zweckstetter Markus , Masliah Eliezer , Lashuel Hilal A.
Published: March 2010

Increasing evidence suggests that phosphorylation may play an important role in the oligomerization, fibrillogenesis, Lewy body (LB) formation, and neurotoxicity of α-synuclein (α-syn) in Parkinson disease. Herein we demonstrate that α-syn is phosphorylated at S87in vivoand within LBs. The levels of S87-P are increased in brains of transgenic (TG) models of synucleinopathies and human brains from Alzheimer disease (AD), LB disease (LBD), and multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients. Using antibodies against phosphorylated α-syn (S129-P and S87-P), a significant amount of immunoreactivity was detected in the membrane in the LBD, MSA, and AD cases but not in normal controls. In brain homogenates from diseased human brains and TG animals, the majority of S87-P α-syn was detected in the membrane fractions. A battery of biophysical methods were used to dissect the effect of S87 phosphorylation on the structure, aggregation, and membrane-binding properties of monomeric α-syn. These studies demonstrated that phosphorylation at S87 expands the structure of α-syn, increases its conformational flexibility, and blocks its fibrillizationin vitro. Furthermore, phosphorylation at S87, but not S129, results in significant reduction of α-syn binding to membranes. Together, our findings provide novel mechanistic insight into the role of phosphorylation at S87 and S129 in the pathogenesis of synucleinopathies and potential roles of phosphorylation in α-syn normal biology.
Zur Dialektik von agency und patiency
Authors: Schnepel Burkhard
Published: March 2010

In diesem Beitrag werden die beiden zentralen Begriffe des Symposiums, agency und patiency (respektive passio), zunächst ideengeschichtlich sowie anhand ethnographischer und historischer Beispielen erläutert. Daraufhin wird argumentiert, dass es vor allem die hierarchisch geordnete Dialektik von agency und patiency ist, die in einer auf Standpunkte der Akteure fokussierten Analyse unweigerlich in den Mittelpunkt der Betrachtung rückt. Diese dialektische Beziehung aus emischer Sicht in die Analyse einzubeziehen, stellt, so die These des Artikels und des Symposiums als solches, eine wichtige Ergänzung und Korrektur zu den gängigen agency-versus-structure-Debatten dar.
An der Decke schweben  Tanzen und getanzt werden
Authors: Schnepel Cornelia
Published: March 2010

In dem Artikel werden die beiden Tänzen Odissi und Séga, die in zwei geographisch und kulturell unterschiedlichen Regionen zuhause sind, kulturvergleichend mit Hinsicht auf das dialektische Spannungsverhältnis von Tanzen und getanzt werden“ betrachtet. Der Fokus liegt hierbei auf ethnographischen Ausführungen, die vor allem die emischen Sichtweisen in den Mittelpunkt des Erkenntnisinteresses stellen. Im Zuge eines Vergleichs werden Gemeinsamkeiten aber auch Unterschiede in Bezug auf agency und patiency herausgearbeitet.
Albertines Traum. Paradoxien des Handlungsbegriffs in Schnitzlers Traumnovelle und Kubricks Eyes Wide Shut
Authors: Benthien Claudia
Published: March 2010

Liebe, Treue und Verrat sind die Themen von Arthur Schnitzlers Traumnovelle“ (1926), einer literarischen Auseinandersetzung mit Freuds Theorie des Unbewussten. Sie erzählt von den unerwarteten Versuchungen, denen sich ein Wiener Ehepaar ausgesetzt sieht – der Mann bei heimlichen Liebesabenteuern in der nächtlichen Stadt, die Frau in ihren nicht minder abenteuerlichen erotischen Träumen im ehelichen Schlafzimmer. Schnitzler fragt, wann genau Untreue beginnt: Können ’bloße‘ Phantasien gefährlicher und handlungsrelevanter als die Realität sein? Die Pointe von Schnitzlers Novelle ist es, dass reales Erleben und Traumerleben als konkurrierende Erlebnisformen begriffen werden. Dies ist auch der Grund, weswegen der Text bis kurz vor seinem Erscheinen den Titel Doppelnovelle trug. Denn diese Novelle schildert bekanntlich nicht eine Ereignisfolge, sondern gleich zwei – die heimlichen, aber unvollendeten Liebesabenteuer, die der Mann in der nächtlichen Stadt erlebt, und die nicht minder abenteuerlichen, erotisch-beglückenden Träume der Frau zeitgleich im ehelichen Schlafzimmer. Ich finde die Frage von actio und passio mit Blick auf Träume sowie hier vorkommende andere Formen der Phantasie und Irrealität besonders interessant im Rah­men der Tagung
Mundhöhlenereignisse. Grenzfiguren zwischen Expression und Passage im zeitgenössischen Tanz und den Visual Arts
Authors: Foellmer Susanne
Published: March 2010

