Tag: Neural Circuits

  • Nation & World

    Why we need female mice in neuroscience research

    Researchers found that female mice, despite ongoing hormonal fluctuations, exhibit exploratory behavior that is more stable than that of their male peers, countering the belief that the hormone cycle in females causes behavioral variation that could throw off results.

    9 minutes
    Lab mouse on top of test tubes.
  • Nation & World

    A boost for understanding the brain

    Two groups of Harvard scientists will be among the first researchers nationwide to receive grant funding through the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative launched last year by President Obama.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Viewing how neurons work

    A new technique for observing neural activity will allow scientists to stimulate neurons and observe their firing pattern in real time. Tracing those neural pathways can help researchers answer questions about how neural signals propagate, and could one day allow doctors to design individualized treatments for a host of disorders.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Deconstructing motor skills

    Harvard researchers have found that the brain uses two largely independent neural circuits to learn spatial and temporal aspects of complex motor skills.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Web-crawling the brain

    Researchers in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School have developed a technique for unraveling these masses. Through a combination of microscopy platforms, researchers can crawl through the individual connections composing a neural network, much as Google crawls web links.

    3 minutes