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sensory perception

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·January 30, 2025·4 min read

How the Brain Adapts to New Sensory Contexts

New research reveals how the brain rapidly adapts to sensory changes using a feedback loop between the olfactory cortex and the olfactory bulb. Scientists trained mice to associate rewards with specific sounds and smells, then switched the rules to test their adaptability.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 6, 2025·4 min read

How the Brain Blends Senses to Understand Social Cues

New research reveals how smell and hearing interact in the brain during maternal behaviors like pup retrieval in mice. Signals from the basal amygdala (BA) merge with auditory inputs in the auditory cortex (AC), influencing responses to social sounds.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·December 18, 2024·7 min read

The Brain Combines Touch and Sound to Enhance Sensory Experiences

The inferior colliculus, a midbrain region known for sound processing, also plays a role in touch sensation by integrating tactile and auditory signals. Pacinian corpuscles, highly sensitive skin mechanoreceptors, relay high-frequency vibrations to this brain area, amplifying sensory experiences. This mechanism explains phenomena like feeling music vibrations during a concert and highlights the brain's adaptability in processing multisensory information.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·December 6, 2024·4 min read

How the Brain Sorts Noise from Signal to Maintain Stable Perception

New research reveals how the brain separates internally generated noise from sensory signals, ensuring stable perception. The study shows that in lower visual areas, spontaneous brain activity and stimulus-evoked responses are similar, but in higher cortical areas, they become increasingly independent, a process known as orthogonalization.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 11, 2024·5 min read

How the Brain Turns Sensory Input Into Action

Neuroscientists have uncovered how sensory input is transformed into motor action across multiple brain regions in mice. The study shows that decision-making is a distributed process across the brain, where neurons link sensory evidence to actions.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 11, 2024·5 min read

Early Smells Shape Newborn Brains: Olfaction Linked to Touch Development

Early exposure to odors in newborn mice is crucial for the development of their sense of touch. Researchers found that pleasant smells activate brain areas responsible for touch within the first week of life, influencing sensory processing.

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 Genetics Neuroscience

·April 12, 2024·6 min read

Proteasomes May Be Key to Sensory Signals

Researchers discovered a novel role of the proteasome, traditionally known as the cell's waste processor, in nerve cells. Their findings reveal that proteasomes in dorsal root ganglion neurons may act more like signal messengers, aiding in the differentiation between pain and itch sensations.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 3, 2024·3 min read

Tickling: A Path to Unexpected Pleasures

A new study explores tickling in a sexual context, revealing its role in sexual arousal and satisfaction for some individuals. The research surveyed 719 participants, uncovering that tickling can lead to sexual satisfaction and, in some cases, orgasms.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·February 29, 2024·4 min read

Touching Findings: Elkin1 is Key to Sensory Perception

Researchers discovered a new ion channel, Elkin1, appears to be crucial for touch perception. This finding marks a significant advancement in understanding the molecular basis of touch.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 14, 2023·5 min read

Phantom Touch: VR Reveals New Insights in Human Perception

Researchers discovered a 'phantom touch illusion' in virtual reality (VR), where users feel sensations without physical contact. This study, involving 36 volunteers, demonstrated that participants experienced a tingling sensation when virtually touching their bodies.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 10, 2023·4 min read

ASMR: Relaxation or Irritation?

ASMR, a phenomenon enjoyed by many for its calming effects, has been scientifically shown to positively alter mood and physiological responses like heart rate and blood pressure in 25-30% of people. Researchers, after reviewing over 1,000 scientific articles, confirmed ASMR's consistent description and experience across individuals, noting changes in delta brain waves and activation in specific brain regions.