Summary: Using a minimal mathematical rate model of the primary visual cortex, computational neuroscientists found that two intrinsic feedback mechanisms—rapid inhibition and homeostatic regulation—can constrain chaos and slash neural variability…
Category: Featured
Inflexible Math Brain: How Neural Circuit Glitches Block Problem Solving
Summary: Stanford University researchers analyzing brain activity and behavioral metrics in 8- to 10-year-olds found that children with developmental dyscalculia struggle to switch between and optimize math problem-solving strategies. Distinct…
The Placenta May Decide Autism Vulnerability
Summary: A new study in mice reveals that maternal immune activation during a precise gestational window triggers autism-like developmental disruptions exclusively in male fetuses. Researchers traced this vulnerability to damaged…
Nighttime Light Exposure Linked to Sleep Loss in Schizophrenia
Summary: A new study reveals that nighttime light exposure is strongly associated with objective sleep disruption in outpatients with schizophrenia, resulting in nearly an hour less total sleep per night.…
Eye-Blink Rate Predicts Cognitive Flexibility in Preschoolers
Summary: Researchers have discovered that spontaneous eye-blink rate serves as a simple, noninvasive marker for tracking the development of executive function in early childhood. The study revealed that children aged…
Disruption of Striatal D2 Receptor Neurons Drives ADHD and Impulsivity
Summary: Researchers have demonstrated that deleting the membrane-fusion protein NSF specifically from dopamine D2 receptor (D2R)-expressing neurons leads to striatal shrinkage, severe dopamine depletion, and classic ADHD-like hyperactivity and impulsivity…
Central Genetic Switch Controls Long-Distance Axon Navigation
Summary: Challenging the dogma that growing axons navigate exclusively via local cues processed at their tips, neuroscientists have discovered that a centralized genetic switch inside the neuron’s cell body directs…
Brain Activity Predicts Risky Choices Half a Second Before They Are Made
Summary: By recording directly from electrodes implanted in the human orbitofrontal cortex, neuroscientists discovered two neighboring circuits locked in a millisecond-by-millisecond “tug-of-war” between taking a risk and playing it safe.…
How Severe Illness During Pregnancy Alters Fetal Brain Development
Summary: Researchers have discovered that maternal immune activation during pregnancy alters the epigenome of fetal brain cells, disrupting deep-layer neurons and increasing the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. Key…
Aging Brains Maintain Robust Language Networks Despite Cognitive Decline
Summary: While executive functions like memory and problem-solving naturally decline as we age, new brain imaging research reveals that the neural network responsible for language remains preserved and fully functional.…
