Neuroscience posts
- January 28, 2013
- 02:22 PM
- 76 views
Another Scuffle In The Coma Ward
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
It’s not been a good few weeks for Adrian Owen and his team of Canadian neurologists. Over the past few years, Owen’s made numerous waves, thanks to his claim that some patients thought to be in a vegetative state may, in fact, be at least somewhat conscious, and able to respond to commands. Remarkable if [...]... Read more »
Goldfine, A., Bardin, J., Noirhomme, Q., Fins, J., Schiff, N., & Victor, J. (2013) Reanalysis of "Bedside detection of awareness in the vegetative state: a cohort study". The Lancet, 381(9863), 289-291. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60125-7
- January 28, 2013
- 11:35 AM
- 192 views
11 People Trace Synesthesia to One Set of Alphabet Magnets
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
Most people with synesthesia can't tell you exactly why they perceive the letter M as purple and not orange, or a high C-sharp as bright yellow and not blue. For one group of synesthetes, though, there appears to be an answer. For their green D's, red G's, and so on, they can thank the toy company Fisher-Price.
Stanford researchers Nathan Witthoft and Jonathan Winawer discovered, through word of mouth and from synesthetes contacting them online, a group of people who share a "startlingly sim........ Read more »
Witthoft, N., & Winawer, J. (2013) Learning, Memory, and Synesthesia. Psychological Science. DOI: 10.1177/0956797612452573
- January 28, 2013
- 08:36 AM
- 158 views
Can monkeys spontaneously synchronize to audio?
by Henkjan Honing in Music Matters
Today a new study appeared in Nature Scientific Reports claiming to show rhythmic entrainment (or spontaneous synchronization as the authors refer to it) in the Japanese macaque (Macaca Fuscata). Intriguing! However, reading the paper it becomes clear quickly that the results might not be what they seemed at first sight. ... Read more »
Nagasaka, Y., Chao, Z., Hasegawa, N., Notoya, T., & Fujii, N. (2013) Spontaneous synchronization of arm motion between Japanese macaques. Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/srep01151
Honing, H., Merchant, H., Háden, G., Prado, L., & Bartolo, R. (2012) Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) Detect Rhythmic Groups in Music, but Not the Beat. PLoS ONE, 7(12). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051369
- January 28, 2013
- 06:16 AM
- 176 views
Beliefs and Questions About the Paranormal
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
While people of different beliefs from all over the world believe in an afterlife, many of them can’t seem to agree with each other or accept views other than their own. Yet, men have talked about the supernatural since the beginning of time. Recently, authors like Bill Guggenheim, Dr. Raymond Moody, and Dr. Eben Alexander [...]... Read more »
Mobbs D, & Watt C. (2011) There is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences: how neuroscience can explain seeing bright lights, meeting the dead, or being convinced you are one of them. Trends in cognitive sciences, 15(10), 447-9. PMID: 21852181
Feinsod M, & Langer KG. (2012) The philosopher's swoon--the concussion of Michel de Montaigne: a historical vignette. World neurosurgery, 78(3-4), 371-4. PMID: 22381306
- January 28, 2013
- 12:04 AM
- 137 views
Football or Not…More Symptoms Equals More Time on the Bench
by Jane McDevitt in Sports Medicine Research (SMR): In the Lab & In the Field
Most athletes’ concussive symptoms are alleviated within 1 week; however, some athletes’ concussive symptoms may last longer. If we could identify risk factors for concussive symptoms that persists for over 1 week then this could lead to better evidence-based return-to-play policies since we could apply more cautious restrictions on patients with those risk factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the risk factors for concussive symptoms that persist for over 1 week among ........ Read more »
Chrisman SP, Rivara FP, Schiff MA, Zhou C, & Comstock RD. (2013) Risk factors for concussive symptoms 1 week or longer in high school athletes. Brain Injury, 27(1), 1-9. PMID: 23252433
- January 27, 2013
- 04:46 AM
- 136 views
Is This How Memory Works?
