Neuroscience News

Lonchura striata. Image credit: Thimindu Goonatillake / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Songbirds Sing Like Humans, Researchers Say

Jan 12, 2016 by News Staff

Vocal muscles of songbirds work like those of human speakers and singers, according to Emory University scientist Dr Samuel Sober and his colleagues from...

Heatmap of gradient of expression of M1 and M3 spanning fetal development to late adulthood and in topographically distinct cortical regions: A1C - auditory cortex; AMY - amygdala; CBC - cerebellar cortex; DFC - dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; HIP - hippocampus; IPC - posterior inferior parietal cortex; ITC - inferior temporal cortex; M1C - primary motor cortex; MD - mediodorsal nucleus of thalamus; MFC - medial prefrontal cortex; OFC - orbital prefrontal cortex; S1C - primary somatosensory cortex; STC - superior temporal cortex; STR - striatum; V1C - primary visual cortex; VFC - ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Image credit: Michael R. Johnson et al, doi: 10.1038/nn.4205.

Researchers Identify Intelligence Gene Networks

Dec 22, 2015 by News Staff

A group of scientists led by Imperial College London researcher Michael Johnson has identified two ‘gene networks’ associated with human cognitive...

Simulation of electrical activity in a virtual brain slice formed from seven unitary digital reconstructions of neocortical microcircuits. Image credit: BBP / EPFL.

Scientists Digitally Reconstruct Section of Rat Brain

Oct 12, 2015 by News Staff

A large international team of researchers from the Blue Brain Project has digitally reconstructed and simulated a slice of a juvenile rat’s neocortex,...

Key molecular process in brain is different in males and females, according to a new study.

Female and Male Brains Operate Differently at Molecular Level, New Study Reveals

Aug 12, 2015 by News Staff

A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience has revealed an intrinsic biological difference between males and females in the molecular regulation...

Neuroscientists Successfully Demonstrate Rat and Monkey ‘Brainets’

Jul 9, 2015 by News Staff

A team of neuroscientists at Duke University published two separate studies today, one involving rats and the other involving rhesus macaque monkeys, that...

Rats show regret too. Image credit: Duke University.

Rats ‘Dream’ about Future, New Study Finds

Jun 29, 2015 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal eLife, when rats (Rattus rattus) sleep or rest, their brains simulate journeys to a desired goal. Rats...

Inside the head of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, an antenna-like structure at the tip of the AFD neuron (green) is the sensor for Earth’s magnetic field. Image credit: Andrés Vidal-Gadea.

Scientists Discover First Magnetosensitive Neuron in Animal

Jun 18, 2015 by News Staff

A group of scientists, led by Dr Jon Pierce-Shimomura of the University of Texas at Austin, has identified a magnetosensitive neuron in the brain of Caenorhabditis...

Image of a pair of engram (mCherry+) and nonengram (mCherry–) cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Image credit: Tomás J. Ryan et al.

Neuroscientists Reactivate ‘Lost’ Memories in Mice

Jun 1, 2015 by News Staff

According to a group of researchers led by Prof Susumu Tonegawa from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, memories that have been lost as a result of...

Babies are able to learn abstract relations before the first year of life. Image credit: Kang Heungbo.

Babies Can Form Abstract Relations Before They Learn Words

May 26, 2015 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Child Development, infants are capable of understanding abstract relations like ‘same’ and ‘different.’ Babies...

The experimental setup of the invisible body condition, left panel, and the mannequin condition. The participants were fitted with a set of head-mounted displays that showed the real-time 3-D video feed of a pair of downward-facing cams that were mounted on the wall or on the head of a mannequin. The scientist applied touches to the participants’ body and the corresponding body part of the invisible body/mannequin using a paintbrush. The grayed-out body in the left panel illustrates the discrete portion of empty space that was meant to represent the invisible body. Two sample frames of the actual visual stimuli presented in head-mounted displays are shown below, featuring the brushing procedure and knife threat event for the two conditions, respectively. Image credit: Arvid Guterstam et al.

Neuroscientists Create Illusion of Having Invisible Body

Apr 24, 2015 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, the feeling of invisibility changes physical stress response in challenging social...

Curiosity helps learning and memory, scientists say. Anonymous painter, 15th century - Cahiers de Science et Vie no. 114.

New Study Provides Insight into How Piquing Curiosity Changes Our Brains

Oct 3, 2014 by News Staff

The more curious we are about a topic, the easier it is to learn information about that topic. A new study carried out by California University scientists...

Brain-to-brain communication system overview. On the left, the brain-computer interaction subsystem is shown schematically, including electrodes over the motor cortex and the EEG amplifier/transmitter wireless box in the cap. Motor imagery of the feet codes the bit value 0, of the hands codes bit value 1. On the right, the computer-brain interface system is illustrated, highlighting the role of coil orientation for encoding the two bit values. Communication between the brain-computer interaction and computer-brain interface system components is mediated by the Internet. Image credit: Grau C et al.

Neuroscientists Demonstrate Direct Brain-to-Brain Communication in Humans

Sep 4, 2014 by News Staff

In a groundbreaking study, scientists led by Dr Giulio Ruffini of Starlab Barcelona, Spain, have successfully transmitted the words ‘hola’ and ‘ciao’...

Blue light may increase hunger. Image credit: Alexofdodd / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Blue Light Exposure before Evening Meal Linked to Increased Hunger

Jun 17, 2014 by News Staff

Blue-enriched light exposure immediately before the evening meal may increase hunger, according to a new study published in the journal Sleep (abstract...

Rats Can Feel Regret Like Humans, Study Reveals

Jun 10, 2014 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, rats can feel regret – a cognitive behavior once thought to be uniquely human. Rats...

This drawing shows several of the most important brain structures. Image credit: National Institute for Aging.

Bilingualism Benefits Aging Brain, Scientists Say

Jun 5, 2014 by News Staff

Individuals who speak two or more languages, even those who acquired the second language in adulthood, may slow down cognitive decline from aging, according...

Researchers mapped brain activity when volunteers read poetry and prose. The results show that poetry is like music to the human mind. Image credit: Jens Langner.

fMRI Study Reveals Differences in Brain Response to Poetry and Prose

Oct 11, 2013 by News Staff

Researchers from the University of Exeter, UK, have used the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology to map the different ways in which...

Acute brain slice: thin brain slices allow the selective study of a neural circuit in isolation not possible in intact organism; here one can also selectively manipulate the conditions and observe their specific effect. Image credit: Bhuminder Singh.

Future of Neurophysiology: to Slice or not to Slice?

Oct 1, 2013 by Bhuminder Singh

We would like to think that scientific efforts are free of trends and human whims and proceed in a straight line for the good of humanity; but this is...

This image shows a monocyte - a type of white blood cell and part of the human body's immune system (Adam Orlando / University of Massachusetts Amherst).

Immune Cells in Brain Can Influence Your Mood

Aug 27, 2013 by News Staff

According to a new mice study reported in the Journal of Neuroscience, immune system cells called to the brain in response to stress lead to anxiety symptoms. This...

The study finds red light least harmful, while blue light is worst. Image credit: Bryan William Jones / University of Utah.

Night Light Color May Affect Your Mood, Suggests Study

Aug 23, 2013 by News Staff

A new animal study reported in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that nocturnal light exposure may induce depressive responses and alter neuronal structure. The...