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Neuroscience

Articles about different approaches to study the nervous system at different scales. Neuroscience strives for the understanding of the biological basis of learning, memory, behavior, perception, and consciousness.

A short bout of exercise enhances brain function: Researchers discover a gene in mice that's activated by brief periods of exercise

Neuroscientists at OHSU in Portland, Oregon, working with mice, have discovered that a short burst of exercise directly boosts the function of a gene that increases connections between neurons in the hippocampus, the region of the brain associated with learning and memory. The research is published online in the journal

'Mystical' psychedelic compound found in normal brains of rats

The active ingredient responsible for these psychedelic visions is a molecule called dimethyltryptamine (DMT).

The neuroscience of autism: New clues for how condition begins

The discovery, published in Neuron, illuminates the molecular details of a key process in brain development and adds to the scientific understanding of the biological basis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a condition linked to brain development and estimated to affect about one in 59 children born in the United

Our brains appear uniquely tuned for musical pitch

"We found that a certain region of our brains has a stronger preference for sounds with pitch than macaque monkey brains," said Bevil Conway, Ph.D., investigator in the NIH's Intramural Research Program and a senior author of the study published in Nature Neuroscience. "The results raise the possibility that

How you and your friends can play a video game together using only your minds

In BrainNet, three people play a Tetris-like game using a brain-to-brain interface.

Researchers grow active mini-brain-networks

"Because they can mimic cerebral development, cerebral organoids can be used as a substitute for the human brain to study complex developmental and neurological disorders," says corresponding author Jun Takahashi, a professor at Kyoto University. However, these studies are challenging, because current cerebral organoids lack desirable supporting structures, such as

How information is like snacks, money, and drugs -- to your brain: Researchers demonstrate common neural code for information and money; both act on the brain's dopamine-producing reward system

A new study by researchers at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business has found that information acts on the brain's dopamine-producing reward system in the same way as money or food.

Reaching and grasping: Learning fine motor coordination changes the brain

Simply grasping a coffee cup needs fine motor coordination with the highest precision.This required performance of the brain is an ability that can also be learned and trained.Prof.

How old are your organs? To scientists' surprise, organs are a mix of young and old cells: Scientists discover cellular structures with extreme longevity, leading to insights for age-associated diseases

"We were quite surprised to find cellular structures that are essentially as old as the organism they reside in," says Salk Vice President, Chief Science Officer Martin Hetzer, senior author and professor. "This suggests even greater cellular complexity than we previously imagined and has intriguing implications for how we think

Small cluster of neurons is off-on switch for mouse songs: With precise control, researchers could make a mouse sing or not on command

In fact, they now understand these neurons well enough to be able to make a mouse sing on command or to silence it so that it can't sing, even when it wants to impress a mate.

Brain's insular cortex processes pain and drives learning from pain

We've known for a while that a brain area called amygdala is important for threat learning.

Flexibility of working memory from random connections

Working memory is your ability to hold things 'in mind.' It acts as a workspace in which information can be held, manipulated, and then used to guide behavior.

Meditation needs more research: Study finds 25 percent suffer unpleasant experiences

The research, published in PLOS ONE, also found those who had attended a meditation retreat, those who only practiced deconstructive types of meditation, such as Vipassana (insight) and Koan practice (used in Zen Buddhism), and those with higher levels of repetitive negative thinking, were more likely to report a 'particularly

Step towards light-based, brain-like computing chip

The researchers were able to demonstrate, that such an optical neurosynaptic network is able to "learn" information and use this as a basis for computing and recognizing patterns -- just as a brain can. As the system functions solely with light and not with traditional electrons, it can process data

These trippy images were designed by AI to super-stimulate monkey neurons

"When given this tool, cells began to increase their firing rate beyond levels we have seen before, even with normal images pre-selected to elicit the highest firing rates," explains co-first author Carlos Ponce, then a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of senior author Margaret Livingstone at Harvard Medical School and