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic
We know quite a bit about how long-term memory is formed in the brain - it's all about strengthening of synaptic connections between neurons. But what about remembering something over the course of just a few seconds? Like how you (hopefully) still recall what that last sentence as about?Short-term memory is formed and lost far too quickly for it to be explained by any (known) kind of synaptic plasticity. So how does it work? British mathematicians Samuel Johnson and colleagues say they have the........ Read more »
Johnson S, Marro J, & Torres JJ. (2013) Robust Short-Term Memory without Synaptic Learning. PloS one, 8(1). PMID: 23349664
- January 27, 2013
- 04:46 AM
- 59 views
Is This How Memory Works?
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
We know quite a bit about how long-term memory is formed in the brain – it’s all about strengthening of synaptic connections between neurons. But what about remembering something over the course of just a few seconds? Like how you (hopefully) still recall what that last sentence as about? Short-term memory is formed and lost [...]... Read more »
Johnson S, Marro J, & Torres JJ. (2013) Robust Short-Term Memory without Synaptic Learning. PloS one, 8(1). PMID: 23349664
- January 25, 2013
- 07:20 AM
- 205 views
Are we incentivizing hype in science? A case study
by Björn Brembs in bjoern.brembs.blog
There is a lively discussion going on right now in various forums on the incentives for scientists to publish their work in this venue or another. Some of these discussions cite our manuscript on the pernicious consequences of journal rank, others don't. In our manuscript, we speculate that the scientific community may be facing a deluge of fraud and misconduct, because of the incentives to publish in high-ranking journals, a central point of contention in the discussions lnked to above. An exam........ Read more »
Wasserman, S., Salomon, A., & Frye, M. (2013) Drosophila Tracks Carbon Dioxide in Flight. Current Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.12.038
- January 24, 2013
- 06:00 PM
- 185 views
Category representation in the brain
by Patrick Mineault in xcorr
You can solve most problems in life by buying more computers – or grad students, or microscopes, or lasers for that matter. Some of Jack Gallant’s lab recent efforts in fMRI analysis are a good example of this approach. They published an interesting paper in Neuron last month about the representation of categories in cortex.
Objects can be classified by humans in thousands of different categories. How are those categories represented in cortex? How would you even try to locate whe........ Read more »
Huth, A., Nishimoto, S., Vu, A., & Gallant, J. (2012) A Continuous Semantic Space Describes the Representation of Thousands of Object and Action Categories across the Human Brain. Neuron, 76(6), 1210-1224. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.10.014
- January 24, 2013
- 04:40 PM
- 203 views
Flipping the Switch: Using Optogenetics to Treat Seizures
by Jalees Rehman in The Next Regeneration
The recent paper "On-demand optogenetic control of spontaneous seizures in temporal lobe epilepsy" by Esther Krook-Magnuson and colleagues in Nature Communications (published online on January 22, 2013) applies the optogenetic approach to treat seizures in mice. The researchers used mice that had been genetically modified to express the inhibitory light sensitive protein halorhodopsin (normally only found in single cell organisms but not in mammals) in neurons. They placed an optical f........ Read more »
Krook-Magnuson, E., Armstrong, C., Oijala, M., & Soltesz, I. (2013) On-demand optogenetic control of spontaneous seizures in temporal lobe epilepsy. Nature Communications, 1376. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2376
- January 24, 2013
- 01:02 PM
- 123 views
A mechanics of depression
by neuroecology in Neuroecology
There are many reactions that can be taken in response to the world going crazy on you, and depression is one of these. Even though it is (rightly) seen as perhaps not the greatest illness to have, there is a case to be made that depression is an energetically-efficient response to overwhelming stress; it can [...]... Read more »
Chaudhury, D., Walsh, J., Friedman, A., Juarez, B., Ku, S., Koo, J., Ferguson, D., Tsai, H., Pomeranz, L., Christoffel, D.... (2012) Rapid regulation of depression-related behaviours by control of midbrain dopamine neurons. Nature, 493(7433), 532-536. DOI: 10.1038/nature11713
