3D-Printed Brain Helps Scientists Study Cancer and Test Drugs
Scientists use 3D printed brain tissue and cancer to quickly test drug efficacy. Continue reading 3D-Printed Brain Helps Scientists Study Cancer and Test Drugs
Tag: neuroscience
Study finds a classically mammalian brain region in reptilian brains
Researchers at Max Planck Institute for Brain Research have discovered a mammalian claustrum in reptiles, believed to impact decision-making and consciousness. The study hints at the claustrum’s prehistoric existence, in mammals, reptiles, and possibly their common ancestor. Continue reading Study finds a classically mammalian brain region in reptilian brains
People With Young-Onset Parkinson’s May Have Been Born With It
New research from Cedars-Sinai suggests that patients with young-onset Parkinson’s may have been born with the beginnings of the disorder. Continue reading People With Young-Onset Parkinson’s May Have Been Born With It
Learning to Remember: Memory-Trace Cells
Electrical recordings from human subjects have revealed the existence of memory-trace cells, which change their response depending on which previous experience is supposed to be recalled, providing a major insight into how the brain remembers specific events. Continue reading Learning to Remember: Memory-Trace Cells
Brain-machine interfaces may be used to study and regulate mood
Brain-machine interfaces translate brain signals into information that can be used to control robotic limbs, and now even predict an individual’s mood state. Researchers envision using BMIs together with electrical stimulation, to regulate abnormal brain signals in patients with treatment-resistant neuropsychiatric disorders. Continue reading Brain-machine interfaces may be used to study and regulate mood
Magnetic field-controlled drug delivery to the brain
Researchers have developed a minimally-invasive and precise brain drug delivery system that is controlled by an external magnetic field. Read Anqi Zhang’s article to learn more about neuron modulation by drug delivery! Continue reading Magnetic field-controlled drug delivery to the brain
Pigs & Immortality: A Step Towards Reversing Death
Researchers from the Yale School of Medicine have developed a system capable of sustaining certain aspects of brain function for several hours, even if the host animal has been dead for up to four hours beforehand. While this by no means suggests that complete restoration of neurological function is on the horizon, it reveals the surprising resilience of post-mortem brain tissue, introduces a promising technique that could allow scientists to study certain biological functions outside of live animals, and highlights the important ethical considerations that must be discussed before any potential complete resuscitation of neurological activity is achieved. Continue reading Pigs & Immortality: A Step Towards Reversing Death
Read My Mind: An Implant That Translates Brain Activity into Speech
For those who lose or lack the ability to speak, communication can be slow and painstaking. For example, towards the end of his life famed cosmologist Stephen Hawking communicated solely through the movement of a single cheek muscle as a result of his motor neuron disease (ASL). With the aim of finding a solution to this problem, a team at University of California have coupled … Continue reading Read My Mind: An Implant That Translates Brain Activity into Speech
Need to jog your memory? A zap to the brain could help
As you read this article, you may not be consciously trying to memorize each sentence, but the words do need to stick around temporarily. After all, you have to remember what you just read to understand the full article. This is your working memory, sometimes called “short-term memory,” and it allows us to remember things just long enough to complete a task. Its decline is … Continue reading Need to jog your memory? A zap to the brain could help
Old Brain, New Neurons?
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks – but maybe you can have an old brain grow new neurons. New research published in Nature Medicine has shed some light onto the debated topic of whether adult brains can create new neurons in the hippocampus, the region of the brain that is important in short- and long-term memory consolidation. As you might expect, … Continue reading Old Brain, New Neurons?