Michał Januszewski and Viren Jain write that researchers have released a complete wiring diagram of the male fruit fly's brain and central nervous system, marking it as the largest brain map to date. In collaboration with HHMI Janelia, this project utilized computing and advanced techniques to create an annotated cellular-scale map containing over 166,000 neurons and 125 million synaptic connections. This foundational resource aims to help scientists understand how nervous systems function and may eventually assist in understanding complex human brain processes like memory or disease.
- The connectome includes the ventral nerve cord, which functions similarly to a spinal cord.
- Researchers are using similar mapping techniques on vertebrates, including fish and mice.
- This map complements previously released female fruit fly connectomes, allowing for studies of sexual dimorphism in behavior like courtship or aggression.
- The connectome includes the ventral nerve cord, which functions similarly to a spinal cord.
- Researchers are using similar mapping techniques on vertebrates, including fish and mice.
- This map complements previously released female fruit fly connectomes, allowing for studies of sexual dimorphism in behavior like courtship or aggression.
(+)-JRT, a de novo synthesized LSD analogue (two-atom transposition), retains potent neuroplasticity-promoting effects while markedly reducing hallucinogenic liability. It offers a path toward treating depression, addiction, and cognition deficits in patients (e.g., SCZ, psychosis family history) for whom classical psychedelics are contraindicated.
- **Mechanism:** promotes cortical spinogenesis / dendritic growth (same pathway as LSD)
- **Selectivity:** improved receptor pharmacology; does *not* amplify psychosis-associated behavioral or gene-expression signatures
- **Behavioral readouts:** antidepressant- and cognition-relevant assay effects
- **Design principle:** minimal structural edit → "nonhallucinogenic psychoplastogen" class
- **Mechanism:** promotes cortical spinogenesis / dendritic growth (same pathway as LSD)
- **Selectivity:** improved receptor pharmacology; does *not* amplify psychosis-associated behavioral or gene-expression signatures
- **Behavioral readouts:** antidepressant- and cognition-relevant assay effects
- **Design principle:** minimal structural edit → "nonhallucinogenic psychoplastogen" class
Neuroscientists at the Salk Institute have proposed that neural traveling waves in the visual cortex function as a vital computational engine for processing environmental information. These electrical waves allow the brain to construct internal models of the external world, enabling several critical functions such as modulating perception, converting sensory inputs into mental representations, generating short-term predictions about surroundings, and replaying patterns related to memories. This biological mechanism is conceptually similar to how large language models learn statistical structures from data to generate meaningful outputs; however, the brain builds its generative model through direct experience with the physical world.
Researchers have developed the first three-dimensional, single-cell transcriptomic atlas of a lamprey brain to uncover the evolutionary origins of vertebrate intelligence. By mapping every individual cell's spatial location and genetic activity, scientists discovered that lampreys share strikingly conserved gene-expression patterns with mammals in core brain regions, indicating that their common ancestor possessed a highly complex, molecularly organized brain over 450 million years ago.
* The identification of moonlighting neurons (AENs) that can simultaneously transmit both excitatory and inhibitory signals.
* Evidence that primitive cerebellum-like regions existed long before the evolution of jaws.
* A comparison between versatile ancestral cells and highly specialized mammalian neurons resulting from ancient genome duplications.
* The identification of moonlighting neurons (AENs) that can simultaneously transmit both excitatory and inhibitory signals.
* Evidence that primitive cerebellum-like regions existed long before the evolution of jaws.
* A comparison between versatile ancestral cells and highly specialized mammalian neurons resulting from ancient genome duplications.
A new study from NYU Langone Health reveals how the brain's hippocampal CA1 region functions as a memory switchboard to balance learning new information with protecting old memories. By using divergent firing patterns, a core group of neurons can manage both incoming and outgoing signals without crossing lines or overwriting existing data. This mechanism helps maintain stability in long-term memory storage while allowing for continuous plasticity during experience.
- The CA1 region acts as a physical hub connecting the CA3 region to the retrosplenial cortex.
- Divergent firing patterns allow shared neurons to serve separate incoming and outgoing communication channels.
- Hub cells remain active during sleep through sharp-wave ripples to facilitate memory consolidation.
- Research provides potential insights into Alzheimer's disease and methods to prevent catastrophic forgetting in artificial intelligence.
- The CA1 region acts as a physical hub connecting the CA3 region to the retrosplenial cortex.
- Divergent firing patterns allow shared neurons to serve separate incoming and outgoing communication channels.
- Hub cells remain active during sleep through sharp-wave ripples to facilitate memory consolidation.
- Research provides potential insights into Alzheimer's disease and methods to prevent catastrophic forgetting in artificial intelligence.
Researchers have identified the first definitive neural evidence of how the brain creates and reuses abstract symbols to facilitate creative thinking. By studying primate models, scientists located this symbolic processing engine within the ventral premotor cortex. This region serves as a mediator between high-level planning in the prefrontal cortex and physical execution in the motor cortex, acting much like a mental typewriter that specifies symbolic building blocks before movement occurs.
A new study reveals how the brain determines whether a smell is pleasant or revolting, highlighting the role of the amygdala and two genetically distinct cell types that can assign either positive or negative value to odors. This discovery could lead to treatments for anxiety, PTSD, or sensory disorders.
A new study reveals that caffeine increases the complexity of brain activity during sleep, especially in younger adults, potentially disrupting the brain’s ability to recover overnight. Researchers used EEG and AI to analyze sleep in 40 adults after caffeine or placebo intake, identifying less predictable brain signals and increased wake-like brainwave patterns.
A new scientific review maps the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind memory formation, consolidation, generalization, and updating, revealing how memories are stored, altered, and even manipulated in the brain. Key breakthroughs allow scientists to visualize and activate specific neurons involved in memory, offering deeper insight into how learning occurs and how fear memories may become overgeneralized in disorders like PTSD.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have used the anesthetic drug propofol to identify the intricate brain geometry behind the unconscious state, offering an unprecedented look at brain structures that have traditionally been difficult to study.
