techniques, neuroscience

Neurons in new brains and old

A common tissue fixation method distorts the true neuronal landscape.

Glial cells were once considered neurons’ supporting actors, but new methods and model organisms are revealing their true importance in brain function.

Micromanaging neuronal behavior with optogenetics

DIY tips for adding coding to your analysis arsenal

Researchers develop a technique to trigger neural activity in culture using light to heat gold nanoparticles.

A combination of microinjection and electroporation inserts genes into hard-to-reach cells.

Automating Drosophila behavior screens gives researchers a break from tedious observation, and enables higher-throughput, more-quantitative experiments than ever before.

Scientists create a photosensitive pharmaceutical to target a glutamate receptor.

How to avoid pitfalls in assays of mouse behavior

Emil du Bois-Reymond’s innovations for recording electrical signals from living tissue set the stage for today’s neural monitoring techniques.

An advisory committee for the BRAIN Initiative says that to fully fund the goals of the neuroscience research program, taxpayers should fork over $4.5 billion.

A new scientific discipline investigates the neurology underlying the experience and the creation of beauty.

An optical reporter quantitatively measures the ATP demands of presynaptic neurons.

A new camera system supports the visualization of gliomas stained with Tumor Paint, a chlorotoxin-based imaging agent that’s currently in clinical trials.

Light microscopy techniques that spotlight neural connections in the brain

Travel through the outer layers of a mouse brain thanks to array tomography and Stanford University's Stephen Smith.

As X-ray crystallography enters its second century, shrinking crystals and brighter light sources are redefining structural biology.

Fluorescent calcium sensors in transgenic mice give a real-time readout of neuronal activity.

A microfluidic device scans individual C. elegans for abnormal traits and sorts wild-type animals from mutants.