Brain science

Illustration illustrating the location of the hippocampus. Illustration: depositphotos.com

A “switchboard” in the hippocampus may explain how the brain learns without erasing memories

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New research suggests that the brain uses the same cells in different patterns to learn new information without erasing previous memories.
A California two-spot octopus in front of a mirror at the Dartmouth Octopus Laboratory. Credit: Mary Kieseler, Dartmouth.

Octopuses have learned to use their eyes to find hidden prey.

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Octopuses have been able to use their eyes to find prey behind them, providing new evidence of the surprising evolution of intelligence.
Robot in a biological laboratory. Illustration: depositphotos.com

An artificial intelligence system wrote scientific software that outperformed human code

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Researchers from Google and Harvard have developed ERA, an artificial intelligence system that runs and improves thousands of versions of code for scientific tasks. In experiments, it has improved models for predicting coronavirus hospitalizations, integrating single-cell RNA data, and predicting neural activity.
A combination of the brain and artificial intelligence. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Harvard and Hebrew University to Collaborate on NeuroAI Research

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Harvard's Kempner Institute and the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Science at the Hebrew University will conduct joint academic activities in the field that connects brain research and artificial intelligence.
A fluorescent image of astrocytes – the star-like support cells in the brain – which new research suggests form independent, wide-ranging communication networks. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Research in Nature: Not only neurons, but also astrocytes in the brain create a hidden communication network

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Researchers have mapped 3D networks of support cells in the mouse brain for the first time, revealing long-range connections between distant regions and between the two hemispheres.
MRI machine. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Turning MRI into an early molecular diagnostic tool

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The Molecular Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Machine Learning Laboratory at Tel Aviv University, funded by the Israel National Science Foundation, is developing dedicated MRI sequences and algorithms that translate “signal signatures” into biological indicators – with a focus on multiple sclerosis and reducing
Structure of a nerve cell Illustration: depositphotos.com

Lessons in visualization

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With all due respect to electrical signals, the language of the brain is chemistry. In a pioneering study, researchers at Tel Aviv University have managed to use imaging devices to see this chemistry in action.

When water tells a story: turning MRI into a microscope for the brain

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Non-invasive hippocampal-focused brain stimulation reduced intrusive memories in PTSD: Preliminary findings from Tel Aviv University

A pilot study published in the journal Brain Stimulation found that fMRI-based personalized TMS therapy, administered immediately after traumatic memory activation during the reconsolidation phase, reduced flashbacks and intrusive thoughts in ten participants.
Overview of the experimental setup for tactile detection in a granular substrate. (a) Human experimental setup, showing a participant's finger scooping sand into a box filled with sand, with an LED strip guiding the path of movement and a cube buried in fixed positions. (b) Robotic experimental setup, including a UR5 arm with a tactile sensor and a cube buried in sand. (c) Schematic diagram of the scooping process. Credit: Queen Mary University of London.

New study: Humans are capable of “remote touch” and identify objects buried in sand before contact

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Experiments indicate higher-than-expected tactile sensitivity; humans achieved 70.7% accuracy, and researchers see potential for robotics, assistive technologies, and searching in limited visibility conditions
Using fMRI. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Breakthrough: fMRI brain training increased antibodies after hepatitis B vaccination

A study by Tel Aviv University, the Technion, and Ichilov in Nature Medicine found that positive anticipation that activates the VTA region of the reward system is associated with a stronger immune response in humans.
How memory works. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Is your memory real?

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In an experiment with 421 participants who were required to recall words after a minute and a half and after a day, more than 4,000 “memory justifications” were collected. Despite a decrease in the number of items recalled, the linguistic content and detail of the justifications for the items that were correctly recalled remained the same.
Human language may seem inefficient compared to digital codes, but its structure is deeply adapted to the way the brain works. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Why humans don't talk like computers: Scientists have found an answer

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New research suggests that human language is less “compressed” than digital code, but saves the brain effort with familiar patterns and prediction
Microscopic photograph: In the top row - a photograph of the brain of a normal fly, and in the bottom row - the brain of a fly with neurodegeneration, showing holes in the brain. Credit: Shai Kloksi

An enzyme that prevents sleep and mood disorders

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The researchers showed that a deficiency in SIRT6 (which declines with age) diverts tryptophan into the neurotoxic kynurenine pathway at the expense of serotonin and melatonin production; inhibiting the enzyme TDO2 in fruit flies reduced brain damage and neuromotor deterioration. The findings were published in Nature
Image caption: Princeton researchers have found that the prefrontal cortex of primates reuses modular thinking blocks to solve similar tasks. This gives biological brains a flexibility that artificial intelligence still lacks. The insight could help improve AI systems so that they retain old skills even as they learn new ones. Credit: Adapted by Dan Wahaba (Princeton University), based on “Brain Silhouette 2” (Littleolred, CC0 1.0, freesvg.org) and “Lego bricks” (Benjamin D. Esham, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons).

