Forming large groups (flocks, banks, swarms, herds, schools, …) is characteristic of many species. The generally accepted idea is that it is an adaptive process, in which the individual improves its chances of survival by being part of a numerous group. A shark does not know which fish to attack in a sardine bank and […]
Cortical neurons often fire together as a group, rather than independently, and these coactive groups, also known as neuronal ensembles (or chains, assemblies, attractors, clicks, motifs, songs, bumps, etc.), could constitute emergent functional units of the brain, as modular building blocks of memories, thoughts, motor programs, computations, or perceptual or mental states. In order to […]
As one of those people who REALLY love to sleep -and doesn’t get close to enough of it- I am always interested to read on the topic. What I didn’t expect was to read about sleeping fish and how that relates to its origin . But let’s get down to the details, because if the […]
The cicadas are part of the soundtrack of summer. Their calls, especially if a large number of animals is gathered, can form an impressive concert. They are part of the hemiptera, the order of aphids and bedbugs, but they do not have the bad reputation of these others, although they are not beneficial either. The […]
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have among their diagnostic characteristics problems for communication and social interaction. The typical example is the difficulty to understand the facial expressions or the body language of other people, but in addition to these aspects mediated by the visual system there may be other senses affected and, in fact, it has […]
A preterm baby is one that is born prematurely, a minimum of three weeks before the expected date of delivery or, in other words, before the 37th week of pregnancy. Premature babies, especially extreme premature babies, have a high risk of suffering from nervous system problems, especially cerebral palsy, neurodevelopmental delays, and hearing and vision […]
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) includes sensory alterations as one of the four characteristics of restricted / repetitive behavior of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It defines this symptom characteristic as a «hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory inputs or an unusual interest for sensory aspects of the environment» […]
Zoë Firth & Priscila Borba Borges, students, European Master’s in Clinical Linguistics (EMCL+) and Adrià Rofes (advisor) ‘ I can’t control my brain’. So sang Weezer in their 2001 hit ‘Island in the Sun’; how fitting, then, that this was the song teenager Kira Iaconetti chose to sing during her brain surgery. That’s right: during […]
The needs imposed by a globalized society that maintains activity 24 hours a day and 7 days a week are being addressed by increasing working hours and extending work activity into the weekend. Karoshi, which can be translated literally as “overwork death” in Japanese, is occupational sudden mortality. In Asian countries, the risk of karoshi […]
Health • Microbiology • Neurobiology • Neuroscience • Physiology
Gut microbiota has a surprising importance in processes related to the development of the nervous system, its functioning and to psychology and behavior, both in people and in animals. The microorganisms produce substances that after crossing the intestinal epithelium reach the blood and through it and after crossing the blood-brain barrier they reach the brain […]