Neuroscience. Boosting working memory

Working out which areas of the brain become activated during the formation of working (short-term) memory has been greatly helped by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In a Perspective, Robbins et al. discuss new findings (Furey et al.) with fMRI that reveal how working memory is enhanced by the drug physostigmine, which increases cholinergic function in the brain.     

Neuroscience. Immune molecules prune neural links

In work described on page 2155, a team of neuroscientists suggests that the class I major histocompatibility complex proteins, previously known for their role in controlling immune responses, also play a role in the nervous system. They are necessary for the formation of normal neuronal connections in a visual area of the brain during development, and later in life, they're called into play in the hippocampus, a brain area involved in memory and learning. The work shows a completely unexpected function for the immune system molecules.