The complexity of the human brain—86 billion neurons strong with more than 100 trillion connections—enables abstract thinking, language acquisition, advanced reasoning and problem-solving, and the capacity for creativity and social interaction. Understanding how differences in brain signalling and dynamics produce unique cognition and behaviour in individuals has long been a goal of neuroscience research, yet […]
A predictive tool for determining the age at which individuals may develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) has demonstrated the ability to predict MCI onset within 2.78 years and AD onset within 1.48 years. Developed by Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health researchers, collaborating with the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) […]
It has been known for a while that pregnancy changes the brain. We had available data for humans and other mammals showing that after becoming mothers, women’s brains had undergone such profound changes that it is sometimes compared to the reorganization the brain suffers during puberty. What’s new then? A recent study put a scientist […]
Author: José R. Pineda got his Ph.D. from University of Barcelona in 2006. Since 2007 he has worked for Institut Curie and The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission. Currently he is a researcher of the UPV/EHU. He investigates the role of stem cells in physiologic and pathologic conditions. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a […]
Odi et amo. I hate and I love. Maybe you’re wondering why I do that. I do not know. But I feel it happening, and I suffer. So Catullus, famous ancient Roman poet, described the painful and puzzling feeling of love’s contradiction. And if you have ever experienced heartbreak, it’s very likely that you understand […]
Authors: Albert HiuKa Fok, Postdoctoral Fellow in Neuroscience, McGill University and Sabrina Chierzi, Research Associate, Neuroscience, McGill University Astrocytes — named for their star-like shape — are a type of brain cell as abundant as neurons in the central nervous system, but little is known about their role in brain health and disease. Many neurological […]
Authors: Sven Vanneste, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin and Elva Arulchelvan, Lecturer in Psychology and PhD Researcher in Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin Forgetting is part of our daily lives. You may walk into a room only to forget why you went in there – or perhaps someone says hi on the […]
Author: Rachel Gordon, Massachusetts Institute of Technology In 1994, Florida jewelry designer Diana Duyser discovered what she believed to be the Virgin Mary’s image in a grilled cheese sandwich, which she preserved and later auctioned for $28,000. But how much do we really understand about pareidolia, the phenomenon of seeing faces and patterns in objects […]
Electroencephalography, or EEG, was invented 100 years ago. In the years since the invention of this device to monitor brain electricity, it has had an incredible impact on how scientists study the human brain. Since its first use, the EEG has shaped researchers’ understanding of cognition, from perception to memory. It has also been important […]
Pain is highly personal. What to some doesn’t even deserve the name, for others can be unbereable. Now, we just discovered a difference in how we feel it: men and women have different pain receptors. Recent research has demonstrated in rodents and, importantly, primates including humans, that there are sex differences in pain receptors, also […]