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Allen Institute

·May 2, 2025·5 min read

Study Challenges Leading Theories On Consciousness Origins

A landmark study tested two leading theories of consciousness — Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) — but found neither definitively explained conscious experience. While IIT emphasizes deep integration of brain regions and GNWT highlights widespread broadcasting of information, data from 256 human subjects did not fully support either.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 9, 2025·7 min read

World’s Most Detailed Brain Map Built From a Grain of Brain Tissue

Scientists have created the most detailed wiring diagram of a mammalian brain to date, mapping every cell and synapse in a cubic millimeter of a mouse’s visual cortex. Using cutting-edge microscopy, AI, and 3D reconstruction, researchers captured more than 200,000 cells and over 500 million connections.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·October 1, 2024·3 min read

BRAIN Initiative Launches Major Data Release to Map Brain Cells

The BRAIN Initiative® Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) has released its first major dataset, providing single-cell and single-nucleus transcriptomic and epigenomic profiles from human, mouse, and other mammalian brain cells. This open-access release is designed to accelerate neuroscience research, offering raw data that will help define brain cell types and their molecular characteristics.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·July 15, 2024·6 min read

OpenScope Project Unveils Brain’s Secrets

The OpenScope program is investigating neural activity through four new projects, exploring topics like psilocybin's effects, motion perception, visual texture recognition, and subtle changes in appearance. By using advanced imaging techniques in mice, researchers aim to understand how the brain processes these complex functions.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·June 4, 2024·4 min read

Neurons Show Unique Responses to Electrical Stimulation

Researchers discovered that different neuron types exhibit distinct patterns of response to electrical stimulation (ES). Using precise tissue sampling, they found excitatory neurons sync with both slow and fast ES, while inhibitory neurons respond mainly to fast frequencies.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·April 24, 2024·5 min read

How Sensory Experiences Shape Neurons

A new study introduces BARseq—a rapid, cost-effective method for mapping brain cells, revealing new insights into how our brains are structured at a cellular level. Researchers used BARseq to classify millions of neurons across multiple mouse brains, discovering unique 'cellular signatures' that define each brain region.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 14, 2023·5 min read

How Dopamine Deciphers Learning in the Brain

Researchers made a significant breakthrough in understanding how the brain assigns credit to specific actions leading to rewards. Their study used a novel "closed loop" system with mice to explore how dopamine, a crucial neurotransmitter, shapes learning through trial and error.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·November 13, 2023·4 min read

Visual Perception: Unveiling the Mystery of “Unseeing” in the Brain

A new study explores visual masking, a phenomenon where rapid sequential images lead to the first being 'unseen.' This study successfully demonstrated visual masking in mice, mirroring human perception, indicating a similar neurological process.

This shows a computer generated connectom.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 12, 2023·8 min read

Cellular Map of Entire Brain Reveals What Makes Us Human

A groundbreaking suite of 21 papers has unveiled a momentous leap in our understanding of the brain, spotlighting the intricate cellular composition of human and primate brains through a consortium led by the BRAIN Initiative. Utilizing innovative single-cell transcriptomics, researchers illuminated a stunning array of over 3,000 different brain cells and their distinctive functionalities.

This shows a representation of cell inflammation.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·June 12, 2023·6 min read

Inflammation Firestorm Could Be The Secret Culprit of Long COVID

An overactive inflammatory response might be the key to many long COVID cases. Through an examination of proteins in the blood, the researchers discovered unique inflammation markers present only in a subset of long COVID patients.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 14, 2022·4 min read

Exposing Brain Tissue to Psilocybin Provides Insights Into Consciousness, Depression and Anxiety

Investigating how psychedelics such as psilocybin act on serotonin receptors, researchers shed new light on how the drugs affect consciousness and assist in treating a range of mental health disorders.