Neuron

Flip of a single molecular switch makes an old brain young

The flip of a single molecular switch helps create the mature neuronal connections that allow the brain to bridge the gap between adolescent impressionability and adult stability. Now Yale School of Medicine ...

Neuroscience created Mar 06, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Solving the 'Cocktail Party Problem': How we can focus on 1 speaker in noisy crowds

In the din of a crowded room, paying attention to just one speaker's voice can be challenging. Research in the March 6 issue of the Cell Press journal Neuron demonstrates how the brain hones in on one sp ...

Neuroscience created Mar 06, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Portion of hippocampus found to play role in modulating anxiety

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have found the first evidence that selective activation of the dentate gyrus, a portion of the hippocampus, can reduce anxiety without affecting learning. ...

Neuroscience created Mar 06, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

One region, two functions: Brain cells' multitasking key to understanding overall brain function

A region of the brain known to play a key role in visual and spatial processing has a parallel function: sorting visual information into categories, according to a new study by researchers at the University ...

Neuroscience created Mar 06, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Cell death in retina helps tune our internal clocks

(Medical Xpress)—With every sunrise and sunset, our eyes make note of the light as it waxes and wanes, a process that is critical to aligning our circadian rhythms to match the solar day so we are alert during the day and ...

Neuroscience created Mar 05, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study shows how insulin-like molecules play critical role in learning and memory

Though it's most often associated with disorders like diabetes, Harvard researchers have shown how the signaling pathway of insulin and insulin-like peptides plays another critical role in the body – helping ...

Neuroscience created Feb 26, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

More than just looking: Role of tiny eye movements explained

Have you ever wondered whether it's possible to look at two places at once? Because our eyes have a specialized central region with high visual acuity and good color vision, we must always focus on one spot at a time in order ...

Neuroscience created Feb 21, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Fragile X makes brain cells talk too much, research shows

The most common inherited form of mental retardation and autism, fragile X syndrome, turns some brain cells into chatterboxes, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report.

Neuroscience created Feb 20, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Human cognition depends upon slow-firing neurons

Good mental health and clear thinking depend upon our ability to store and manipulate thoughts on a sort of "mental sketch pad." In a new study, Yale School of Medicine researchers describe the molecular basis of this ability—the ...

Neuroscience created Feb 20, 2013 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Identification of abnormal protein may help diagnose, treat ALS and frontotemporal dementia

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are devastating neurodegenerative diseases with no effective treatment. Researchers are beginning to recognize ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created Feb 12, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Fluctuations in size of brain waves contribute to information processing

Cyclical variations in the size of brain wave rhythms may participate in the encoding of information by the brain, according to a new study led by Colin Molter of the Neuroinformatics Japan Center, RIKEN ...

Neuroscience created Feb 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Brain research provides clues to what makes people think and behave differently

Differences in the physical connections of the brain are at the root of what make people think and behave differently from one another. Researchers reporting in the February 6 issue of the Cell Press journal ...

Neuroscience created Feb 06, 2013 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (9) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study points to possible cause of, and treatment for, non-familial Parkinson's

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified a protein trafficking defect within brain cells that may underlie common non-familial forms of Parkinson's disease. The defect is at a point of convergence ...

Parkinson's & Movement disorders created Feb 06, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists investigate inherited causes of autism

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are among the most heritable of all neuropsychiatric conditions. Yet, most genetic links to ASD found in recent years have involved de novo mutations, which are not passed from parent to child, ...

Genetics created Feb 04, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists learn more about how inhibitory brain cells get excited

Scientists have found an early step in how the brain's inhibitory cells get excited.

Neuroscience created Jan 30, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast