One year ago, Dr. Nancy Padilla was reviewing a list of speaker names for a seminar series organized by postdoctoral fellows in her department. She saw nothing wrong with the list as it was full of prominent and excellent neuroscientists – that is, until her colleague pointed out that the list did not include a […]
August
01
Why are you yawning right now?
posted by Susan Lubejko
As a graduate student, spending an early morning or late night in the lab is not uncommon. During those hours, it’s also not uncommon to catch me in the midst of a yawn (or many). This makes sense, though; I’m tired from little sleep or a long day. However, you may be surprised to learn […]
July
25
In a world of “blind imagination”: The science of Aphantasia
posted by megkirch
[En Español] Picture yourself in your childhood home. Imagine your bedroom – your bed, perhaps some posters on the wall, and whatever other salient features you can conjure with your mind’s eye. Do you see yourself in it, or are you seeing it as though through your own eyes…or do you not “see” anything at […]
July
18
Our Sensitive Stomach: The Enteric Nervous System
posted by Nicholas A. Nelson
There is a lot more to the gut than will be covered here – hormone signals, the microbiome, and gut contributions to nervous system diseases will be topics for later articles. Worry not – these functions are not forgotten, but for the ease of digestion (sorry) and clarity of each topic, will be segmented into […]
July
12
How do you feel? Interoception- the new science of emotion
posted by Andy Arnold
[En español] What happens when someone asks, “How do you feel?” Besides possibly uttering the rote response, “good, how are you”—what is the process of sensing how you’re really feeling in that moment? It seems to involve interoception—the sense of the physiological condition of the body. Interoception mediates many different sensations—pain, temperature, itch, hunger, sexual […]
July
04
Gay Animals and the Science of Sexuality
posted by Jess Haley
Earlier this year, a New York Times headline struck my attention: The Gay Penguins of Australia. The story details the lives of Sphen and Magic, two male Gentoo penguins at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Australia. Sphen is 6 years old and rather quiet. Magic likes to chase after toys and is 3 years […]
June
27
NeurosciANTS
posted by Joseph Herdy
[En español] You probably walk past thousands of ants every day and give them no more than a passing glance, but the ecological impact of an entire ant colony is comparable to that of enormous animals like elephants. Together in colonies that can surpass 300 million individuals, ants have a profound effect on the landscapes […]
June
20
Exosomes: Helping you stay in touch with your trillions of closest friends.
posted by Haylie Romero
[En español] There are roughly 37.2 trillion cells in the human body. That’s nearly 5 thousand times the total number of people on the entire planet, and all these cells must somehow work together to make you “You.” Each cell has a set role to play in keeping you healthy and functioning, but how do […]
June
13
BrainEx: Restoring Brain Circulation After Death
posted by Seraphina Solders
[En español] In May of 2018, headlines across the internet warned of a creepy new “brain in a bucket” experiment, in which scientists had “reanimated” the disembodied brains of pigs from slaughterhouses, and surely promised a “living hell” for humans. Very little was known about this study at the time, as the lead scientist, Nenad […]
June
06
Speech Synthesis from Brain Activity
posted by Joydeep De
[En español] The existing technology that assists people with speech disabilities is reliant on brain-computer interfaces which translate eye and facial muscle movements into words. However, this translation is limited in speed – approximately 10 words per minute, which is considerably lower than the rate of naturally produced speech (150 words per minute). The process […]
