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Category: neuroscience – Page 38

An ancient brain circuit, which enables the eyes to reflexively rotate up as the body tilts down, tunes itself early in life as an animal develops, a new study finds.

Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the study revolves around how vertebrates, which include humans and animals spanning evolution from primitive fish to mammals, stabilize their gaze as they move. To do so, they use a that turns any shifts in orientation sensed by the balance (vestibular) system in their ears into an instant counter-movement by their eyes.

The research is published in the journal Science.

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In this interview, I sit down with Simon Critchley, Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at The New School for Social Research in New York, to explore his provocative new book, On Mysticism. Drawing on medieval Christian figures like Julian of Norwich and Marguerite Porete, Critchley argues that ecstatic experience, intense love, and a willingness to be “outside oneself” can offer a counterbalance to the narrowly rational outlook dominant in modern philosophy. Throughout our conversation, he probes the boundaries of faith and reason, discuss the possibility of maintaining mysticism alongside science, and question the role of philosophy itself in shaping our cultural consciousness. What follows is only a short, edited extract from Critchley’s call for more openness, both in our thinking and our collective search for meaning. Link to the full interview.

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A recent study from the McGovern Institute for Brain Research shows how interests can modulate language processing in children’s brains and paves the way for personalized brain research.

The paper, which appears in Imaging Neuroscience, was conducted in the lab of MIT professor and McGovern Institute investigator John Gabrieli, and led by senior author Anila D’Mello, a recent McGovern postdoc who is now an assistant professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Texas at Dallas.

“Traditional studies give subjects identical stimuli to avoid confounding the results,” says Gabrieli, who is the Grover Hermann Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT. “However, our research tailored stimuli to each child’s interest, eliciting stronger—and more consistent—activity patterns in the brain’s language regions across individuals.”

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Gray matter is made up of neuron cell bodies and dendrites and is responsible for processing and interpreting information, such as sensation, perception, learning, speech, and cognition. White matter is made up of axons, which are long nerve fibers that connect neurons together from different parts of the brain.

In the study, male brains tended to be greater in volume than female brains. When adjusted for total brain volume, female infants on average had significantly more , while on average had significantly more in their brains.

Yumnah Khan, a Ph.D. student at the Autism Research Center at the University of Cambridge, who led the study, said, Our study settles an age-old question of whether male and female brains differ at birth. We know there are differences in the brains of older children and adults, but our findings show that they are already present in the earliest days of life.

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Scientists have identified a key nucleolar complex that could be instrumental in combating neurodegenerative diseases. This complex plays a critical role in maintaining cellular health by regulating protein homeostasis (proteostasis)—the process by which cells ensure proper protein balance and function.

Research reveals that suppressing this nucleolar complex significantly reduces the toxic effects of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that primarily affects older adults, leading to memory loss, cognitive decline, and behavioral changes. It is the most common cause of dementia. The disease is characterized by the buildup of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain, which disrupt cell function and communication. There is currently no cure, and treatments focus on managing symptoms and improving quality of life.

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Summary: A new study has identified a biomarker, DTI-ALPS, which connects glymphatic system dysfunction to vascular dementia. By analyzing over 3,750 participants, researchers found that lower DTI-ALPS scores correlated with worse executive function, highlighting the glymphatic system’s role in clearing brain waste.

The study also uncovered a potential pathway linking impaired waste clearance to cognitive decline, mediated by free water accumulation in white matter. These findings provide a robust tool for clinical trials and potential interventions, including lifestyle changes and medications, to enhance glymphatic function and treat vascular dementia.

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Scientists at Yale and the University of Connecticut have taken a major step in understanding how animal brains make decisions, revealing a crucial role for electrical synapses in “filtering” sensory information.

The new research, published in the journal Cell, demonstrates how a specific configuration of electrical synapses enables animals to make context-appropriate choices, even when faced with similar sensory inputs.

Animal brains are constantly bombarded with sensory information—sights, sounds, smells, and more. Making sense of this information, scientists say, requires a sophisticated filtering system that focuses on relevant details and enables an animal to act accordingly. Such a filtering system doesn’t simply block out “noise”—it actively prioritizes information depending on the situation. Focusing on certain sensory information and deploying a context-specific behavior is known as “action selection.”

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While most of us are familiar with magnets from childhood games of marveling at the power of their repulsion or attraction, fewer realize the magnetic fields that surround us—and the ones inside us. Magnetic fields are not just external curiosities; they play essential roles in our bodies and beyond, influencing biological processes and technological systems alike. A recent arXiv publication from the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Argonne National Laboratory highlights how magnetic fields in the body may be analyzed using quantum-enabled fluorescent proteins, with hopes of applying to cell formation or early disease detection.

Detecting subtle changes in magnetic fields may equate to beyond subtle impacts in certain fields. For instance, quantum sensors could be applied to the detection of electromagnetic anomalies in data centers, potentially revealing evidence of malicious tampering. Similarly, they might be used to study changes in the brain’s electromagnetic signals, offering insights into neurological diseases such as the onset of dementia. However, these applications demand sensors that are not only sensitive but also capable of operating reliably in real-world conditions.

Spin qubits, known for their notable sensitivity to magnetic fields, are introduced in the study as a compelling solution. Traditionally, spin qubits have been formed from nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamonds. While these systems have demonstrated remarkable precision, the diamonds’ bulky size in relation to molecules and complex surface chemistry limit their usability in biological environments. This creates a need for a more adaptable and biologically compatible sensor.

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