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neurobiology

Neural network model is shown and described in the caption.

·October 24, 2012·3 min read

Like a Noisy Political Campaign, “Grassroots” Neurons Wire and Fire Together for Dominance in the Brain

Researchers found that neurons team up together to sway particular outcomes in the brain and take over the nervous system in the name of their preferred action or behavior.

Neurons are shown. Caption describes it well.

Brain Cancer Featured Neurology

·October 22, 2012·3 min read

Aggressive Brain Tumors Can Originate from a Range of Nervous System Cells

Scientists have long believed that glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive type of primary brain tumor, begins in glial cells that make up supportive tissue in the brain or in neural stem cells. Researchers found that the tumors can originate from other types of differentiated cells in the nervous system, including cortical neurons.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 20, 2012·3 min read

Researchers Clarify Process Controlling Night Vision

New research reveals the key chemical process that corrects for potential visual errors in low-light conditions. Understanding this fundamental step could lead to new treatments for visual deficits, or might one day boost normal night vision to new levels.

A robot head is shown from the Roboy AI.

Featured

·October 19, 2012·4 min read

Robots that Perceive the World Like Humans

Researchers attempt to improve robot behavior by means of perception models closer to those of humans. One of the experiments involves a robot simulation in which an agent has to discriminate between what we could call an acne pimple and a bite or lump on the skin.

An old picture shows a man on a tight rope crossing Niagara River.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·October 19, 2012·4 min read

Researchers Explore How the Brain Perceives Direction and Location

The Who asked “who are you?” but Dartmouth neurobiologist Jeffrey Taube “where are you?” and “where are you going?” Taube is not asking philosophical or theological questions. He is investigating nerve cells in the brain that function in establishing one’s location and direction.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 19, 2012·2 min read

How the Brain Forms Categories

Neurobiologists investigated how the brain is able to group external stimuli into stable categories. They found the answer in the discrete dynamics of neuronal circuits.

An image of stem cells is shown. Caption describes well.

Featured Neurology

·October 19, 2012·4 min read

Scientists Pinpoint Key Player in Parkinson’s Disease Neuron Loss

Stem cell study may help to unravel how a genetic mutation leads to Parkinson's symptoms. By reprogramming skin cells from Parkinson's disease patients with a known genetic mutation, researchers identified damage to neural stem cells as a powerful player in Parkinson's disease.

A brain with multiple colored areas is shown.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 19, 2012·3 min read

First Micro-Structure Atlas of the Human Brain Completed

A European team of scientists have built the first atlas of white-matter microstructure in the human brain.

Neurons and a neural network are shown. Caption describes well.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·October 18, 2012·3 min read

A Glance at the Brain’s Circuit Diagram

Scientists developed a method for decoding neural circuit diagrams. Using measurements of total neuronal activity, they can determine the probability that two neurons are connected with each other.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 17, 2012·2 min read

Discovery of Two Opposite Ways Humans Voluntarily Forget Unwanted Memories

If only there were a way to forget that humiliating faux pas at last night's dinner party. It turns out there's not one, but two opposite ways in which the brain allows us to voluntarily forget unwanted memories, according to research.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 16, 2012·3 min read

Attack! Silent Watchmen Charge to Defend the Nervous System

Research provides the first evidence that mechanisms regulated by the Runx1 gene control the balance between the surveillant versus activated microglia states.

Cocaine with a needles and a razor blade are shown.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Abstracts

·October 15, 2012·4 min read

Does Motherhood Dampen Cocaine’s Effects?

Mother rats respond much differently to cocaine than female rats that have never given birth, according to new University of Michigan research that looks at both behavior and brain chemistry.