Long-term memory of specific places is stored in the brain in so-called place cells. A team of neuroscientists headed by Dr Andrea Burgalossi of the University of Tübingen’s Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN) have now ‘reprogrammed’ such place cells in free-roaming mice, by sending electrical impulses directly to individual neurons. After stimulation, these […]

In the tiny brain space where two nerve cells meet, chemical and electric signals shuttle back and forth, a messaging system that ebbs and flows in those synaptic spaces, sometimes in ways that scientists believe aid and abet learning and memory. But because most of the proteins found in those synapses die and renew themselves […]

The ultra-slow waves that pass through our brains are directly linked to consciousness and play a central role in how the complex brain coordinates itself, new research suggests. If you keep a close eye on an MRI scan of the brain, you’ll see a wave pass through the entire brain like a heartbeat once every […]

We all feel pain, but our experiences are not equal. A new study demonstrates that by measuring brain activity, we might be able to predict who will be more sensitive to pain. Pain is a strange phenomenon. How painful a particular injury is can differ from person to person, even if the wound is the […]

If you keep a close eye on an MRI scan of the brain, you’ll see a wave pass through the entire brain like a heartbeat once every few seconds. This ultra-slow rhythm was recognized decades ago, but no one quite knew what to make of it. MRI data are inherently noisy, so most researchers simply […]

Structured music lessons can significantly improve children’s cognitive skills. Researchers said that this enhancement in cognitive abilities can also improve their academic performance. In the study published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, Artur Jaschke, from VU University of Amsterdam, and colleagues followed 147 schoolchildren for more than two years. (March 29, 2018) Read the […]

It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Monkeys synchronise their brain activity during social interactions, possibly helping them to learn from each other. Understanding how this might work in humans could help groups of people work together more efficiently. (March 29, 2018) Read the full article here

The frequency of alpha brain waves can be used as a measure of an individual’s vulnerability to developing and experiencing pain, researchers at the University of Birmingham in the UK and University of Maryland in the US have discovered. The personal experience of pain is highly variable among individuals, even in instances where the underlying […]

New research published in The Journal of Physiology shows that our brain clock can be shifted by light exposure, potentially to align it with night shift patterns. It highlights that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to managing sleep disruption in shift workers may not be appropriate. A personalised approach, with light-dark exposure scheduled and […]

Time spent with friends in childhood is associated with physical health in adulthood, according to data from a multi-decade study of men. The findings show that boys who spent more time with friends as children tended to have lower blood pressure and lower BMI as men in their early 30s. (March 27, 2018) Read the […]