Cortex News and Research

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Study Examines the Role of Neuronal Diversity in Cognitive Functions

Neurons in a key area of the brain have different functions based on their exact genetic identity, and understanding this diversity could lead to better understanding of the brain's computational flexibility and memory capacity, potentially informing disease treatment options, Cornell researchers report in a new study.

23 May 2023

How Exploratory Actions Enable Animals to Efficiently Learn Their Spatial Environment

Neuroscientists have uncovered how exploratory actions enable animals to learn their spatial environment more efficiently.

2 May 2023

Neuronal Activity Necessary and Sufficient to Drive Astrocyte Development

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have unraveled the processes that give astrocytes, the most abundant glial cell in the brain, their special bushy shape, which is fundamental for brain function.

27 Apr 2023

Computational Models can Help Determine the Identities and Roles of Individual Neurons

Investigators at Cedars-Sinai have created computer-generated models to bridge the gap between "test tube" data about neurons and the function of those cells in the living brain.

26 Apr 2023

DSCAM Gene Triplication Causes Excessive Inhibitory Signaling in the Brain of Down Syndrome Mouse

An extra copy of a gene that controls synapse formation in the cortex causes excessive inhibitory signaling and may contribute to Down syndrome, according to a new study publishing April 20th in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Bing Ye of the University of Michigan, US, and colleagues.

21 Apr 2023

Mind-Body Connection is More Than Just an Abstraction

Calm body, calm mind, say the practitioners of mindfulness. A new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that the idea that the body and mind are inextricably intertwined is more than just an abstraction.

20 Apr 2023

MIT Researchers Identify Brain Cells Most Susceptible to Neurodegeneration

Neurodegeneration, or the gradual loss of neuron function, is one of the key features of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Apr 2023

New Embryonic Brain Circuit Offers New Insights on Circuit Abnormalities in Autism

Researchers have discovered an active multi-layer circuit that emerges in the cortex at an unexpectedly early stage of development using a new method for analyzing live embryonic mouse brains at single-cell resolution.

18 Apr 2023

Key Mediator of Anhedonia-Like Behavior Identified

Researchers uncovered a stress-regulated gene that is important in the relationship between chronic stress and typical depressed behavior in mice.

10 Apr 2023

Analyzing the Connection Between Genes, Brain Characteristics, and Behavior

Intelligence is presumably heritable. Certain genetic variations have been linked to higher intelligence test performance in research. Other research has linked intelligence to a number of brain characteristics, like network efficiency.

5 Apr 2023

Identification of Unique Proteins That Might be Body Weight Regulators

Genetic factors may account for up to 50% of the diversity in body mass index, or BMI, in the population.

5 Apr 2023

Astrocytes Pull the Handbrake to Drive the Brain to a More Relaxed State

A brimming inbox on Monday morning sets your head spinning. You take a moment to breathe and your mind clears enough to survey the emails one by one.

5 Apr 2023

Learning how the brain makes choices could help better understand neurological disorders

New research published by investigators at Cedars-Sinai advances scientific understanding of how the brain weighs decisions involving what people like or value, such as choosing which book to read, which restaurant to pick for lunch-;or even, which slot machine to play in a casino.

24 Mar 2023

Brain scans link signs of cellular aging to symptoms of Alzheimer’s

According to a new study led by Anya Topiwala of Oxford Population Health, a division of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and published on March 22nd, 2023 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, changes in the brain caused by Alzheimer’s disease are connected to telomeres shortening, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that shorten as cells age.

23 Mar 2023

Spatial Computing theory could explain the brain's flexible working memory

Brain applies rhythms to physical patches of the cortex to selectively control just the right neurons at the right times to do the right things.

16 Mar 2023

Unique region of the brain's cortex used when visually navigating an area by foot

Using vision to efficiently move through an area by foot uses a unique region of the brain's cortex, according to a small study funded by the National Eye Institute.

16 Mar 2023

Research reports distinct patterns of reward-seeking behavior between OCD and problem gambling

Shinsuke Suzuki at The University of Melbourne, Australia reports distinct patterns of reward-seeking behavior between obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and problem gambling, in a study publishing in the open access journal PLOS Biology on March 14th. OCD is associated with lower-than-normal learning rates when rewards are less than expected. On the other hand, people with problem gambling exhibit boosted and blunted learning from rewards higher and lower than expected, respectively.

15 Mar 2023

Significance of astrocyte–neuron interactions in fine-tuning brain function

Humans learn to handle a variety of skilled movements throughout their lives, from driving a car to swinging a tennis racket. Neurons are not the only ones who implement this learning, but a new study from The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT shows that astrocytes play an important role as well.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 14 Mar 2023

DZNE scientists discover major role of centrosome in neuronal migration

Researchers from the DZNE have solved an important puzzle in neurobiology: the wiring and the movement of nerve cells are interwoven, but separately controlled.

16 Feb 2023

New ways to diagnose learning and memory disorders

By showing Welles's movie "Touch of Evil" to mice, Chinmay Purandare, PhD, and Prof. Mayank Mehta of UCLA have uncovered surprising and important new insights about how neurons form memories. The discovery points to new ways to diagnose Alzheimer's and other learning and memory impairments, while also improving artificial intelligence.

15 Feb 2023

Cortex News and Research

Study Examines the Role of Neuronal Diversity in Cognitive Functions

How Exploratory Actions Enable Animals to Efficiently Learn Their Spatial Environment

Neuronal Activity Necessary and Sufficient to Drive Astrocyte Development

Computational Models can Help Determine the Identities and Roles of Individual Neurons

DSCAM Gene Triplication Causes Excessive Inhibitory Signaling in the Brain of Down Syndrome Mouse

Mind-Body Connection is More Than Just an Abstraction

MIT Researchers Identify Brain Cells Most Susceptible to Neurodegeneration

New Embryonic Brain Circuit Offers New Insights on Circuit Abnormalities in Autism

Key Mediator of Anhedonia-Like Behavior Identified

Analyzing the Connection Between Genes, Brain Characteristics, and Behavior

Identification of Unique Proteins That Might be Body Weight Regulators

Astrocytes Pull the Handbrake to Drive the Brain to a More Relaxed State

Learning how the brain makes choices could help better understand neurological disorders

Brain scans link signs of cellular aging to symptoms of Alzheimer’s

Spatial Computing theory could explain the brain's flexible working memory

Unique region of the brain's cortex used when visually navigating an area by foot

Research reports distinct patterns of reward-seeking behavior between OCD and problem gambling

Significance of astrocyte–neuron interactions in fine-tuning brain function

DZNE scientists discover major role of centrosome in neuronal migration

New ways to diagnose learning and memory disorders

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