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brains

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Green cross section of a brain with a large bright area in its left hemisphere.
neuroscience

Lab-Grown Human Cells Form Working Circuits in Rat Brains

By Allison Whitten
October 12, 2022
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Letting human brain organoids grow in animal brains could be an ethical new option for experimental studies of neurological disorders.

A human figure in a brain landscape stands at a fork in a road. One way goes to pleasant surroundings, the other to an unpleasant place.
memory

A Good Memory or a Bad One? One Brain Molecule Decides.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
September 7, 2022
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When the brain encodes memories as positive or negative, one molecule determines which way they will go.

The face of a sleeping person surrounded by images of the person running and flying in dreams, with other images of scientists monitoring the process.
The Joy of Why

Why and How Do We Dream?

By Steven Strogatz
August 24, 2022
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Dreams are subjective, but there are ways to peer into the minds of people while they are dreaming. Steven Strogatz speaks with sleep researcher Antonio Zadra about how new experimental methods have changed our understanding of dreams.

Orange netlike structures surround the neurons in our brains.
Quantized Columns

Neuronal Scaffolding Plays Unexpected Role in Pain

By R. Douglas Fields
July 28, 2022
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Perineuronal nets, rigid structures that hold certain neurons in place, affect a surprising amount of brain activity, including some associated with chronic pain.

A human figure’s brain with a “low battery” icon on it.
neuroscience

The Brain Has a ‘Low-Power Mode’ That Blunts Our Senses

By Allison Whitten
June 14, 2022
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Neuroscientists uncovered an energy-saving mode in vision-system neurons that works at the cost of being able to see fine-grained details.

A video that shows washes of light moving across a model of a human brain.
neuroscience

Brain Chemical Helps Signal to Neurons When to Start a Movement

By Allison Whitten
March 22, 2022
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Dopamine, a neurochemical often associated with reward behavior, also seems to help organize precisely when the brain initiates movements. It’s the latest revelation about the power of neuromodulators.

Photo of genetically engineered zebra fish larva with fluorescent markings in its brain.
memory

Scientists Watch a Memory Form in a Living Brain

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
March 3, 2022
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While watching a fearful memory take shape in the brain of a living fish, neuroscientists see an unexpected level of rewiring occur in the synaptic connections.

neural networks

AI Overcomes Stumbling Block on Brain-Inspired Hardware

By Allison Whitten
February 17, 2022
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Algorithms that use the brain’s communication signal can now work on analog neuromorphic chips, which closely mimic our energy-efficient brains.

neuroscience

New Map of Meaning in the Brain Changes Ideas About Memory

By Jordana Cepelewicz
February 8, 2022
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Researchers have mapped hundreds of semantic categories to the tiny bits of the cortex that represent them in our thoughts and perceptions. What they discovered might change our view of memory.


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