The brain has a shortcut to learning that artificial intelligence can't copy

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Researchers have found that the brain repeatedly relies on the same cognitive “building blocks” when performing different types of tasks. By reassembling these blocks in new ways, the brain can rapidly generate behaviors
The Pain Laboratory at the University of Haifa. Photo: Haifa University Spokesperson

The brain creates pain – and therefore it can also stop it

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Prof. Pavel Goldstein of the University of Haifa is leading a revolutionary approach to treating chronic neuroplastic pain, based on training the brain to change the “danger signal” – and showing that even pain that has lasted for years can pass when understood.
Image from the study shows axons of neurons in the ACA (red) and ORB (green), which innervate the visual cortex and target distinct layers. Credit: Sur Lab/MIT Picower Institute

Your brain rewrites reality according to your state of consciousness.

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Researchers at MIT have discovered that the prefrontal cortex doesn't just send "general commands" to the rest of the brain—it tailors its messages specifically to different areas, depending on arousal level and movement.
Bird consciousness. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Why did evolution create consciousness and do it more than once?

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Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum are investigating why consciousness evolved and why different species have developed it in different ways. By comparing humans to birds, they show that complex consciousness may arise through different neural structures.
Paralyzed man controls drone with his mind. Illustration: Avi Blizovsky via DALEE

Flying with the Power of Thought: Paralyzed Man Controls Drone Through Brain-Machine Interface

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Tom, paralyzed in all four limbs, was able to fly a drone and navigate an obstacle course using an implanted microelectrode array and decoding “virtual” finger movements – a leap forward in the accuracy and speed of BCI control.
A brain that runs away from losses. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Brain runs away from loss: This is how the brain makes adventurous decisions to avoid losses

Weizmann Institute and Ichilov Institute study reveals, using electrodes deep in the brain, how loss avoidance mechanisms affect learning, memory, and anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders
The developing brain of a two-week-old mouse pup under the microscope. The oxytocin system is highlighted in green and a light-sensitive protein is highlighted in red. The combination of colors causes the oxytocin cells that also successfully express the protein to be colored yellow. In blue - the cell nuclei

Spotlight on the developing brain: Separation in early childhood alters the oxytocin system

Weizmann Institute of Science scientists have developed a new optogenetic technology that allows them to study the activity of the oxytocin system deep in the young brain. Their findings show that this protein, known as the "love hormone," influences the coping of mouse pups.
Image caption: A participant uses a neuroprosthesis for inner speech. The text above is the sentence given as a cue, and the text below is what is decoded in real time when she imagines herself saying the sentence. Credit: Emory BrainGate Team

Brain-computer interface can decode inner speech in real time

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Severely paralyzed people will be able to "speak to themselves" and the computer will translate it into the words they wanted to say but couldn't.
Prof. Oded Rechavi. Photo: Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv 360 Podcast: Epigenetics – What Really Passes From Generation to Generation?

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With the participation of Professor Oded Rechavi, Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Life Sciences and School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University (Hebrew only)
Cocaine addiction. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Tiny brain network may hold the key to cocaine withdrawal

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Addiction, Cocaine Withdrawal, Hebrew University, Neuroscience, Reward System, Negative Emotions, ICARe, Prof. Jonathan Kopchik, Withdrawal Symptoms, Ventral Pallidum
A mysterious seance around an ancient seance board. Illustration: Avi Blizovsky via DALEE

Do souls and spiritual beings really exist?

