Neocortex News and Research

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UCI neuroscientists discover underlying mechanisms behind brain’s high-level work

Our ability to think, decide, remember recent events and more, comes from our brain's neocortex. Now University of California, Irvine neuroscientists have discovered key aspects of the mechanisms behind these functions.

27 Sep 2022

Research reveals the role of microglia-neuron connections during brain development

The Laboratory of Neuroimmunology of the Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, Hungary, led by Ádám Dénes, describes the presence of a direct interaction site between microglial cells and the cell body of developing neurons, and reveals its role during brain development.

20 Sep 2022

Brain organoids shed light into the evolution of the human brain

Animal studies on great apes have long been banned in Europe for ethical reasons. For the question pursued here, so-called organoids, i.e. three-dimensional cell structures a few millimeters in size that are grown in the laboratory, are an alternative to animal experiments.

13 Sep 2022

Role of the transketolase-like 1 gene in the development of the modern human brain

In a new study, researchers demonstrated how transketolase-like 1 (TKTL1) gene expression influenced neocortical neurogenesis in modern humans.

12 Sep 2022

Single amino acid change in TKTL1 protein underlies greater neuron production in modern humans than Neandertals

Researchers from Dresden uncover a greater neuron production in the frontal lobe during brain development in modern humans than Neandertals, due to the change of a single amino acid in the protein TKTL1.

9 Sep 2022

A single genomic change may have given modern humans an advantage over Neanderthals

A single amino acid change in the transketolase-like 1 (TKTL1) protein may have given modern humans an advantage over more ancient contemporaries like Neanderthals by enabling increased neocortical neurogenesis, researchers report.

9 Sep 2022

HBP researchers detect seven new areas of the human insular cortex

Researchers of the Human Brain Project (HBP) have identified seven new areas of the human insular cortex, a region of the brain that is involved in a wide variety of functions, including self-awareness, cognition, motor control, sensory and emotional processing.

30 Aug 2022

New insights into the understanding of how ApoE variants contribute to Tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers examined the impact of tau neuropathology of APOE3 Christchurch (APOE3ch) homozygote against Alzheimer’s disease.

8 Aug 2022

Study shows cellular differences in brain development between modern humans and Neanderthals

Dresden and Leipzig researchers find that stem cells in the developing brain of modern humans take longer to divide and make fewer errors when distributing their chromosomes to their daughter cells, compared to those of Neanderthals.

29 Jul 2022

Understanding how the brain learns new concepts holds potential for tackling cognitive issues

A discovery about how algorithms can learn and retain information more efficiently offers potential insight into the brain's ability to absorb new knowledge.

6 Jul 2022

Brain responses to stories change as we grow from infants to adults

The findings challenge the theory that perceptions of children are simply a noisier version of adult understanding, and suggest instead that children have their own unique way of understanding and interpreting the world.

5 Jul 2022

New findings by HBP researchers provide a better understanding of human brain organization

Specific cellular, molecular and gene expression patterns in brain areas are linked to function, but their precise relationships remain largely unknown.

2 Jun 2022

Rolling brain wave patterns can provide clue to understanding sleep, anesthesia, and attention

While sleeping, the entire brain rolls through long, slow waves of electrical activity, like waves on a calm ocean. Researchers call that state of consciousness "slow wave sleep".

2 Feb 2022

Beta-amyloid deposits found in young patients with COVID-19

A new study describes the finding that patients of COVID-19 exhibit large amounts of focal β-amyloid deposits in their neocortical tissues.

25 Jan 2022

Researchers identify key factor responsible for brain development during evolution

As humans, we have a large and intricately folded neocortex that accounts for many of our intellectual abilities and sets us apart from all other species

16 Sep 2021

Brain refreshing takes place during the dream-active phase of sleep

Scientists have long wondered why almost all animals sleep, despite the disadvantages to survival of being unconscious.

25 Aug 2021

Brain's "feel good" chemical messenger can be willfully manipulated, study shows

From the thrill of hearing an ice cream truck approaching to the spikes of pleasure while sipping a fine wine, the neurological messenger known as dopamine has been popularly described as the brain's "feel good" chemical related to reward and pleasure.

23 Jul 2021

Blood oxygen levels may explain why memory loss is an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease

In a world first, scientists from the University of Sussex have recorded blood oxygen levels in the hippocampus and provided experimental proof for why the area, commonly referred to as 'the brain's memory center', is vulnerable to damage and degeneration, a precursor to Alzheimer's disease.

29 May 2021

Study focuses on understanding the origin of neuronal diversity

A mechanistic understanding of brain development requires a systematic survey of neural progenitor cell types, their lineage specification and maturation of postmitotic neurons.

21 Apr 2021

New Alzheimer's model may help test novel treatments

Our knowledge of Alzheimer's disease has grown rapidly in the past few decades but it has proven difficult to translate fundamental discoveries about the disease into new treatments.

18 Mar 2021