This Week in The Journal.

The Journal of Neuroscience published an article on the mechanisms of action of beta amyloid in Alzheimer's disease. The study found that beta amyloid disrupts synaptic activity and contributes to cell death by causing glutamatergic NMDA receptor dysfunction and dendritic spine loss. The researchers also discovered that beta amyloid interacts with a signaling system involving AKAP150 and metabotropic glutamate receptor 1, leading to the destabilization of dendritic spines. This study provides valuable insights into how beta amyloid impairs glutamatergic synapses and may inform the development of new therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease. Another article in the journal addressed the lack of research on language dysfunction in non-European populations. The study focused on Chinese language dysfunction in temporal lobe epilepsy and identified the left anterior inferior temporal gyrus as important for Chinese fluency. This research highlights the need for better representation of non-European languages in studies on language and language deficits in disease. [Extracted from the article]