Research on the structure and workings of the human brain. Covers prenatal brain development, structural changes in disease, gray and white matter, and brain stimulation.
Researchers found that jazz pianists' brains plan movements differently than classical pianists, with a focus on improvisation and flexibility. Classical pianists, on the other hand, prioritize technique and expression, leading to differences in brain activity when playing the same piece.
UCLA researchers have developed a map of gene regulation in human neurogenesis, identifying factors that govern brain growth and set the stage for brain disorders. The study reveals key genes involved in neurogenesis and their roles in human cognition.
Researchers found that real objects exert a stronger influence on attention and manual responses compared to computerized images of the same objects. This effect was observed even when stimuli were out of reach or behind a barrier, suggesting that the potential for action plays a key role in attention allocation.
Researchers have developed a more detailed map of the human brain's cellular diversity, identifying 35 subtypes of neurons and glial cells linked to various brain disorders. The study provides insights into genetic risk factors for diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.
A study published in eLife reveals that certain mammalian neurons have shapes and electrical properties well-suited for deep learning. The algorithm simulates how these neurons collaborate to achieve deep learning, offering a more biologically realistic approach.
Researchers found that pigeons process space and time in ways similar to humans and other primates, using a common neural coding mechanism. This suggests that abstract concepts are not processed separately and that lower-order animal species can exhibit high-level decision-making abilities.
Researchers found that language learners prefer word orders with shorter dependencies, which are easier to process, suggesting a causal link between human cognition and language structure. This discovery provides new insights into the role of human information processing in shaping linguistic universals.
Researchers at Kent State University analyzed primate brains to identify differences in dopamine-related gene expression, finding that humans have more tyrosine hydroxylase interneurons than other species. This discovery suggests that the neurotransmitter dopamine plays a crucial role in defining human brain function and evolution.
A new study of chimpanzee brain scans reveals a unique human brain structure, with the left hemisphere longer than the right. This asymmetry may hold the key to understanding how humans developed language ability.
A study published in the Journal of Human Evolution found that humans do not have uniquely expensive brains, challenging a major dogma in human evolution studies. Researchers measured the cross-sectional area of cranial arteries and brain glucose uptake to compare brain costs across 22 species.
The NIH BRAIN Initiative is expanding its efforts to develop new tools and technologies to understand neural circuit function and capture a dynamic view of the brain in action. Researchers are making rapid progress in visualizing the brain in action, identifying thousands of brain cells at a time, and developing innovative brain scanners.
A new investigation reveals that human brains are less impaired than skeletal muscles when experiencing extreme physical and mental exertion. The 'selfish brain' hypothesis suggests that the brain prioritizes its own energy needs over peripheral organs, potentially contributing to human evolution's trade-offs.
Researchers from University of Leicester and KU Leuven found that information flow accounts for emergence of small-world networks in complex systems. These structures arise spontaneously in neuronal and social networks, and are characterized by short-cuts and hierarchical organization.
Researchers developed improved mini brain organoids from stem cells, closely mimicking human brain structure. They found critical similarities between the organoids and real brain tissue and identified effective drugs to block Zika's entry into the brain, offering new avenues for studying neurological disorders
Researchers at UC Berkeley are building a new MRI brain scanner with improved resolution, allowing them to image functional regions in the cortex and connect individual neurons. The new scanner will enable studies of human brain function and circuitry on a finer scale.
The CSAIL team developed a VR system that lets users teleoperate robots using an Oculus Rift headset. The system mimics the user's movements to complete various tasks, making it feel like they are inside the robot's head. This technology could enable blue-collar workers to telecommute and benefit from the IT revolution.
Researchers created photonic computer chips mimicking human brain's synapses, enabling speeds a thousand times faster than the human brain. The breakthrough paves the way for new age of computing where machines work and think like the human brain.
Lim's work impacts public through real-world applications, including neural fiber mapping and Human Connectome Project. He received multiple awards for his research on tensors, hypermatrices, and computational geometry/topology.
A new study published in Neuron confirms that lab-grown astrocytes mature at the same rate as human brains, providing a valuable technique to investigate their role in brain development and disease. The findings have significant implications for understanding the roots of neurological disorders such as schizophrenia and autism.
