Category archives: Neuroscience

How good are neuron models?

How good are neuron models?

Neuroscience

By Jorge Mejías

For several decades now, physicists, mathematicians, neurobiologists and other specialists have been joining efforts to build realistic mathematical models of neurons. A typical model consists on one or several differential equations that are able to predict the evolution of the membrane potential of a neuron for a given input. When introduced in a computer, these […]

Reinforcement learning in the brain

Reinforcement learning in the brain

Neuroscience

By Jorge Mejías

The term reinforcement learning is well known among researchers in the areas of machine learning and artificial intelligence. It refers to a type of algorithms which are designed to solve a task by maximizing some kind of reward. In a simplified way, we could say that a typical reinforcement learning algorithm works as follows: our […]

The rhythm of my nerves

The rhythm of my nerves

Neuroscience

By Isabel de la Fuente

Despite the large variety of musical tastes, we all tend to like or dislike certain combinations of sounds. This perception goes down to a basic level when two or more notes play simultaneously, such as in musical chords. A chord is called consonant when it is perceived as pleasant to our ears and dissonant when […]

The origins of neural variability

The origins of neural variability

Neuroscience

By Jorge Mejías

Neurons are known to display irregular behavior in many areas of the brain. When recording the evolution of the membrane potential of a given neuron in the prefrontal cortex (for instance, during in vivo electrophysiology), we can observe its erratic dynamics, with spikes occurring in a random and rather unpredictable fashion. This one and other […]

Sesame Street and brain activity in children

Sesame Street and brain activity in children

Neuroscience

By César Tomé

In the real world, children learn new information by participating in classrooms, interacting with their family and friends, and watching educational videos. While previous neuroimaging research has typically used simple tasks and short-lasting stimuli, in a new study published in PloS Biology researchers examined brain development using a more complex and naturalistic educational stimulus. Children […]

Smelling the taste

Smelling the taste

Neuroscience

By Moisés García-Arencibia

When animals eat, both the olfactory (odour) and gustatory (taste) systems send information to the brain about the food being eaten. This combined information is very valuable to determine whether the animal is about to swallow something poisonous or something nutritious. That odours can influence the processing of taste is well known, and most people […]

Mapping areas involved in voluntary forgetting is not simple… it is double!

Mapping areas involved in voluntary forgetting is not simple… it is double!

NeurobiologyNeuroscience

By Moisés García-Arencibia

Most people consider forgetting things as a nuisance. Not remembering the name of someone we are supposed to remember or not knowing where we left the keys can be a little upsetting. But for some people, being unable to forget things can be really painful, and thus they try to voluntary eliminate their unpleasant memories […]