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A comprehensive rational review undermines belief in the existence of souls, ghosts, and the success of mediums – and presents scientific explanations for phenomena that are ostensibly attributed to the afterlife but are in fact merely figments of the imagination.
The human nervous system. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Brain cells continue to form even in old age, new study finds

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"The results suggest that whiskers are an integrative and multisensory sensory system. It may have evolved this way throughout evolution to help mice locate food or protect themselves from predators." Illustration: depositphotos.com

The whisker that hears: Mice identify objects by the sounds their whiskers make

New research from the Weizmann Institute presents a fascinating turn in sensory research – mice whiskers not only sense touch, but also produce sounds that are captured by the auditory system and used to identify objects.
An artistic illustration of the brain's "speed limit" – we think, process, and decide at a slow rate of 10 bits per second. Credit: J. Zheng

The surprising limit to human thinking speed – only 10 bits per second

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The paradox is that sensory input processing is done at a speed 100 million times faster than the speed of thought * Principal Investigator: "At any given moment, we extract only 10 bits out of a trillion that our senses perceive and use."
bats Illustration: depositphotos.com

Eyes closed: Bats are able to navigate long distances using sound alone

The researchers found that they were also able to produce a sound map of the area in their minds
Prof. Boaz Barak and PhD student Inbar Fisher from the Segol School of Neuroscience and the School of Psychological Sciences at Tel Aviv University. Photo credit: Shahar Shahar, spokeswoman for Tel Aviv University

A new discovery from Tel Aviv University reveals brain mechanisms involved in genetic autism

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The researchers revealed vulnerabilities in the brain support system. The research offers hope for new gene therapies to improve brain cell function
memory. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Humans or machine: Who is better at evaluating memories?

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Research from Ben-Gurion University reveals that humans can assess the veracity of others' memories at the same level as language processing models, and in some cases even better than them.
Behumi and Bell mother and daughter credit David Omer's laboratory

Monkeys mark each other with names and open a new window for understanding the development of human language

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Groundbreaking research reveals that marmosets mark each other by name using unique calls, an ability that until now was thought to be the exclusive preserve of a limited number of species. The findings provide new insights
New research suggests that the brain creates at least three copies of each memory. This also includes those encoded by early-formed neurons, which appear purple in a microscope cross-section of a mouse hippocampus. (Image credit: Biozentrum, University of Basel) 

The brain stores at least three copies of each memory 

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New research in mice suggests that the brain creates multiple copies of memories, allowing it to regulate their change over time
recognition. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Is consciousness continuous or composed of "eureka moments"?

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A new research method proposes to analyze changes in behavior and leaps in learning to study consciousness, using sudden increases in learning - "eureka moments" - to identify conscious thought processes and study the mechanisms
Dr. Chaya Keller, 2024 Krill Prize winner. Courtesy of the Wolf Foundation

Ten winners of the Krill Award for Excellence in Scientific Research have been announced

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The Wolf Foundation in cooperation with the Israeli research universities selected the team of promising researchers of the Israeli Academy for 2024
The cover of the scientific journal shows the 3D structure of a new protein, as predicted by three different artificial intelligence algorithms

Proteins without parents

Collaboration between Israeli researchers, Chinese students and artificial intelligence reveals new wrinkles between the folds of orphan proteins and updates chapters in the theory of evolution
The tears flow by themselves. Illustration: depositphotos.com

In the tears you cry: smelling women's tears reduces aggression in men

Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science discovered that tears activate human olfactory receptors, even though they are odorless, affecting the brain activity associated with aggression - and leading to more peaceful and less vengeful behavior
An oligodendrocyte-type cell with many of its branches (in yellow) in a mouse brain section. Reacts to stress quite differently in males and females

Exposure to chronic stress activates different cells in the brains of females and males

From depression and anxiety to diabetes - health conditions resulting from chronic stress affect women and men differently. A new study in mice maps at the single-cell level molecular differences in the stress response in the brains of females
The student Shaked Ron demonstrates the project. Photo: Technion spokespeople

A Technion student developed an innovative method for functional mapping of the cerebral cortex during brain surgery

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Technology for the diagnosis of sediments will allow early treatment of Parkinson's disease in the future

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The relationship between artificial intelligence and the human mind. Illustration: shutterstock

Analyze artificial intelligence to better understand the human brain

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Image: pixabay.

How we link memories to each other and make associations

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Illustration: pixabay.

where are we where are we going

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Hackton Brain 2013. Photo: Amir Konigsberg

Miyagi Learning Enhancer is the first place winner in the BrainHack neuro-hackathon initiated by the Israel Brain Technologies Association

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