visual cortex

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visual cortex

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·January 20, 2023·4 min read

Why Congenitally Blind People Show Activity in Visual-Processing Areas of the Brain

Study reveals structural changes of connectivity in the thalamus to other brain areas in those with congenital blindness, providing evidence of brain plasticity. The areas of the thalamus that connect with the occipital lobe in those with blindness are weaker and smaller, giving space to connections in the temporal cortex which are strengthened.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Visual Neuroscience

·November 29, 2022·5 min read

Brain Cells Use a ‘Telephone Trick’ to Report What They See

Single neurons conveying visual information about two separate objects in line of sight do so by alternating signals about one object or the other. However, when the two objects overlap, brain cells detect them as a single entity.

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·November 2, 2022·5 min read

Brain Changes in Autism Are Far More Sweeping Than Previously Known

Brain changes associated with ASD encompass more areas than previously believed, a new study reports. Researchers identified brain-wide changes in all 11 cortical regions analyzed. The greatest gene drop-offs were found in the visual cortex and the parietal cortex, a brain area associated with processing touch, pain, and temperature information. The findings shed light on sensory hypersensitivity associated with ASD. Additionally, researchers say the RNA alterations associated with ASD are more likely a cause than a result of autism.

This shows the outline of a head and a brain

Featured Neuroscience

·October 14, 2022·5 min read

Secret Structure in the Wiring Diagram of the Brain

Study reveals a hidden order in seemingly random connections between neurons.

This shows a drawing of an eye and a color wheel

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Visual Neuroscience

·October 8, 2022·5 min read

The Effect of the Color Red on Brain Waves

The color red is not particularly strong in terms of the strength of gamma oscillations it generates in the brain.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·September 30, 2022·5 min read

Pupil Dilation: A Window to Perception

Study reveals how changes in pupil size affect the way we perceive our surroundings.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·September 22, 2022·4 min read

The Prose of Dr. Seuss Shines a Light on How the Brain Processes Speech

Using the Dr. Seuss classic, The Lorax, researchers shed new light on how the brain engages during complex audiovisual speech perception. The findings reveal how the brain utilizes a complex network of brain regions involved in sensory processing, multisensory integration, and cognitive functions to comprehend a story's context.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 26, 2022·6 min read

Researchers Have Discovered a Population of Neurons That Light up Whenever We See Images of Food

Images of food stimulate a newly discovered population of food-responsive neurons in the ventral visual stream. Researchers believe there may be an evolutionary reason for this neural population that may reflect the significance of food in human culture.

This shows the visual cortex in a brain slice

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·August 19, 2022·5 min read

When Alzheimer’s Degrades Cells That Cross Hemispheres, Visual Memory Suffers

Alzheimer's disease disrupts some forms of visual memory by degrading a newly identified brain circuit that connects the primary visual cortex of each hemisphere.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·July 20, 2022·6 min read

A New Way to Fight Pigmentary Retinopathy

The visual system adapts to the loss of photoreception by increasing sensitivity but simultaneously becomes deleteriously hyperactive. The findings could lead to new therapies to protect vision or reverse vision loss.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Visual Neuroscience

·July 12, 2022·4 min read

A Role for Vision in the Development of Inhibitory Networks

Inhibitory and excitatory networks in the brain's visual system develop through different processes, even if the organization of the networks is similar.