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Zuckerman Institute

·January 29, 2020·5 min read

Sex pheromone named after Jane Austen character alters brain in mouse courtship

Darcin, a sex pheromone named after Jane Austen's famous Mr. Darcy, alters cells in the brain's emotional center of female mice, giving them the power to assess sexual readiness and help with mate selection.

This shows neurons in the fly visual cortex

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Visual Neuroscience

·January 12, 2020·5 min read

How do fruit flies see in color?

Researchers have identified a circuit in the brains of fruit flies, which enables them to see in color. The network is similar to that which allows human color vision. The findings could help in the development of AI technologies.

This shows a stick and ball model of serotonin

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·November 27, 2019·5 min read

Why do we freeze when startled? New study points to serotonin

When fruit flies experience an unexpected change in its surroundings, serotonin produced in the ventral nerve cord slows the insect down. The findings may shed light on the neurobiological mechanisms of human startle response.

This shows the outline of two heads with a brain in between them

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·October 21, 2019·5 min read

How the brain dials up the volume to hear someone in a crowd

When a person listens to another person talking, their brain waves alter to select specific features of the speaker's voice and tune out other voices.

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Featured Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos Open Neuroscience Articles Visual Neuroscience

·May 29, 2019·5 min read

Hands that see, eyes that feel? Brain study reveals the mathematics of identifying objects

Our brains need only perform a few fast statistical calculations to detect the key properties of an unknown object. Findings challenge existing views of how our brains extract and learn about our environment.

A drawing of people talking in a part setting

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos Open Neuroscience Articles

·May 15, 2019·5 min read

Experimental brain-controlled hearing aid decodes, identifies who you want to hear

A new auditory attention decoding device allows people to selectively hear specific people in crowded environments.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 13, 2019·5 min read

Room for thought: Brain region that watches for walls identified

MEG neuroimaging implicates the occipital place area (OPA) in our ability to rapidly sense our surroundings. The findings may advance improving machine learning and robotics technology aimed at mimicking visual processes in the human brain.

Featured Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos Open Neuroscience Articles

·March 9, 2019·6 min read

High Speed 3D Microscope Captures Stunning Videos of Fruit Fly Nerve Cells in Action

Columbia team harnesses powerful technology to uncover never-before-seen details of the nervous system, demonstrating SCAPE's broad potential to decipher the brain.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·February 19, 2019·5 min read

Unexpected Place for Learning and Memory in the Brain

A new study reveals the somatosensory cortex plays a complex role in memory and reward learning.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 31, 2019·5 min read

Pinpointing Cells That Control the Brain’s Memory Flow

A new mouse study reveals a small cluster of interneurons in the hippocampus help the brain remember the places that matter the most. The findings could have implications for future studies of psychiatric disorders.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·January 9, 2019·5 min read

Genes on the Move Help Nose Make Sense of Scents

A new study sheds light on the ingenious mechanism that underlies the brain's ability to distinguish between different smells.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 5, 2018·5 min read

Friend or Foe? Brain Area That Controls Social Memory Also Triggers Aggression

A new study reports the CA2 region of the hippocampus controls both higher order cognition, like social memory, and instinctual behaviors, such as aggression. The findings could shed light on why abnormal social behaviors may occur in schizophrenia and other psychiatric illnesses.