Neocortex News and Research

RSS

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

Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prizes for 2021 go to four female and six male researchers

Four female and six male researchers are to receive the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize this year, the top award for early career investigators in Germany.

16 Mar 2021

Study reveals a neural basis for how the brain enables odors to elicit memories

Odors evoke powerful memories, an experience enshrined in literature by Marcel Proust and his beloved madeleine.

9 Mar 2021

Study maps SARS-CoV-2 infected brains

Researchers in the United States and Canada have mapped the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the brains of people who died from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

21 Feb 2021

Automated method identifies and tracks harmful tau deposits involved in Alzheimer's disease

Amyloid-beta and tau are the two key abnormal protein deposits that accumulate in the brain during the development of Alzheimer's disease, and detecting their buildup at an early stage may allow clinicians to intervene before the condition has a chance to take hold.

2 Feb 2021

Size of synapses determines the strength of information transmission

Nerve cells communicate with one another via synapses. Neuroscientists at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich have now found that these connections seem to be much more powerful than previously thought.

21 Jan 2021

Automated method tracks cortical origin and initial spread of TAU proteins in Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers have developed an automated method that can track the development of harmful clumps of TAU protein related to Alzheimer's disease in the brain, according to work involving 443 individuals.

20 Jan 2021

Study depicts previously unknown molecular mechanism underlying healthy brain development

A research team led by Michael Fox, a professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has identified the type of brain cell that produces collagen 19, a protein that is crucial for the formation of inhibitory circuits in the brain.

21 Dec 2020

Physiological evidence influences sound processing in the brain’s auditory region

For the first time, researchers have provided physiological evidence that a pervasive neuromodulation system - a group of neurons that regulate the functioning of more specialized neurons - strongly influences sound processing in an important auditory region of the brain.

20 Dec 2020

Novel neurophysiological phenomenon explains how cortical neurons generate spasms

Epileptic spasms are a type of brief seizures that are the hallmark of catastrophic seizure disorders, which are characterized by severe cognitive and motor deficits.

9 Dec 2020

Researchers identify key source of signals encoding past experiences in the brain

Researchers identify a region of the brain as a key source of signals encoding past experiences in the neocortex.

16 Nov 2020

Study finds new transposon-derived genes related to autism

The lack of some genes in the BEC/TCEAL cluster could be related to some alterations associated with the autism spectrum disorder, according to a preclinical study published in the journal Genome Biology, and led by Professor Jordi Garcia Fernàndez, from the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona, and researcher Jaime Carvajal, from the Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology - University Pablo de Olavide.

27 Oct 2020

Happiness neurotransmitter serotonin plays role in evolutionary expansion of the neocortex

During human evolution, the size of the brain increased, especially in a particular part called the neocortex.

23 Oct 2020