Your mind’s eye exists somewhere on a sprawling continuum.
Neuroscience research into people with aphantasia, who don’t experience mental imagery, is revealing how imagination works and demonstrating the sweeping variety in our subjective experiences.
Genomics and lab studies reveal numerous new findings about Alzheimer’s disease, including a key role for Reelin amid neuronal vulnerability, and for choline and antioxidants in sustaining cognition.
Brain computer interface will have to be significantly more advanced before there’s an enhancement of cognitive abilities.
Devices that let people with paralysis walk and talk are rapidly improving. Some see a future in which we alter memories and download skills – but major challenges remain.
Continue reading “Will implants that meld minds with machines enhance human abilities?” »
A mind-bending parasite may one day deliver drugs to the brain.
Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite that famously makes mice lose their fear of cats, but also can cause deadly foodborne illnesses (SN: 1/14/20).
Those with weakened immune systems have a higher risk of developing severe disease when exposed to T. gondii. Pregnant people run the risk of preterm birth and pregnancy loss. In addition, the parasite can cause a variety of problems for the baby including blindness, hearing loss, epilepsy and jaundice. More than 200,000 cases of toxoplasmosis are diagnosed each year in the United States, with about 5,000 requiring hospitalization. An estimated 750 people each year die from the disease.
Continue reading “Getting drugs into the brain is hard. Maybe a parasite can do the job” »
Calculations show that nerve fibres in the brain could emit pairs of entangled particles, and this quantum phenomenon might explain how different parts of the brain work together.
Everyone knows that exercise helps both body and mind, but high-intensity interval training (HIIT) offers older adults an even greater boost for long-term brain health, compared to less intense workouts.
FINDING THAT CONNECTION ©
This is my laboratory work, please see copyright details at bottom.
You’re watching two neurons that I saw under the microscope sensing one another and connecting.
Researchers have developed a new approach for describing the shape of the cerebral cortex, and provide evidence that cortices across mammalian species resemble a universal, fractal pattern.
