Face Perception

Meet some of the people featured in the November 2014 issue of The Scientist.

For neuroscientists, experimental results converge to help crack the case of how the brain functions.

November 2014's selection of notable quotes

Selected Images of the Day from www.the-scientist.com

With the iconic Australian marsupial carnivore on the brink of extinction, Tasmanian researchers race to unlock the immunological mysteries of a disease threatening the species.

Researchers may be able to improve memory by discharging magnetic pulses on the skull to alter the neural activity at and beneath the brain’s surface.

Pathogen traces recovered from Peruvian mummies suggest tuberculosis-causing bacteria rode from Africa to South America in pinnipeds.

How one of the rarest neurodegenerative diseases could lend insight into ubiquitous neuroprotective processes

Deriving physiologic first principles

The recent discovery of super-enhancers may offer new drug targets for a range of diseases.

Scientists create a photosensitive pharmaceutical to target a glutamate receptor.

Once dominated by correlational studies, face-perception research is moving into the realm of experimentation—and gaining tremendous insight.

Circadian neurons in fruit flies form synapses with different, noncircadian brain regions depending on the time of day.

Individual neurons in the dorsomedial striatum integrate responses to sight and touch.

Glial cells consume mitochondria released by neurons in the optic nerve.

An inspiring lecturer turned Marcus Raichle’s focus from music and history to science. Since then, he has pioneered the use of imaging to study how our brains function.

Assistant Professor, Neurobiology Section, University of California, San Diego. Age: 35

How to avoid pitfalls in assays of mouse behavior

A basic guide to white matter imaging using diffusion MRI

Outsourcing is still the rule and data analysis, the bottleneck.

Should there be standard protocols for how researchers attempt to reproduce the work of others?

The history of cetaceans can serve as a model for both evolutionary dynamics and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Leonardo's Brain, The Future of the Brain, Dodging Extinction, and Arrival of the Fittest

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