Tye, K., Mirzabekov, J., Warden, M., Ferenczi, E., Tsai, H., Finkelstein, J., Kim, S., Adhikari, A., Thompson, K., Andalman, A.... (2012) Dopamine neurons modulate neural encoding and expression of depression-related behaviour. Nature, 493(7433), 537-541. DOI: 10.1038/nature11740
Warden, M., Selimbeyoglu, A., Mirzabekov, J., Lo, M., Thompson, K., Kim, S., Adhikari, A., Tye, K., Frank, L., & Deisseroth, K. (2012) A prefrontal cortex–brainstem neuronal projection that controls response to behavioural challenge. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature11617
Amat, J., Baratta, M., Paul, E., Bland, S., Watkins, L., & Maier, S. (2005) Medial prefrontal cortex determines how stressor controllability affects behavior and dorsal raphe nucleus. Nature Neuroscience, 8(3), 365-371. DOI: 10.1038/nn1399
- January 24, 2013
- 07:29 AM
- 152 views
We Smell Ourselves (No, Not That Way)
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
Ever wonder why a perfume (or cologne) smells better on somebody else than on you? The reason lies in the interactions of our brains, immune system and nose. Our brains literally know exactly what we smell like and can set preferences based on that for associations with others (particularly sexual partners).... Read more »
Manfred Milinski, Ilona Croy,, Thomas Hummel, & and Thomas Boehm. (2013) Major histocompatibility complex peptide ligands as olfactory cues in human body odour assessment . Proc. R. Soc. B., 280(20122889). info:/10.1098/rspb.2012.2889
- January 23, 2013
- 04:33 PM
- 241 views
New avenue in neurobiology
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
A new finding by Harvard stem cell biologists turns one of the basics of neurobiology on its head by demonstrating that it is possible to turn one type of already differentiated neuron into another within the brain.... Read more »
BD Colen. (2013) New avenue in neurobiology. Harvard Gazette. info:/
- January 23, 2013
- 02:09 PM
- 160 views
Is CTE Detectable in Living NFL Players?
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease seen most often in athletes with repeated concussions.1 The condition has drawn extensive media attention due to the number of cases reported among retired NFL players. The disease can only be diagnosed at autopsy, because the brain tissue has to be stained for characteristic protein abnormalities which cannot be visualized in a living human.Until now, that is, according to a new study by Gary Small and colle........ Read more »
McKee, A., Stein, T., Nowinski, C., Stern, R., Daneshvar, D., Alvarez, V., Lee, H., Hall, G., Wojtowicz, S., Baugh, C.... (2012) The spectrum of disease in chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Brain. DOI: 10.1093/brain/aws307
Gary W. Small, Vladimir Kepe, Prabha Siddarth, Linda M. Ercoli, David A. Merrill, Natacha Donoghue, Susan Y. Bookheimer, Jacqueline Martinez, Bennet Omalu, Julian Bailes, Jorge R. Barrio. (2013) PET Scanning of Brain Tau in Retired National Football League Players: Preliminary Findings. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. info:/
- January 22, 2013
- 09:03 PM
- 97 views
What does fMRI measure, anyway?
by Han in Neurologism
In this post I hope to leave stats aside, and examine some of the biophysical assumptions underlying interpretations of fMRI studies.... Read more »
Cardoso MM, Sirotin YB, Lima B, Glushenkova E, & Das A. (2012) The neuroimaging signal is a linear sum of neurally distinct stimulus- and task-related components. Nature neuroscience, 15(9), 1298-306. PMID: 22842146
- January 22, 2013
- 05:47 PM
- 163 views
How to Build a Neuron: Step 5
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
And now, the final step in how to build your computational model of a neuron: Add Synaptic Channels. All the steps in this series can be found here.Synapses connect neurons (source)So you already have a neuron, and you've added intrinsic channels to it. The next thing you want to do is add synaptic channels so you can hook this neuron up to other cells.The main synaptic channels you want to add are the excitatory channels: NMDA and AMPA and the inhibitory channel GABA. These channels don't have ........ Read more »
Evans RC, Morera-Herreras T, Cui Y, Du K, Sheehan T, Kotaleski JH, Venance L, & Blackwell KT. (2012) The effects of NMDA subunit composition on calcium influx and spike timing-dependent plasticity in striatal medium spiny neurons. PLoS computational biology, 8(4). PMID: 22536151
- January 22, 2013
- 02:32 AM
- 158 views
What lies behind the mystery of being born with a phantom penis?