Im Tanz ist seit Beginn der 1990er Jahre eine Betonung des Körpers als kontingente Matrix zu beobachten, wobei oszillierende, an den Grenzen verschwimmende oder geöffnete Körperentwürfe zur Disposition gestellt werden. Im Feld solcher Kontingenzen sind allerdings mittlerweile Musterungen des Dazwischen zu beobachten: Eines ihrer Motive ist der geöffnete Mund. Partiell sind solche Körperthemen von der bildenden Kunst inspiriert oder reflektieren diese paraphrasierend. Beiden Kunstgenres eignet in diesen spezifischen ästhetischen Auseinandersetzungen der temporäre Aufenthalt im Zwischenraum von Aisthesis und Semiosis. Dieser Befund wird anhand von Aufführungen der Choreographen Meg Stuart und William Forsythe sowie den Papstportraits Francis Bacons untersucht. Gestützt werden die Beobachtungen durch den Suchmodus des Grotesken, das sich als Grenzfigur zwischen Eigenem und Fremdem, Handeln und sich-Ereignen erweist.
Amputation: Schock: Trance. Prozessmuster medialer Ausweitungen des Menschen in der Buchkultur
Authors: Böhme Jeanette
Published: March 2010

In diesem Beitrag wird die These entfaltet, dass spezifische Medienkulturen kollektive Trancezustände erzeugen. So wird mit exemplarischem Bezug auf die Buchkultur gezeigt, dass in medialen Ausweitungen des Menschen eine Verschiebung der synästhetischen Relationen erfolgt. Das prothesenhafte Intensiv-Werden eines Sinnesbezugs ist mit einer schockartigen synästhetischen Amputation und damit weit reichenden Narkotisierung des Menschen verbunden. Die Gleichzeitigkeit synästhetischer De-/Potenzierung kennzeichnet die paradoxe Struktur medienspezifischer Weltaneignung, die sich in Deutungs- sowie Handlungsmustern manifestiert und in lebenspraktischen Entscheidungen auf (Medien-) Kulturen zurückwirkt.
Bangladesh in 2009: The Peril Within
Authors: Momen Mehnaaz
Published: March 2010

The year 2009 heralded an auspicious beginning for Bangladesh because national elections were held after a two-year period of the non-democratic caretaker government. The enthusiasm of returning to democracy was soon marred by an unprecedented event during which military officials were massacred by the Bangladesh Rifles in a mystifying mutiny that stunned the nation. Bangladesh's economy was also negatively affected by the global downturn, and environmental degradation in the country continues.
Vietnam in 2009: Facing the Global Recession
Authors: Amer Ramses
Published: March 2010

During 2009, Vietnam faced the continued global recession, while its economy started to recover. Domestically, stability prevailed, but the authorities kept a vigilant eye on groups operating outside government-recognized organizations. Vietnam's membership in the U.N. Security Council was a major diplomatic achievement. China remained a major partner and a geostrategic challenge.
The Philippines in 2009: The Blustery Days of August
Authors: Abinales Patricio N.
Published: March 2010

In August 2009, the death of the popular former President Corazon Aquino forced President Gloria Arroyo and her allies to backtrack on plans to alter the political system. But it also signified the end of mass mobilization politics and the further entrenchment of an electoral politics that has placed in bolder terms the "guns, goons, gold" mentality of those seeking or defending their political dominance.
Cambodia in 2009: Plus C'est la Même Chose
Authors: Chandler David
Published: March 2010

Cambodia's manufacturing sector suffered in the global downturn. The ruling party, led by Hun Sen, tightened its controls and thousands of citizens were driven from their homes in the interest of development. Relations with Thailand soured, the tribunal indicting leaders of the Khmer Rouge proceeded slowly, and Chinese economic assistance increased.
Papua New Guinea in 2009: Anti-Chinese Rioting and the Liquefed Natural Gas Deal
Authors: Chin James
Published: March 2010

