Neocortex News and Research

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Study Sheds Light on Human Neocortex Evolution

Neurobiologists are certain that the neocortex is the defining factor that distinguishes humans.

28 Mar 2024

Scientists Pinpoint Gene Linked to Neuronal Susceptibility in Alzheimer’s Disease

Protein buildup and cell degeneration in specific populations of brain cells are hallmarks of the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases.

12 Mar 2024

The Complex Dynamics of Death and Reversibility

Defining death neurologically poses a challenging task. Rather than a specific moment marking the transition from life to death, it is a process spanning several minutes, sometimes reversible under certain conditions.

13 Dec 2023

Unveiling the Role of the Cerebellum in Human Cognitive Evolution

The development of advanced cognitive functions in humans has primarily been associated with the growth of the neocortex, a brain region responsible for conscious thought, movement, and sensory perception.

30 Nov 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

Human-specific gene involves in neocortical expansion during evolution

Great ape animal experiments have long been prohibited in Europe due to ethical concerns. An alternative to using animals in investigations is the use of organoids, which are three-dimensional cell structures that can be generated in the lab and are only a few millimeters in size.

From The Max Planck Institute 14 Sep 2022

Study identifies vital factor involved in the evolution of the human brain

Humans have a huge and intricately folded neocortex, the reason for various intellectual abilities, setting apart humans from all other species.

17 Sep 2021

Study shows why “the brain's memory center” is vulnerable to damage, degeneration

In a world first, scientists from the University of Sussex have recorded blood oxygen levels in the hippocampus and provided experimental proof for why the area, commonly referred to as 'the brain's memory center', is vulnerable to damage and degeneration, a precursor to Alzheimer's disease.

31 May 2021

3D-printed system enables the growth of self-organizing brain tissue

A research team has created brain tissue organoids in a tiny 3D-printed system that helps them observe as they grow and develop.

7 Apr 2021

Scientists identify key source of sensory perception

The brain encodes information collected by our senses. However, to perceive our environment and to constructively interact with it, these sensory signals need to be interpreted in the context of our previous experiences and current aims.

17 Nov 2020

Researchers identify genes associated with autism spectrum disorder

The lack of some genes in the BEC/TCEAL cluster could be related to some alterations associated with the autism spectrum disorder, according to a preclinical study published in the journal Genome Biology, and led by Professor Jordi Garcia Fernàndez, from the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), and researcher Jaime Carvajal, from the Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology - University Pablo de Olavide (CSIC-UPO).

27 Oct 2020

New radiotracer provides a quantitative measure of disease progression after stroke

A new radiotracer, 18F-SynVesT-2, can directly assess synaptic density changes in the brain, providing an objective and quantitative measure of disease progression after stroke.

14 Jul 2020

Novel high-speed microscope successfully records neural activities

Our brain contains tens of billions of nerve cells (neurons) which constantly communicate with each other by sending chemical and electrical flashes, each lasting a short one millisecond (0.001 sec). In every millisecond, these billions of swift-flying flashes altogether traveling in a giant star-map in the brain that lights up a tortuous glittering pattern.

15 Apr 2020