Neuroscience News

Panoz-Brown et al show that rats remember a stream of multiple episodes and the order in which they occur by engaging hippocampal-dependent episodic memory replay; rats remember the order of events using episodic memory replay and that replay is part of long-term memory, resistant to interference, and hippocampal dependent. The discovery could help advance the development of new drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Image credit: Panoz-Brown et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.006.

Non-Human Animals Can Mentally Replay Past Events: Study

May 15, 2018 by News Staff

A team of Indiana University researchers has reported the first evidence that non-human animals (rats) can replay a stream of multiple episodic memories....

According to Jung et al, risk tolerance was positively associated with functional connectivity between amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex and negatively associated with structural connectivity between these regions. Image credit: University of Pennsylvania.

Risk Tolerance Linked to Two Brain Regions

Apr 6, 2018 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Neuron links willingness to take risks to brain structure and function, specifically the amygdala and the prefrontal...

Parkinson’s disease. Image credit: Blausen Gallery 2014 / Wikiversity Journal of Medicine, doi: 10.15347/wjm/2014.010.

Gene Mutation Associated with Parkinson’s Initiates Disease Outside of Brain

Mar 22, 2018 by News Staff

A mutation in the leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene — the most common cause of inherited Parkinson’s disease — alters cells circulating...

Memory content could be reliably decoded during sleep spindle increase. Image credit: Kai Kalhh.

Study: Memory Content Could Be Decoded from Brain Waves during Sleep

Mar 9, 2018 by News Staff

Recently acquired information is thought to be ‘reactivated’ in the sleeping brain. Sleep spindles — the short bursts of activity in the brain...

Young neurons (green) decrease in the human hippocampus across the lifespan, vs more mature neurons (red). Image credit: Sorrells et al.

Neurogenesis in Human Hippocampus Ends in Childhood, Neuroscientists Say

Mar 8, 2018 by News Staff

An international team of neuroscientists has shown that in the hippocampus — a brain region important for learning and memory and one of the key...

Light-controlled neuron activation using optogenetics allows modulation of specific circuits but is invasive and requires genetic engineering. Researchers from the University of Chicago have developed a silicon-based nanowire that allows light modulation of neurons without genetic engineering, paving the way for optical control of neural activity to other neurological models. Image credit: Gerry Shaw / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Develop Nanowiring for Optical Control of Neuron Activation

Feb 23, 2018 by Zvi Cramer

Researchers have designed silicon nanowires that allow modulation neuronal activity using light, allowing manipulation of specific neural circuits without...

African grass rats (Arvicanthis niloticus) exposed to dim lights (DLD) for four weeks experienced, on average, a 30% decrease in the number of ‘dendritic spine’ connections in their brains, which are the tiny protrusions near the solid green line, a dendrite. These rats performed poorly on a maze-like task. Rats exposed to bright light (BLD), on the other hand, had many more of the dendritic connections and showed superior performance on the task. Image credit: Michigan State University.

Dim Light Makes Us Dumber, New Study Suggests

Feb 7, 2018 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Hippocampus, spending too much time in dimly-lit environment may change the brain’s structure and hurt...

Parkinson et al show evidence for neural homophily -- neural responses when viewing audiovisual movies are exceptionally similar among friends, and that similarity decreases with increasing distance in a real-world social network. Image credit: Parkinson et al, doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02722-7.

On the Same Wavelength: New Study Illustrates How Similar Neural Responses Predict Friendship

Feb 2, 2018 by News Staff

According to a study published in the January 30 issue of the journal Nature Communications, we are exceptionally similar to our friends in how we perceive...

According to Hamrick et al, language is learned, in specific ways, by general-purpose neurocognitive mechanisms that pre-exist Homo sapiens. This image shows functional areas of the human brain; dashed areas shown are commonly left hemisphere dominant. Image credit: Blausen.com staff, doi: 10.15347/wjm/2014.010.

Study: Language is Learned in Ancient General-Purpose Brain Circuits that Predate Humans

Jan 30, 2018 by News Staff

It has often been claimed that we learn language using brain circuits that are specifically dedicated to this purpose. Now, new evidence suggests that...

Haller et al tracked the brain as it generated an antonym: the brain required 2-3 seconds to detect (yellow), interpret and search for an answer (red) and respond (blue), with sustained prefrontal lobe activity (red) to coordinate all areas of the brain involved. Image credit: University of California, Berkeley.

Neuroscientists Track Thought’s Trip through Brain

Jan 22, 2018 by News Staff

A team of researchers led by the University of California, Berkeley’s Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute has tracked the progress of a thought through...

This study is the first to unveil a gut-brain connection linking high dietary salt intake to neurovascular and cognitive impairment. Image credit: Justin Kolenc.

Study: High-Salt Diet Causes Dementia in Mice

Jan 17, 2018 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, a high-salt diet reduces resting blood flow to the brain and causes dementia in...

According to Seidlitz et al, morphometric similarity mapping provides a novel, robust, and biologically plausible approach to understanding how human brain networks underpin individual differences in psychological functions. Image credit: Gordon Johnson.

Novel Technique Reveals Relationship between IQ and Brain Connectivity

Jan 8, 2018 by News Staff

A simple technique for mapping the wiring of the brain — called morphometric similarity mapping — has shown a correlation between how well...

The process of how information reaches the amygdala. Image credit: Manos Kefalas / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Study: Danger Changes How Mammalian Brain Stores Innocuous Information

Jan 3, 2018 by News Staff

According to a study by University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers, a mammal’s brain changes how it stores information about innocuous events depending...

This image shows a perineuronal net (green) surrounding a neuron. Image credit: Kristian Lensjø.

Researchers Find Way to ‘Erase’ Remote Visual Fear Memories in Rats

Jan 2, 2018 by News Staff

How the brain is able to store memories over long periods of time has been a persistent mystery to scientists. In a new study in rats, a research team...

Neurons. Image credit: National Institute on Aging.

Study Identifies First Brain Cells that Respond to Sound

Dec 21, 2017 by News Staff

A new study by University of Maryland’s Professor Patrick Kanold and co-authors is the first to identify a mechanism that could explain an early link...

Plants infused with the luminescence of fireflies could help reduce our dependence on conventional lighting. Image credit: Seon-Yeong Kwak.

Researchers Create Nanobionic Light-Emitting Plants

Dec 14, 2017 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the University of California and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found a way to infuse plants with the luminescence...

According to Alvarenga et al, dogs are brainier than cats. Image credit: Rihaij.

Dogs Have More Brain Neurons Than Cats, New Study Says

Dec 1, 2017 by News Staff

According to the first study to count the number of cortical neurons in the brains of a number of carnivores, dogs have about 530 million cortical neurons...

Heisz et al examined the combined effect of physical exercise and cognitive training on memory and neurotrophic factors in healthy, young adults. Image credit: Sasin Tipchai.

Study: Intense Physical Exercise Boosts Memory

Nov 28, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers has found that six weeks of intense exercise — short bouts of interval training over the course of 20 minutes — showed...

Exercise can improve memory function and brain health. Image credit: Olga.

Study: Aerobic Exercise Increases Brain Size, Improves Neuronal Health

Nov 14, 2017 by News Staff

In a new study published in the journal NeuroImage, an international team of researchers examined the effects of aerobic exercise on a region of the brain...