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Our brain works through the activity of its almost 100 billion neurons that each collect, process and pass on information in the form of electrical signals. But so far, not much had been known about how the differences in the properties of these cells from person to person matter for human cognitive abilities like intelligence.

Some evidence had suggested that the size of so-called dendrites, the long branched out protrusions through which each neuron receives signals from thousands of other cells, might play a role: Especially in brain areas that integrate different types of information, such as the frontal and temporal lobes, brain cells have bigger dendrites. In these brain areas the cortex, where most of the neurons are, is also thicker in people with higher IQ. Theoretical studies additionally predicted that larger dendrites may help cells to initiate electrical signals faster.

Continue reading “Brains of smarter people have bigger and faster neurons” »

Everyone talks about learning methods, but few people can find realistic and genuine methods that provide a net profit in the types of information and application.

Elon Musk has broken through that barrier by employing learning techniques that have been proven time and time again to be successful. Musk may be said to have taken use of his education by becoming a disruptor. He and his businesses have transformed entire industries, such as transportation, energy, and space.

He recently stated at a press conference that his plans for his biotech company, Neuralink, are proceeding well, implying that he will likely move his focus in the near future to yet another sector. Musk is, without even a doubt, a once-in-a-generation genius. Possibly on par with Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, and Isaac Newton. He tackles things in a different way than the typical entrepreneur.

The new Tesla Model P phone is coming. The best news for Tesla fans.

Designer Antonio De Rose and his ADR Studio Design lab released a clone of the Tesla Phone. It’s fun to show off ADR’s continued design skills.

Rumors are surfacing that Tesla really is planning to make a smartphone. Already, ADR’s concept images are looking a whole lot cooler. Especially for the Tesla fans.

Speaking at the 6th International FQXi Conference, “Mind Matters: Intelligence and Agency in the Physical World.”

The Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi) catalyzes, supports, and disseminates research on questions at the foundations of physics and cosmology, particularly new frontiers and innovative ideas integral to a deep understanding of reality but unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources.

Continue reading “Joscha Bach — Reconciling consciousness with physicalism” »

Discovery suggests glial cells may be important in other organs as well.

Glial cells in the heart help regulate heart rate and rhythm, and drive its development in the embryo, according to a new study publishing today (November 18^th, 2021) in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Nina Kikel-Coury, Cody Smith and colleagues at the University of Notre Dame. The discovery provides the most detailed portrait yet of a critical population of cells that had been previously poorly understood.

Glia are a diverse set of cell types, originally named after the Greek word for glue, and include cells that surround and nourish neurons, and others that mount immune responses within the central nervous system. In the peripheral nervous system, glia are present and presumably active in multiple organs, including the gut, pancreas, spleen, and lungs, although their function is not clear in most cases.

Over the past few years, scientists have been trying to understand how listening to music affects your brain. One of the features of music that seems to be important is whether you have an emotional connection to it. In other words, listening to a favorite tune will have a different effect on your brain than an unknown or disliked piece of music.

Now, a new study has shown that people with Alzheimer’s Disease can improve their cognition by listening to music that has personal meaning to them, such as songs they’ve been listening to for years.

Researchers Corinne Fischer, Nathan Churchill and colleagues from the University of Toronto ran a small study to find out what exactly happens when people with Alzheimer’s listened to their favorite songs. They asked fourteen people with early stage Alzheimer’s Disease to spend one hour per day listening to music they enjoyed and were very familiar with. Before and after the test period all participants also took a cognitive test, and had their brain activity measured by functional MRI (fMRI).

The Neuro-Network.

“𝘿𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙛𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙙” 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣-𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙖 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙬… See more.

Continue reading “‘Deepfaking the Mind’ Could Improve Brain-Computer Interfaces for People with Disabilities” »

Name: Travis Chen and Brian Femminella

Age: 22 and 21

Location: Seattle, Washington; Los Angeles, California.

Continue reading “Meet the Gen Z founders who created a music app to help combat pandemic-induced anxiety and depression” »

Distinct phases of synaptic plasticity contribute to memory formation at different times and in different brain regions.