Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Cambridge in the U.K. and collaborating institutions have shown that serotonin 2C receptor in the brain regulates memory in people and animal models. The findings, ...
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A team of biomedical researchers from the U.S. and the U.K. has identified two groups of neurons that take part in the process of feeling full—one before eating and one after. In their study, published in the journal Science, ...
Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have shed valuable light on the nuanced functions and intricate regulatory methods of RNA editing, a critical mechanism underlying brain development and disease.
22 hours ago
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The Alzheimer's Association has published revised criteria for the diagnosis and staging of Alzheimer's disease that are based on the biology of the disease and reflect recent advancements in research, diagnostics and treatment.
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Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disorder that causes brain cells to waste away and die. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, which is a term used to describe a group of symptoms that affect memory, ...
Jun 28, 2024
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A new study in the Journal of Neuroscience has discovered underlying sex differences in the molecular pathways that drive reward-related behaviors. In particular, the study found differences and similarities in the ways males ...
Jun 27, 2024
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The hypothalamus is a small region of the human brain typically associated with regulating body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and sleep. But it also has another important role: helping the brain and body switch between ...
Jun 27, 2024
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Growing up in neighborhoods with more educational and socioeconomic opportunities has a positive impact on infants' brain activity, according to new research from Boston Medical Center (BMC). The study, published in The Journal ...
Jun 27, 2024
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Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, 10 to 30% of the general population has experienced some form of virus-induced cognitive impairment, including trouble concentrating, brain fog or memory loss. This led a team of ...
Jun 27, 2024
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In a much-publicized 2014 study, two Japanese neuroscience researchers found Brazilian soccer star Neymar used 90% less of his brain capacity—measured by neuron signals—compared to a group of Spanish second division players.
Jun 27, 2024
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The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as jellyfish and starfish have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all. In vertebrates, the brain is located in the head, protected by the skull and close to the primary sensory apparatus of vision, hearing, balance, taste, and smell.
Brains can be extremely complex. The cerebral cortex of the human brain contains roughly 15-33 billion neurons depending on gender and age, linked with up to 10,000 synaptic connections each. Each cubic millimeter of cerebral cortex contains roughly one billion synapses. These neurons communicate with one another by means of long protoplasmic fibers called axons, which carry trains of signal pulses called action potentials to distant parts of the brain or body and target them to specific recipient cells.
The most important biological function of the brain is to generate behaviors that promote the welfare of an animal. Brains control behavior either by activating muscles, or by causing secretion of chemicals such as hormones. Even single-celled organisms may be capable of extracting information from the environment and acting in response to it. Sponges, which lack a central nervous system, are capable of coordinated body contractions and even locomotion. In vertebrates, the spinal cord by itself contains neural circuitry capable of generating reflex responses as well as simple motor patterns such as swimming or walking. However, sophisticated control of behavior on the basis of complex sensory input requires the information-integrating capabilities of a centralized brain.
Despite rapid scientific progress, much about how brains work remains a mystery. The operations of individual neurons and synapses are now understood in considerable detail, but the way they cooperate in ensembles of thousands or millions has been very difficult to decipher. Methods of observation such as EEG recording and functional brain imaging tell us that brain operations are highly organized, but these methods do not have the resolution to reveal the activity of individual neurons.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