by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea
Like a magician our mind tricks us into believing what we see and feel. We only notice that something strange is going on when our expectations are betrayed during the prestige – when the white rabbit is drawn out of the empty hat. Psychology sometimes works in much the same way. After the mind has made us believe in the ordinary, it creates strange cases which point to something bigger going on behind the scenes. One of the most extraordinary illusions is the one of our body. At the final pre........ Read more »
Brugger P, Kollias SS, Müri RM, Crelier G, Hepp-Reymond MC, & Regard M. (2000) Beyond re-membering: phantom sensations of congenitally absent limbs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97(11), 6167-72. PMID: 10801982
Mitchell, W. (1871) Phantom limbs. Lippinscott's Magazine, 563-569. info:/
- January 21, 2013
- 11:23 AM
- 188 views
Can the origins of music be studied at all?
by Henkjan Honing in Music Matters
What was the role of music in the evolutionary history of human beings? And is it possible at all, you might wonder, to empirically study this, given the fact that neither music nor musicality fossilises? So, better forget about it? ... Read more »
Bolhuis, J., & Wynne, C. (2009) Can evolution explain how minds work?. Nature, 458(7240), 832-833. DOI: 10.1038/458832a
Honing, H., & Ploeger, A. (2012) Cognition and the Evolution of Music: Pitfalls and Prospects. Topics in Cognitive Science, 4(4), 513-524. DOI: 10.1111/j.1756-8765.2012.01210.x
de Waal, F., & Ferrari, P. (2010) Towards a bottom-up perspective on animal and human cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14(5), 201-207. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2010.03.003
- January 19, 2013
- 01:27 PM
- 173 views
LMAYQ: Why do I like that?
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Again it is time for me to answer some questions. As always, these are real true 'search terms' that have resulted in some one finding The Cellular Scale. While some questions (like 'how do you build a model of a neuron') are answered by this blog, the ones I answer is these LMAYQ posts are almost certainly not. All the questions and answers in this series can be found in the Let Me Answer Your Questions index.Drawing by Grave Unicorn1. "Why do I like ketamine so much?"This is actually a pretty ........ Read more »
Kapur S, & Seeman P. (2002) NMDA receptor antagonists ketamine and PCP have direct effects on the dopamine D(2) and serotonin 5-HT(2)receptors-implications for models of schizophrenia. Molecular psychiatry, 7(8), 837-44. PMID: 12232776
De Luca MT, & Badiani A. (2011) Ketamine self-administration in the rat: evidence for a critical role of setting. Psychopharmacology, 214(2), 549-56. PMID: 21069515
Swami V, & Tovée MJ. (2012) The impact of psychological stress on men's judgements of female body size. PloS one, 7(8). PMID: 22905153
- January 18, 2013
- 09:38 AM
- 142 views
Currently Necessary Evil: A (vegan’s) view on the use of animals in neuroscience research
by Grace Lindsay in Neurdiness
All research methodologies have their challenges. Molecular markers are finicky. Designing human studies is fraught with red tape. And getting neural cultures to grow can seem to require as much luck as skill. But for those of us involved in animal-based research, there is an extra dimension of difficulty: the ethical one. No matter how [...]... Read more »
Editors. (2011) Animal rights and wrongs. Nature, 470(7335), 435-435. DOI: 10.1038/470435a
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