Researchers created high-fidelity maps of neural brain connections, revealing unique features of each individual's brain. These findings may help diagnose and treat neurological diseases such as migraines, Alzheimer's, and brain injuries.
Researchers created an artificial synapse that can simulate inhibitory and stimulatory signals, expanding the capabilities of artificial intelligence systems. The new device is flexible and versatile, enabling it to switch between excitatory and inhibitory signals based on voltages applied at the input terminal.
Researchers have demonstrated a causal connection between deep sleep and learning efficiency in the human brain. By manipulating deep sleep in targeted brain regions, they found that learning efficiency was blocked when synapses remained maximally excited without recovery.
Researchers have identified multipotent stem cells in the human brain following a stroke, which can differentiate into neurons and help repair damage. These cells, called iSCs, express multiple stem cell markers and demonstrate high proliferative potential.
Researchers developed organoids that resemble human brain structure, investigating rare congenital brain defect Miller-Dieker syndrome. The study reveals disrupted stem cell division leading to poor organization and early differentiation of nerve cells.
Researchers have characterized cerebral organoids, showing they recapitulate human brain developmental processes and involve forebrain organizing centers. These findings advance our understanding of normal organoid development and are essential for modeling human developmental diseases.
A new mathematical model predicts how human brains should grow based on ecological, social, and cultural factors. Early results counter prevailing thought that social influences are required for large brain sizes.
According to Professor Ole G. Mouritsen, seaweeds were a crucial source of essential nutrients for early Homo sapiens brain development. These nutrients include taurine, magnesium, zinc, vitamin B12, iodine, and poly-unsaturated fatty-acids (PUFAs), which are also healthy for modern humans.
Researchers analyzed prefrontal cortex lipids in humans and monkeys to identify key differences. They found that human brains had a greater range of lipid concentrations during the first year of life, with many changes occurring after childhood.
Researchers developed an artificial neural network using spintronic devices, demonstrating associative memory operation with learning ability, similar to human brain. The technology enables fast-processing capabilities and ultralow-power consumption, opening new horizons in AI technology.
Researchers traced neural activity patterns in mice, revealing synchronized and symmetric activity coursing around the brain. This discovery connects to enigmatic signals detected in 'resting-state' fMRI, offering new insights into brain-wide neural activity.
A novel analysis in mice reveals that dopamine neuron activity plays a key role in judgment of time, slowing down the internal clock. The study found that transient activation or inhibition of dopamine neurons was sufficient to slow down or speed up time estimation.
Researchers at UC Berkeley discovered that humans use visual cues to quickly determine if something is lifelike or not. In real life, this allows us to navigate social situations and avoid confusion, while in the lab, participants accurately rated groups of images as more or less lifelike even when shown for just 250 milliseconds.
A study found that a gene regulating bone growth is highly active in the brains of humans and nonhuman primates, but not in mice. The researchers believe this gene may play a role in brain maturation and cognitive function.
Research from Newcastle University found that aging brains lose their youthful folding pattern due to decreasing cortical tension. The study provides a new method for measuring brain folding and could help diagnose Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers are developing novel approaches to process and store data in energy-efficient ways, using nanoscale devices and innovative architectures. The goal is to create computers that can learn from data and operate like the human brain.
Columbia scientists have developed a mathematical model that explains how the human brain lays down new memories without wiping out old ones. The model, which describes synapses as systems with multiple dials, increases storage capacity by an enormous factor and provides a framework for future studies of memory.
The Baby Connectome Project will investigate how the human brain develops from birth to early childhood, using non-invasive MRI scans of 500 children. The study aims to uncover factors contributing to healthy brain development and provide a comprehensive picture of brain connectivity.
Researchers at IBS developed a two-terminal tunnelling random access memory (TRAM) with highly reliable performance, long retention time, and flexibility. The device stores data by keeping electrons on its graphene layer, enabling flexible and stretchable applications for wearable smartphones, eye cameras, and biomedical devices.
Research collaboration reveals that blood flow to the brain increased by 600% over human evolution, linked to intelligence growth. Ancient fossil skulls show larger holes in arteries, indicating faster increase in blood flow rate.
