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synapses

·May 23, 2026·8 min read

Astrocyte Sodium Levels Vary to Match Local Synaptic Needs

A new study upends decades of neuroscientific dogma by proving that sodium concentrations vary drastically within individual astrocytes and across their sub-cellular processes.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 13, 2026·9 min read

Single Brain Connection Pinpointed as the Starting Point of Learning

Scientists have pinpointed a single synaptic connection in the basal ganglia as the origin point for vocal learning. By studying zebra finches, researchers discovered that "turning off" these specific synapses causes a bird's song to revert to babbling. This discovery highlights the brain's delicate balance between creative experimentation and technical mastery, offering new insights into human speech and movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 15, 2025·8 min read

How Synapses Grow Up

A new study reveals how young synapses gradually mature to send chemical signals correctly — a process that can take days and depends on neural activity. Researchers tracked this in fruit flies by tagging newly formed synapses with fluorescent markers that changed color over time, allowing them to observe how proteins assemble to enable neurotransmitter release.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·September 19, 2025·4 min read

Protein Filaments That Build Brain’s Inhibitory Synapses Identified

Researchers discovered that gephyrin, a key protein at inhibitory synapses, forms organized filaments that act as the structural basis for postsynaptic densities. This finding overturns previous assumptions that proteins in synapses were disordered, revealing instead a surprising level of organization.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·September 12, 2025·5 min read

PET Tracer Maps Synapse Loss After Spinal Cord Injury

Researchers developed a new PET tracer capable of measuring synapse loss after spinal cord injury, offering insights into both spinal and brain changes. In rat models, the tracer revealed significant synaptic reductions at the injury site and in distant brain regions, highlighting how widespread the effects of injury can be.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·July 22, 2025·6 min read

Synaptic Tau and Astrocytes Drive PSP Progression

ew research uncovers how tau pathology spreads and damages synapses in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Using human postmortem tissue and live brain slice models, scientists showed tau accumulates in both pre- and postsynaptic terminals, likely propagating neuron-to-neuron.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·July 1, 2025·6 min read

Brain Stimulation Reverses Synaptic Damage in Alzheimer’s

New research shows that low-intensity repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can restore key synaptic structures in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. The study found that axonal boutons—sites where neurons form connections—had reduced turnover in Alzheimer’s mice, indicating impaired brain plasticity. After a single rTMS session, the turnover of one bouton type significantly increased, matching levels seen in healthy mice.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 28, 2025·4 min read

Sleep Learning: How Synapses Strengthen While We Rest

New research reveals how synaptic connections in the cerebral cortex can strengthen during sleep, offering insight into how the brain continues learning even while we rest. Using computer simulations, researchers demonstrated that synaptic activity during sleep follows known "synaptic learning rules" when neural activity reaches specific thresholds.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 23, 2025·5 min read

Cerebellum Synapse Structure Revealed

Scientists have mapped the molecular structure of glutamate receptors in the cerebellum for the first time using cryo-electron microscopy. These receptors are critical to how neurons in the cerebellum communicate, affecting movement, balance, and cognition.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 4, 2025·4 min read

Brain Uses Separate Synapses to Balance Learning and Stability

New research has overturned a long-held belief in neuroscience by showing that the brain uses separate synaptic transmission sites for spontaneous and evoked signaling. Traditionally thought to share the same origin, these two forms of communication actually emerge from distinct sites, each following its own developmental path.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·June 3, 2025·5 min read

Self-Powered Synapse Brings Human-Like Vision to AI Devices

Researchers have developed a self-powered artificial synapse capable of color recognition with near-human precision. Unlike traditional systems that demand external energy and massive data processing, this device mimics biological vision and generates its own electricity using solar cells.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 29, 2025·5 min read

Modeling Brain’s Vesicle Cycle Unlocks Synaptic Secrets

A new computational model has mapped the brain’s vesicle cycle in unprecedented detail, providing fresh insight into how nerve cells communicate. Researchers collaborated to simulate how vesicles—tiny sacs that release neurotransmitters—operate within synapses.

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synapses

Astrocyte Sodium Levels Vary to Match Local Synaptic Needs

Single Brain Connection Pinpointed as the Starting Point of Learning

How Synapses Grow Up

Protein Filaments That Build Brain’s Inhibitory Synapses Identified

PET Tracer Maps Synapse Loss After Spinal Cord Injury

Synaptic Tau and Astrocytes Drive PSP Progression

Brain Stimulation Reverses Synaptic Damage in Alzheimer’s

Sleep Learning: How Synapses Strengthen While We Rest

Cerebellum Synapse Structure Revealed

Brain Uses Separate Synapses to Balance Learning and Stability

Self-Powered Synapse Brings Human-Like Vision to AI Devices

Modeling Brain’s Vesicle Cycle Unlocks Synaptic Secrets

Brain’s Internal Disappointment Meter Forces Behavioral Change

Octopuses Can Use Mirrors to Find Food

Why the Brain Doesn’t Need Choices to Generate Intent

Brain Integrates Paper Book Narratives Faster Than Digital

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