Ugh … not again. The all-too-familiar pain appears in your hand. The muscles cramp and the crushing pressure mounts. Nothing you do alleviates the ache, and the longer it persists, the more intolerable it becomes. You try with all your might to unclench it, move it to any other position. But, as in those nightmares […]
August
15
On Being Handed
posted by Ashley Juavinett
There’s a box of matches on the table in front of you. You pick up the box, choose a match, and strike it against the side of the box. Which hand did you use to strike the match? Chances are, you used your right hand. According to most estimates, roughly 90% of the human population […]
July
02
The hippocampus: Going the distance beyond space and time
posted by Emilie Reas
Anyone who’s spent a day exploring the streets of New York City will understand the importance of integrating accurate representations of space, time and distance. That hipster dive-bar you’re dying to check out is twelve streets from tonight’s dinner spot, whereas that hot new rooftop bar is just four avenues away. Which do you choose […]
June
24
When shown a picture of a middle-aged male…
posted by erikkaestner
When shown a picture of a middle-aged male actor, how is it that we can easily tell Matt Damon from Mark Wahlberg? The actual differences in their faces are not huge in absolute terms, though it feels obvious when looking at them. Faces are all pretty much the same: two eyes, a mouth, a […]
June
18
Do monkeys play fair? Staging an ultimatum game in the ultimate social primate
posted by Ashley Juavinett
Every now and then, my roommate will lean in the frame of my door and pose a simple scenario: “Will you mop the floors if I wash the dishes?” I usually respond positively to the ultimatum (I really can’t stand doing dishes), and when the moment is right, put on some Enya and graciously clean […]
June
10
Impaired interval timing and Free Willy (not really)
posted by kkiritah
This is really about: The role of interval timing dysfunction in the formation of first-rank symptoms in patients with schizophrenia? Note 1: This is the first in a “series” of posts by the second- (or third-?) year students to tell you a little about our minor prop topics. We all Some of us worked very hard on our […]
June
02
Of Mice and Microscopes
posted by Ethan McBride
The world is a complicated and dangerous place. In order to survive in an ever-changing environment, animals (including us humans) have to be able to appropriately change their behavior to suit their current situation. For example, if a mouse is scurrying around your basement searching for food and suddenly smells a cat, it will probably […]
May
31
Professional Development Tips!
posted by kkiritah
This week, I had the pleasure of joining several UCSD Biomedical Sciences grad students and a few other Neuro grad students in a BMS-run career development course. Over the course of 4 afternoons, I practiced the art of note-taking to add to my skill set and to prepare a tip sheet for you! Note: Your […]
May
25
Fly Eyes!
posted by UCSDNeuro
Imagine what it would feel like to be a fly, with most of your head covered in eyes, allowing you to see in pretty much any direction. That’s exactly what Axel Borst studies: motion vision in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), one of the most widely studied species of fly. The behavioral model that has […]
May
12
Wiring Eyes
posted by UCSDNeuro
We can probably all agree that eyes would just be useless bags of vitreous humor if not for their wiring to the brain. It’s the highly precise connections between specialized cell types within the eye and their specific target cells within the brain that allow us to visually experience our world. But how do these […]
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