Tag: neurons
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Killing humans. By analyzing rocks. [Brake that rock!]
University of California, Berkeley neuroscientists have tracked the progress of a thought through the brain, showing clearly how the prefrontal cortex at the front of the brain coordinates activity to help us act in response to a perception. Recording the electrical activity of neurons directly from the surface of the brain, the scientists found that…
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Neurons, plants and the mystery of patterns…
Plants and brains are more alike than you might think. Salk scientists discovered that the mathematical rules governing how plants grow are similar to how brain cells sprout connections. In particular, plants use the same rules to grow under widely different conditions (for example, cloudy versus sunny) and the density of branches in space follows…
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Forgetting things. Thinking. Finite beings. Deciding. Living.
According to the two researchers from the University of Toronto in Canada, memory isn’t intended to help transmit the most accurate information, but rather the most useful information that can help us make smart decisions in the future. Information generated from the process of forgetting as well as the process of creating memories. Researchers found…
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Neuron connections… Not so important?
Neurons are connected to each other to form networks that underlie behaviors. Drs. Akira Sakurai and Paul Katz of Georgia State’s Neuroscience Institute study the brains of sea slugs, more specifically nudibranchs, which have large neurons that form simple circuits and produce simple behaviors. In this study, they examined how the brains of these sea…
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Non thinking. As complex as thinking?
In 1959, a scientist named Edward Gray showed that the miniscule gaps between neurons where chemical messages are sent, called synapses, come in two main varieties, which researchers later dubbed “excitatory” and “inhibitory.” Inhibitory synapses act as the brakes in the brain, preventing it from becoming overexcited. Researchers thought they were less sophisticated than their…
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