The year 2009 was challenging for Papua New Guinea. Domestically, the most serious political issues were moves to depose Michael Somare and anti-Chinese rioting in major towns. The economy was in fairly good shape and the long-awaited gas pipeline was finally off the ground.
Brunei in 2009: Maturity in Doubt?
Authors: Ku Samuel C. Y.
Published: March 2010

"Maturity as a Nation" was the theme for Negara Brunei Darussalam's 25th National Day celebrations in February 2009. Although the oil-rich nation has made several impressive strides, the authoritarian sultanate also faces unemployment, low foreign investment, and a lack of civil liberties.
Russia and the CIS in 2009: Pillar of the System Shaken
Authors: Wu Yu-Shan
Published: March 2010

In the global financial crisis, Russia faces the most severe challenge to its politicoeconomic system. Oil prices plummeted, and Russia's exports and state revenues dropped with them. The economy was severely shaken, and cracks appeared in its semi-democratic system headed by the Putin-Medvedev diarchy. However, relations with Washington showed signs of improvement as President Obama reset the overall tone of U.S. foreign policy. Russia pursued cordial ties with Asia, in part to compensate for volatile relations with the West.
Mongolia in 2009: From Landlocked to Land-linked Cosmopolitan
Authors: Bulag Uradyn E.
Published: March 2010

In 2009 Mongolia peacefully elected its first president from the Democratic Party. It was also a very lucky year for investors, who saw the signing of a historic agreement to develop the copper-gold mine Oyu Tolgoi. With China and Russia beginning to play vital roles in their neighbor's development, Mongolia may soon need to review its landlocked status to redefine itself as a land-linked country.
"Indigenous Representation is Hostile to All Monopolies": Phạm Quỳnh and the End of the Alcohol Monopoly in Colonial Vietnam
Authors: Sasges Gerard
Published: March 2010

Prominent supporters of the French colonial regime like the journalist, translator, and politician Phạm Quỳnh have been difficult to integrate within Vietnamese historiography since 1945. This article examines Phạm Quỳnh's constitutional project and his successful campaign to prevent the extension of the state's much-hated monopoly on the production of alcohol as a means to explore what collaboration meant for Phạm Quỳnh and others like him, who sought to reconcile loyalty to the colonial regime with a commitment to its reform.
Reproductive biology of female Bmal1 null mice
Authors: Boden Michael J , Varcoe Tamara J , Voultsios Athena , Kennaway David J
Published: March 2010

The light/dark cycle and suprachiasmatic nucleus rhythmicity are known to have important influences on reproductive function of rodents. We studied reproductive function in female heterozygous and homozygous brain and muscle ARNT-like protein 1 (Bmal1, also known asArntl) null mice, which lack central and peripheral cellular rhythms. HeterozygousBmal1mice developed normally and were fertile, with apparent normal pregnancy progression and litter size, although postnatal mortality up to weaning was high (1.1–1.3/litter). The genotype distribution was skewed with both heterozygous and null genotypes underrepresented (1.0:1.7:0.7;P<0.05), suggesting loss of a singleBmal1allele may impact on postnatal survival. HomozygousBmal1null mice were 30% lighter at weaning, and while they grew at a similar rate to the wild-type mice, they never achieved a comparable body weight. They had delayed vaginal opening (4 days), disrupted estrus cyclicity, and reduced ovarian weight (30%).Bmal1null mice had a 40% reduction in ductal length and a 43% reduction in ductal branches in the mammary gland. Surprisingly, theBmal1mice ovulated, but progesterone synthesis was reduced in conjunction with altered corpora lutea formation. Pregnancy failed prior to implantation presumably due to poor embryo development. WhileBmal1null ovaries responded to pregnant mare serum gonadotropin/human chorionic gonadotropin stimulation, ovulation rate was reduced, and the fertilized oocytes progressed poorly to blastocysts and failed to implant. The loss ofBmal1gene expression resulted in a loss of rhythmicity of many genes in the ovary and downregulation ofStar. In conclusion, it is clear that the profound infertility ofBmal1null mice is multifactorial.