neuroscience
Competition Between Synapses Shapes Brain Circuitry
Brain plasticity, essential for learning and memory, is controlled by competition for a limited protein resource.
How Some Siblings Overcome Schizophrenia Risk
A brain imaging study has found that siblings of schizophrenic patients can overcome their genetic predisposition to the disease.
The Fruit Fly May Know It’s Bugging You
A ‘virtual reality’ experiment done on flies has shown that their brains register the difference between their own actions and external stimuli.
Mouse Spinal Nerves Regrown After One Year
Inhibiting the proteins PTEN has helped mice regenerate corticospinal tract neurons even one year after injury.
Dopamine Boosts Libido In Aging Male Flies
Increasing dopamine levels in PPL2ab neurons can restore sexual responses in old, male flies.
Fight-Or-Flight Reflex Circuit Uncovered In Mice
Using optogenetics and neural tracing methods, scientists mapped the fight-or-flight reflex circuit in the brains of mice.
The Neurons That Enable Strategy Switching
Mice with damaged cholinergic interneurons were able to learn how to get a sugar reward but unable to unlearn their behavior when the rules changed.
The Blind Spot Can Sense Light After All
Although not involved in vision, light on the eye's blind spot can influence the pupillary light reflex.
Recreating Brain Connectivity In A Dish
Scientists are one step closer to reconstructing the social network of different types of brain cells, thanks to multi-electrode arrays.
