Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research

Psychology & Psychiatry

Stressed, anxious? Ask the brain

Our actions are driven by "internal states" such as anxiety, stress or thirst—which will strongly affect and motivate our behaviors. Not much is known about how such states are represented by complex brain-wide circuits, ...

Genetics

New findings on autism-related disorder

In a study published today in Nature, Marc Bühler and his group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) have taken a major step forward in elucidating the mechanisms underlying a disorder known ...

Neuroscience

High-speed locomotion neurons found in the brainstem

Think of taking a casual stroll on a sunny Sunday afternoon or running at full speed to catch a bus for work on Monday morning as two extremes. Both forms of locomotion entail a perfect interplay between arms and legs, yet ...

Neuroscience

Coupling of movement and vision

In a study published in Cell, Georg Keller and his group shed light on neural circuits in the cortex that underlie the integration of movement and visual feedback. They identified a mechanism in the visual cortex responsible ...

Neuroscience

Computations of visual motion in the brain

Botond Roska and his group at the FMI have elucidated how the retina and the visual cortex work together in visual motion perception. They found that cortical cells, which respond preferentially to backward image motion, ...

Genetics

Epigenetic regulation of face formation

Each face is unique, even though the genes controlling facial shape are almost identical in every individual. Filippo Rijli and his team at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) have discovered an ...

Neuroscience

Transcriptional control of sound discrimination

Filippo Rijli and his team at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research have identified two genes that control sound discrimination in the brain. The Hox2 transcription factors act in the mouse brain stem and ...

Neuroscience

Deviations from expectations: detecting moving objects

Pawel Zmarz and Georg Keller at the FMI have identified neurons in the visual cortex that enable the detection of moving objects as we move along. These neurons integrate visual and motor-related input and signal a mismatch ...

Neuroscience

What you see is not always what you get

Georg Keller and his group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) have identified neurons in the visual cortex whose activity predicts an upcoming visual stimulus. This activity emerges with experience ...

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