A new study reveals dogs can distinguish both vocabulary words and the intonation of human speech through brain regions used by humans. The research found that dogs process vocabulary in the left hemisphere and intonation in the right hemisphere, mirroring human brain function.
Researchers are uniting to tackle the complex challenge of understanding brain function through large-scale computational modeling. This approach aims to improve our knowledge of brain function by creating realistic models based on biological data.
Researchers at Georgia State University are investigating how the human brain has evolved to support technological learning. The study aims to identify unique aspects of the human brain and understand the factors that cause individuals to acquire technological skills differently.
A study suggests that humans' disproportionately large brain size resulted from sizing each other up in large social groups. The research proposes that helping others who are at least as successful as themselves favored by evolution. This idea has implications for engineering intelligent machines to decide cooperation and generosity.
A novel PET radiotracer called Martinostat has been developed to image epigenetic activity in the human brain. The tracer reveals patterns of uptake consistent with histone deacetylase (HDAC) expression levels, providing insights into gene regulation and potential therapies for brain disorders.
A new study finds that humans have the highest number of cortical neurons among primates, but the prefrontal region's size is similar to non-human primates. Cooking allowed early humans to overcome energetic barriers, enabling brain growth and development.
Researchers have created a detailed molecular atlas of primate brain development, revealing key differences between humans and our close evolutionary relatives. The study provides insights into the genetic code underlying brain development and neuropsychiatric diseases.
Johns Hopkins researchers track brain activity as participants make choices entirely on their own, pinpointing the parietal lobe's role in attention switching and frontal cortex involvement in deliberation. The findings shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying human volition and decision-making.
Researchers found that even when conflicting information is invisible, the human brain initiates mechanisms to resolve it. This occurs in the early visual cortex with minimal involvement of the fronto-parietal cortex.
Researchers have identified 16 distinct neuronal subtypes in the human cerebral cortex, revealing a surprising diversity in gene expression. This discovery provides insights into brain function and may shed light on diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
A team of researchers has developed a method to identify different subtypes of neurons in the human brain, revealing unique characteristics that can lead to differences in cellular function. The study provides a unified framework to analyze individual neurons and could help diagnose and treat brain disorders.
New research reveals that hierarchy in biological networks arises due to cost constraints on connections, leading to more efficient networks. This finding may accelerate the development of complex computational brains in AI and robotics.
Researchers found that archerfish can distinguish between up to 44 new faces, demonstrating impressive visual recognition capabilities. The study suggests that simple brains may be capable of complex tasks like facial recognition.
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have pinpointed a specific long non-coding RNA that regulates neural development and drives human brain expansion. The lncRNA, called lncND, binds to microRNAs and regulates the expression of Notch proteins, which are critical for cell differentiation and development.
Researchers create a detailed semantic atlas of the brain's language processing areas, revealing similarities in semantic topography across individuals. The study has potential applications in brain-machine interfaces, decoding difficult-to-speak patients, and translating languages.
A new study maps the human brain's semantic atlas, revealing how different areas respond to words with similar meanings. This discovery holds promise for decoding inner dialogue in individuals who struggle to communicate, such as stroke or ALS patients.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have identified specific neural systems used to encode new scientific concepts. The study shows that the brain repurposes existing neural structures to form new knowledge, enabling humans to learn abstract ideas.
A study published in Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics reveals that people can intentionally exclude objects from their mental model of their environment. Test observers were faster at finding a target when the objects matched the color of the rectangle, but not when they did not, indicating top-down control over attention.
A team of researchers has successfully replicated the folding of a human brain in three-dimensional form using a simple mechanical principle. The study suggests that the unique shape of the human brain plays a crucial role in determining its folds, which are essential for maintaining proper brain function.
Researchers demonstrate that human brain uses different frequency channels depending on the direction of information transport, similar to macaque monkeys. The findings might help understand the cause of psychiatric illnesses where top-down and bottom-up flows get mixed up.
Researchers at Imperial College London have discovered two clusters of genes linked to human intelligence, which may influence cognitive functions such as memory and attention. The study provides new insights into the genetic basis of intelligence and may lead to future treatments for neurodevelopmental diseases.