Researchers at New York University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered new ways neurons work together to ease the transition between sleep and wakefulness. Their findings, which appear in the journal Neuron, provide additional insights into sleep-wake patterns and offer methods to explore what may disrupt them.
Development
Study shows how immune cells change wiring of the developing mouse brain
Researchers have shown in mice how immune cells in the brain target and remove unused connections between brain cells during normal development. This research, supported by the National Institutes of Health, sheds light on how brain activity influences brain development, and highlights the newly found importance of the immune system in how the brain is wired, as well as how the brain forms new connections throughout life in response to change.
Reverse engineering epilepsy’s ‘miracle’ diet
For decades, neurologists have known that a diet high in fat and extremely low in carbohydrates can reduce epileptic seizures that resist drug therapy. But how the diet worked, and why, was a mysteryso much so that in 2010, The New York Times Magazine called it “Epilepsy’s Big, Fat Miracle.”
Dementia patients reveal how we construct a picture of the future
(Medical Xpress) — Our ability to imagine and plan our future depends on brain regions that store general knowledge, new research shows.
Brain research shows visual perception system unconsciously affects our preferences
When grabbing a coffee mug out of a cluttered cabinet or choosing a pen to quickly sign a document, what brain processes guide your choices?