All

Latest

Neuroscience

Neuroscience research articles are provided.

What is neuroscience? Neuroscience is the scientific study of nervous systems. Neuroscience can involve research from many branches of science including those involving neurology, brain science, neurobiology, psychology, computer science, artificial intelligence, statistics, prosthetics, neuroimaging, engineering, medicine, physics, mathematics, pharmacology, electrophysiology, biology, robotics and technology.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 23, 2013·3 min read

New Brain Circuit Sheds Light on Development of Voluntary Movements

A research team describes the entire network of brain cells that are connected to specific motor neurons controlling whisker muscles in newborn mice. A better understanding of such motor control circuits could help inform how human brains develop, potentially leading to new ways of restoring movement in people who suffer paralysis from brain injuries, or to the development of better prosthetics for limb replacement.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·January 23, 2013·3 min read

Astrocytes Identified as Target for New Depression Therapy

Neuroscientists found that astrocytes may be responsible for the rapid improvement in mood in depressed patients after acute sleep deprivation. This study identified how astrocytes can regulate a neurotransmitter involved in sleep.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 21, 2013·3 min read

Researchers Turn One Form of Neuron into Another in the Brain

A new finding turns one of the basics of neurobiology on its head, demonstrating that it is possible to turn one type of already differentiated neuron into another within the brain.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·January 18, 2013·2 min read

Scientists Build a Microimplant that Uses a Laser to Control Individual Nerve Cells

Scientists developed an implant that is able to genetically modify specific nerve cells, control them with light stimuli, and measure their electrical activity all at the same time.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 17, 2013·3 min read

Is Athleticism Linked to Brain Size?

Research shows that exercise-loving mice have larger midbrains.

Two brain images are shown side by side with Wernicke's area highlighted.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 16, 2013·3 min read

Research Reveals How the Human Brain Adapts to Injury

Scientists used a new combination of neural imaging methods to discover how the human brain adapts to injury. The research shows that when one brain area loses functionality, a back-up team of secondary brain areas immediately activates, replacing not only the unavailable area but also its confederates.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·December 10, 2012·4 min read

Secrets of Gentle Touch Revealed

Scientists at UCSF uncover the molecular basis of gentle touch, one of the most fundamental, but least well understood of our senses.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 26, 2012·2 min read

Stimulating Brain Cells with Light

The work will be conducted on laboratory rats modelling Parkinson’s disease. The transplanted cells will be derived from skin from an adult human and will have been “reprogrammed” as nerve cells. The light-sensitive protein is obtained from a bacterium, which uses light to gain energy.

Wine from a wine bottle is being poured into a glass.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 24, 2012·2 min read

Researchers Say Daily Drinking Can Be Risky

Drinking a couple of glasses of wine each day has generally been considered a good way to promote cardiovascular and brain health. A new study indicates there is a fine line between moderate and binge drinking - a risky behavior that can decrease the making of adult brain cells by as much as 40 percent.

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.

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.