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visual cortex
Specialized Brain Circuit Makes Mice Itchy When They See Others Scratch
Dan Robitzski | Oct 12, 2022 | 4 min read
A previously undetected pathway in the mouse brain bypasses the visual cortex to directly activate contagious itch.
Archerfish Defy Notion that Complex Vision Requires a Cortex
Amanda Heidt | Jun 1, 2022 | 5 min read
The fish species is separated from mammals by hundreds of millions of years of evolution, yet its seemingly primitive brain can handle many of the same elaborate visual tasks.
Clues to the Origin and Function of the Brain’s Alpha Waves
Amanda Heidt | Oct 1, 2020 | 2 min read
Patterns of neural activity known as alpha waves, long thought to originate in the thalamus, may actually stem from a different brain region entirely.
Optogenetic Manipulations Create Perception Without Sensory Input
Ruth Williams | Jul 18, 2019 | 3 min read
Advanced single-cell optogenetic tools have enabled researchers to induce a learned behavior in mice without the associated visual cue.
Brain Surface Area Reveals Overlap in Genes, Intelligence, Evolution
Carolyn Wilke | Mar 4, 2019 | 5 min read
An analysis of the contours of more than 600 kids’ brains points to links between cerebral surface area and heritability in regions of the brain important in cognition.
Nanoparticles Let Mice See Near Infrared Light
Abby Olena, PhD | Feb 28, 2019 | 4 min read
Researchers injected the retinas of mice with nanoparticles that bound to photoreceptors and converted near-infrared light to green light that the animals could see.
Image of the Day: Fountain of Youth
The Scientist Staff | Aug 14, 2017 | 1 min read
Neural plasticity wanes with age, but increasing the protein Arc—abundant earlier in life—in the visual cortex of mice can fend off this decline.