How Do Neurons Tell the Brain What is Familiar?
Neurons send visual information to the brain, but just how it gets processed is a complexity that researchers are getting closer to understanding.
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Why Don’t We Have Memories of Early Childhood?
The hippocampus helps us form memories, but babies may have a different primary use for it, according to a new research study.
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Neuromodulation: How We Manipulate Brain Cells
Neuromodulation to treat illnesses has been limited by being too invasive or too general, but new research on ultrasound shows promise.
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How Our Brains Learn to Use Tools
Scientists in Munich have examined the network in our brains that enables us to use tools, and the findings might help stroke victims.
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Nests, Neurons, and the Evolution of Behavior
Evolution is a beautiful process. We tend to appreciate its elegance most when looking backward into deep time, to our distant ancestors, or to dinosaurs.
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Big, Beautiful Bird Brains
By Emily Willoughby @eawilloughby It is probably not a coincidence that the verbs ape and parrot have such a similar meaning: to imitate an observed behavior. There is something suggestive of intelligence in the words, perhaps informed by knowing that babies mimic the behaviors of adults as their brains begin to mature. But the similarity may reflect something more fundamental. Primates and certain birds—most notably parrots and corvids, the group that includes crows and jays—are well known as being among the smartest of animals. For apes this is no surprise,…
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Brain Health: Fight Brain Age with Civic Activity
Have you had a “senior moment” today? Do you worry about the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and other forms of brain atrophy in old age? These are common concerns. As we age, our brains can shrink, but a new study from John Hopkins University reveals that brain health can be improved with civic-minded activities such as volunteering and teaching. Our brains can do incredible things, such as control robotics such as this mind-controlled robotic arm, or learn to use other tools. Our brains are so amazing that we are even trying to…
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