As animals with brains, we are challenged to make sense of a world full of rich sensory experience. There is a world created inside of our brains that we may see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. Built out of our senses, humans possess an innate ability to extract patterns and other meaningful features from the […]
Category Archives: vision
November
12
How Light Leads to Darkness: A Neural Link Between Nighttime Light and Depression
posted by Nicole Mlynaryk
Nighttime light exposure can lead to depression. A new study brings us closer to understanding why, and what we can do about it.
December
26
Open Borders: Remapping the Brain
posted by James R. Howe VI
While reading articles online, you may occasionally stumble across headlines like “Scientists find fear center of the brain,” or “Could this really be where the mind resides?” You might have also heard a TED talk where the speaker discusses how they discovered a part of the brain that makes decisions. Such expressions can take more […]
October
10
Why do neuroscientists study weird animals?: A primer on neuroethology
posted by Jess Haley
Why do neuroscientists study weird animals? And I don’t mean borderline weird; I mean the kind of extraordinary animals that can create electric fields and lift 100 times their body weight. The sort of animals that can camouflage despite being colorblind and can capture flying prey in fractions of a second. The kind of creatures […]
September
12
Your Mind on Trial
posted by Timothy Sheehan
The British television series Black Mirror has, at times, been disturbingly prophetic. In season 2’s The Waldo Moment, a crude comedian runs for Parliament to disparage the system only to find himself a front-runner. In April 2019 Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who had previously played the role of Ukranian President on a popular TV show, […]
January
31
Stars for Eyes – The Neurological Wonder of the Star-Nosed Mole
posted by Seraphina Solders
Beneath the eastern wetlands of Canada and the United States, there lives underground a bizarre and unique animal with an impressive list of evolutionary adaptations. This creature holds the world record as fastest eater among mammals [1], can smell underwater [2], and has a very unique sensory organ that basically operates as its eyes [3]. […]
August
02
Snake Eyes: The Fear That Built Your Brain
posted by James R. Howe VI
Indiana Jones is a quintessential American hero, his fedora, satchel, and whip instantly recognizable around the world. He lives a double life, a scholarly professor of anthropology in public and a globetrotting treasure hunter in private. He defeats the Nazis and always gets the girl, displaying daring and fearlessness, with one notable exception. He has […]
August
24
Paint me like one of your mantis shrimps
posted by megkirch
Sunsets, wildflower superblooms, unicorn frappuccinos. None of these phenomena would have nearly the same allure if we lost our ability to see different colors. But what if we could have an even greater ability to discriminate between colors – would these phenomena be that much more spectacular? In the case of the frappuccino, probably not, […]
January
19
Through the Looking-Glass, and What the Brain Sees There
posted by Barbara Spencer
She complained of recurrent attacks during which she feels that her body is growing larger and larger until it seems to occupy the whole room. “I feel,” she said, “that I have got so big that if I put out my hand I could touch the far wall.’ Less frequently, she feels that she […]
September
30
To See, but not to See
posted by megkirch
In 2008, a man shocked researchers when he successfully walked through a hallway cluttered with boxes, trash cans, and other junk without stumbling into anything. That may not seem terribly impressive (particularly if you’re used to navigating through a messy bedroom every night), but here’s the catch: that man was blind. That man, known as […]
