title: Microcircuits for attention.
abstract: Researchers who study the neuronal basis of cognition face a paradox. If they extract the brain, its cognitive functions cannot be assessed. On the other hand, the brain's microcircuits are difficult to study in the intact animal. In this issue of Neuron, Mitchell et al. make use of a promising approach based on waveform analysis to reveal new details about neuronal interactions during visual attention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA. sommer@bns.pitt.edu
authors.forename: Marc A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sommer
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004594:Electrophysiology; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology