In a recent study, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, have shown that the release of calcium from the neurons in specific synapses promotes their reuse.
In the course of human evolution, our ability to read is a relatively newly acquired trait. Hence, it is highly unlikely that a region of the brain could have evolved specifically for reading, unlike much more ancient functions like seeing or hearing. But, how is it that we are capable of this unique feat that involves recognising words and interpreting their meaning? Reading requires the coordinated functions of several regions in the brain, particularly associated with visual sensory processing. In a recent study, an international team of researchers investigated the effects of reading on the visual system in the brain.This study was published in the journal Science Advances.
Study investigates the abnormalities in the brain of a patient with a neurodegenerative disorder
The brain is an extremely delicate organ that, like a glass artefact, needs many layers to protect it from injury. Besides the skull, the brain has three protective tissue layers called meninges. They form a protective covering around the entire central nervous system, including the brain and the spinal cord, and help to regulate different functions of the brain.
A new study by scientists from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has shown that hues of different colours generate large gamma oscillation in the primary visual cortex, the region of the brain that processes visual information. Reddish hues were seen to cause the strongest oscillations.
Our brain is a ballroom echoing with humming footsteps of exquisite dancers a.k.a 'brain waves'. Synchronised electrical pulses from neurons communicating with each other produce these brain waves that ricochet throughout the brain. They skillfully route information in a way that allows the brain to choose which signals should be considered vital.
Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, study how speech recognition software can be improved by modelling it to be more like the brain, such that it works well even in the presence of background noise.
Humans have always been fascinated by symmetry. Many celebrated works of art are appreciated for their symmetry, such as the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci, or Somnathpur temple above. Given the importance of symmetry in our lives, does the brain have a special way of processing symmetric objects?
Scientists from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Université libre de Bruxelles- Institute of Neuroscience, Belgium, Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research, Pune and Sophia College for Women, Mumbai are now a step closer to understanding how the development of neural and glial cells – the two primary cell types in our brains – is regulated in a developing brain.
The brain is considered as the most complex organ, able to store and access huge data, and can even analyze, manipulate and draw from these memories. But how does the brain store all that information? Commonly held theories suggest, experiences cause neurons in the brain to fire and strengthen connections, while brain cells called engrams encode specific memories. They do this by triggering coordinated activity that represent a memory,in a set of these cells, helping in recalling a memory. In this new study, scientists show that engram cells can actually be identified.
