Neuroscience

Quick thinking? It's all down to timing

Remember hearing people being called slow learners by teachers and parents? That oft-used description of someone who takes a wee bit longer to process information, now has a scientific basis for its existence. Scientists ...

Neuroscience

Full detonation in the hippocampus

Altering synaptic plasticity leads to a computational switch in a hippocampal synapse: the presynaptic neuron turns into 'detonator' mode, causing its postsynaptic partner to fire more readily. This new insight into information ...

Neuroscience

Neuroscientists reveal how the brain can enhance connections

When the brain forms memories or learns a new task, it encodes the new information by tuning connections between neurons. MIT neuroscientists have discovered a novel mechanism that contributes to the strengthening of these ...

Neuroscience

Study reveals novel role for the Pin1 molecule

Synapses are "dynamic" things: they can regulate their action in neural processes related to learning, for example, but also as a consequence of diseases. A research team – led by SISSA – has demonstrated the role of ...

Neuroscience

Protein interaction is crucial for building networks in the brain

Neural networks are formed by the interconnection of specific neurons in the brain. The molecular mechanisms involved in creating these connections, however, have so far eluded scientists. Research led by Jun Aruga from the ...

Neuroscience

Amplifying communication between neurons

Neurons send signals to each other across small junctions called synapses. Some of these signals involve the flow of potassium, calcium and sodium ions through channel proteins that are embedded within the membranes of neurons. ...

page 1 from 1