The Best in Science News and Amazing Breakthroughs
The brain is a marvel of efficiency, honed by thousands of years of evolution so it can adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. Yet, despite decades of research, the mystery of how the brain achieves this has remained elusive.It's a bit like being a worker in a high-performing business. Balancing individual skills with teamwork is key to success, but how do you achieve the balance?
Cells work together to build larger, coordinated networks, creating an organization with each scale mirroring those above and below.It balances individuality and teamwork, and does so in a clever way. Roughly half of the effort goes to"personal" performance as neurons collaborate within increasingly larger networks.
For instance, we found that zebrafish movement relies on many neurons working in unison. This resilient design ensures swimming continues smoothly, even in fast-changing environments. Our findings reveal that this fractal coordination of neuron activity occurs across a vast evolutionary span: from vertebrates, whose last common ancestor lived 450 million years ago, to invertebrates, dating back a billion years.
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Brain molecule makes neurons less selective, deepening understanding of human cognitionNeuroscientists say they have determined how a brain cell surface molecule shapes the way certain neurons behave.
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Recreating a hallmark of Parkinson's disease in human neuronsScientists have recreated the growth of Lewy bodies in human neurons and followed their formation to gain important insight into why and how they form. Critically, they find that immune challenge is important for this process, identifying a previously unknown link between the immune system and neurological disease.
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Neurons look different in children with autism, research findsThere is new evidence that the cells responsible for communication in the brain may be structured differently in children with autism. Researchers discovered that in some areas of the brain neuron density varies in children with autism when compared to the general population.
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Olfactory neurons selectively respond to related visual and verbal cuesWhat is the neural basis of our perceptual experience? Simultaneous recordings from many individual neurons in humans provide surprising insights into how odours are processed in different regions of the brain. Olfactory 'concept neurons' also respond to words and pictures.
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Simulation mimics how the brain grows neurons, paving the way for future disease treatmentsA new computer simulation of how our brains develop and grow neurons has been built. Along with improving our understanding of how the brain works, researchers hope that the models will contribute to neurodegenerative disease research and, someday, stem cell research that helps regenerate brain tissue.
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The decision to eat may come down to these three neuronsManipulating a newly identified neural circuit can curb appetite -- or spur massive overeating.
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