Your memory relies on reusing, overlapping and adapting rather than on a fixed number of storage spots.
Category: neuroscience – Page 32
Brain Abnormality in Modern Humans Linked to Ancient Neanderthal DNA
Significant brain defects known as Chiari malformations could be down the genes some of us have inherited from Neanderthals, according to a new study, causing a mismatch between brain shape and skull shape.
The study focuses on Chiari malformation type I (CM-I), where the lower part of the brain extends too far into the spinal cord – typically linked to having a smaller-than-normal occipital bone at the back of the skull. It can lead to headaches, neck pain, and more serious conditions, and is thought to affect up to 1 in 100 people.
Several other ancient human species had different skull shapes to our own, and a previous study published in 2013 put forward the idea that interbreeding between Homo sapiens and these other hominins may be a root cause of Chiari malformation type I (CM-I), the mildest type of the group.
Can we upload consciousness to computers? | Pigliucci, Yampolskiy, Sandberg, Dijkstra
Massimo Pigliucci, Roman Yampolskiy, Anders Sandberg, and Nadine Dijkstra discuss the latest developments in neuroscience and computer programming.
Can we upload our minds to computers?
With a free trial, you can watch the full debate NOW at https://iai.tv/video/consciousness-in-the-clouds?utm_source=…escription.
The idea of uploading our minds to the digital cloud has not only been taken seriously by Silicon Valley, but turned into a detailed business plan. Elon Musk claims digitising consciousness will revolutionise humanity, and the industry is estimated to be worth $50 billion by 2030. But it’s unknown whether, in principle, we can replicate minds with computer code, or whether we should seek to do so. Critics argue we have no idea how a machine could create consciousness, and neuroscientists have yet to provide an explanation for how the brain does so. A survey of specialists by Nature found the majority thought it unlikely AI would achieve consciousness anytime soon.
Should we see talk of uploading our minds to the cloud as implausible tech marketing nonsense? Should we conclude that if thought and consciousness are unobservable, it will not be possible to replicate the mind with silicon chips? Or is digital immortality such a profound and important sea change in our lives and potential that we should pursue it at all costs?
#consciousness #ai #artificialintelligence #elonmusk #neuralink #neuroscience.
New research reveals how male and female brains process regret and change decisions
A traditionally overlooked type of RNA plays an important role in promoting resilience to depression—but only in females. According to a new study led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, researchers have now discovered a novel role this molecule plays in how the female brain makes decisions. The authors revealed brain-region-specific and sex-dependent effects of this biomarker, translated from humans to animals, on how individuals make only certain types of choices. This study uncovered differences in how each sex decides whether to change their minds after making mistakes, including when to cut their losses and move on as well as how they process regrets about missed opportunities.
This research sheds important light on how specific types of decisions that could negatively impact mood engage the male and female brain in very different ways. The study, published July 11 in Science Advances, using laboratory animal models, helps uncover new biological and psychological mechanisms that may be linked to psychiatric vulnerabilities.
Women are twice as likely to develop depression than men. Furthermore, depression can manifest with different symptoms between the sexes, including alterations in negative rumination on the past. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these differences remain unclear.
Role of plasmin in metastatic tumors
FasL is an immune cell membrane protein that triggers a programmed cell death called apoptosis. Activated immune cells, including CAR-T cells made from a patient’s immune system, use apoptosis to kill cancer cells.
The team discovered that in human genes, a single evolutionary amino acid change — serine instead of proline at position 153 — makes FasL more susceptible to being cut and inactivated by plasmin.
Plasmin is a protease enzyme that is often elevated in aggressive solid tumors like triple negative breast cancer, colon cancer and ovarian cancer.
This means that even when human immune cells are activated and ready to attack the tumor cells, one of their key death weapons — FasL — can be neutralized by the tumor environment, reducing the effectiveness of immunotherapies.
The findings may help explain why CAR-T and T-cell-based therapies can be effective in blood cancers but often fall short in solid tumors. Blood cancers often do not rely on plasmin to metastasize, whereas tumors like ovarian cancer rely heavily on plasmin to spread the cancer.
Significantly, the study also showed that blocking plasmin or shielding FasL from cleavage can restore its cancer-killing power. That finding may open new doors for improving cancer immunotherapy.