A research group has developed an innovative system that combines virtual reality and a brain-machine interface to probe the inner thoughts of rats. The results of their research, published in Science, suggest that, much like humans, animals can think about places and objects that are not right in front of them, using their thoughts to imagine walking to a location or moving a remote object to a specific point.
The Science group of journals publishes several parts of a high-resolution atlas of human brain cells, the largest 'map' of its kind to date. It is a series of papers from an international mega-project, the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative - Cell Census Network (BICCN), launched in 2017 to study brain cell types and their functions in humans, non-human primates and rodents. The data "will now allow researchers to address fundamental scientific questions about the human brain and its genetic organisation," states the introduction to the journal's special issue.
Early-life adversity, such as separation from the mother, can alter the neurological functioning of mice, causing some to experience panic and anxiety later in life. A study shows that these changes can be passed on for at least two generations and that inhalation of a drug, the diuretic amiloride, can reverse them. According to the authors, this treatment could be used in the future to alleviate panic disorders and related conditions in humans. The results are published in the journal Science Advances.
By directing ultrasound to a specific area of the brain, scientists at the University of Washington have succeeded in inducing a state very similar to hibernation in rats and mice. This state, called "torpor", involves a reduction in metabolism and body temperature to save energy. According to the authors, who publish their results in the journal Nature Metabolism, if it could be applied to humans it could be used in space travel or in medicine, to increase the chances of survival in life-threatening situations such as heart attacks or strokes.
A commentary published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour discusses the scientific evidence for why rape victims are often involuntarily paralysed, unable to defend themselves or express themselves without consent, and the implications this has for the world's legal systems.
A drug in gel form cured 100 percent of mice with a very aggressive brain tumor. The authors hope that this is a first step towards helping human patients with glioblastoma, one of the most dangerous brain tumors in humans. The article is published today in PNAS.
Researchers have presented the first connectome - a diagram of neural connections - of the whole brain of an insect, a vinegar fly larva (Drosophila melanogaster). The work, which the authors say will inspire new studies of neural circuits and machine learning architectures, is published today in Science.
A Swedish research team has successfully 'grown' a soft, electrically conductive polymer in various zebrafish and leech tissues, as well as in isolated mammalian muscle tissues, without damaging those tissues. The research is published in Science.
Constant checking of social media activity in early adolescence is associated with changes in the brain's sensitivity to rewards and punishments. This is the conclusion of a study involving 169 12- and 13-year-old students in the United States with Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat profiles, according to JAMA Pediatrics.
Research published in the journal Nature identifies the neurons that enabled nine paralysed patients to walk again after electrical stimulation of the spinal cord.