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electrophysiology

Entorhinal cortical neurons and traces are shown and described in the caption.

·October 8, 2012·5 min read

Researchers Discover that the Sleeping Brain Behaves as if it’s Remembering Something

UCLA researchers have for the first time measured the activity of a brain region known to be involved in learning, memory and Alzheimer's disease during sleep. They discovered that the entorhinal cortex behaves as if it's remembering something, even under anesthesia, a finding that counters conventional theories about memory consolidation during sleep.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·September 14, 2012·3 min read

Scientists Use Prosthetic Device to Restore and Improve Impaired Decision Making Ability in Animals

Scientists used an electronic prosthetic system to tap into existing circuitry in the brain at the cellular level and record the firing patterns of multiple neurons in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain involved in decision-making. They then “played” that recording back to the same brain area to electrically stimulate decision-based neural activity. Not only did it restore function, in some cases, it also improved it.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·September 13, 2012·3 min read

Stress Breaks Loops that Hold Short-Term Memory Together

By watching individual neurons at work, a group of psychologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has revealed just how stress can addle the mind, as well as how neurons in the brain's prefrontal cortex help remember information in the first place.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·September 10, 2012·3 min read

Researchers Create Short-Term Memories In-Vitro

Researchers have discovered how to store diverse forms of artificial short-term memories in isolated brain tissue. Using isolated pieces of rodent brain tissue, the researchers demonstrated that they could form a memory of which one of four input pathways was activated.

Electrophysiology Featured Neurology Neuroscience Videos

·August 24, 2012·3 min read

Researchers Discover New Non-Invasive Method for Diagnosing Epilepsy

Researchers published a study outlining how a new type of non-invasive brain scan taken immediately after a seizure gives additional insight into possible causes and treatments for epilepsy patients.

Autism Featured Neurology

·August 22, 2012·6 min read

Low-dose Sedative Alleviates Autistic-like Behavior in Mice with Dravet Syndrome Mutation

A low dose of the sedative clonazepam alleviated autistic-like behavior in mice with a mutation that causes Dravet syndrome in humans.

The image shows a patient undergoing surgery for a deep brain stimulation implant.

Featured Neuroethics Neurology

·August 20, 2012·3 min read

Deep Brain Stimulation to Treat Obesity?

Electrical brain stimulation targeting the “dysregulated reward circuitry” could make deep brain stimulation a new option for the difficult-to-treat problem of obesity.

Electrophysiology Featured Psychology

·August 20, 2012·5 min read

Psychologists Link Emotion to Vividness of Perception and Creation of Vivid Memories

Have you ever wondered why you can remember things from long ago as if they happened yesterday, yet sometimes can't recall what you ate for dinner last night? A new study suggests it's because how much something means to you actually influences how you see it as well as how vividly you can recall it later.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 14, 2012·5 min read

An Artificial Retina With the Capacity to Restore Normal Vision

Researchers decipher the retina's neural code for brain communication to create novel, more effective prosthetic retinal device for blindness.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 8, 2012·4 min read

New Model Synapse Could Shed Light on Disorders Such as Epilepsy and Anxiety

A new way to study the role of a critical neurotransmitter in disorders such as epilepsy, anxiety, insomnia, depression, schizophrenia, and alcohol addiction has been developed. This model synapse can precisely control a variety of receptors for the neurotransmitter called GABA, which is important in brain chemistry.

Featured Neurology Psychology

·August 6, 2012·8 min read

Brain Signal IDs Responders to Fast-Acting Antidepressants

Scientists have discovered a biological marker that may help to identify which depressed patients will respond to an experimental, rapid-acting antidepressant like ketamine. The brain signal, detectable by noninvasive imaging, also holds clues to the agent's underlying mechanism, which are vital for drug development, say NIH researchers.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroethics

·July 26, 2012·2 min read

Controlling Monkey Brains and Behavior With Light

Researchers can control the behavior of monkeys by using pulses of blue light to very specifically activate particular brain cells. The findings represent a key advance for optogenetics, a state-of-the-art method for making causal connections between brain activity and behavior. Researchers say that similar light-based mind control could likely also be made to work in humans for therapeutic ends.