Lifeboat Foundation

Together with collaborators in Michigan’s Neural Circuits and Memory Lab led by Diba, Rice neuroscientist Caleb Kemere has been studying the process by which specialized neurons produce a representation of the world after a new experience.

Some dreams may, in fact, predict the future: New research has found that during sleep, some neurons not only replay the recent past but also anticipate future experience.

In this new standard set by Precision Neuroscience, the rising brain chip industry is seeing significant growth, especially with Neuralink, also known for its first successful implant in the past.

Precision’s Brain Chip Sets Record With 4.096 Electrodes on Brain

Precision Neuroscience shared its latest milestone on its brain-computer interface (BCI), which it recently placed on a human brain in collaboration with the Mount Sinai Health System, successfully placing 4,096 electrodes on cerebral matter.

Duarte et al. report that common genetic variants linked to psychiatric disorders influence the regulation of ancient retroviruses integrated into the genome. This suggests ancient viruses acquired millions of years ago may have shaped modern human brain function.

It is likely that a theory of everything will ultimately require massive collaboration to be solved. Ironically, this may be a job for the older physicists, despite the warnings of Eddington and others. Francis Crick dedicated his attention to trying to solve the problem of consciousness in his later years, albeit without success.

We need collaboration. But we may be looking at the prospect of a theory of everything only coming from those who have accomplished so much they can afford the potential embarrassment and will be given the benefit of the doubt. This hardly stirs the enthusiasm of the vibrant, young minds that may otherwise tackle the problem.

In trying to solve the ultimate problem, we may have inadvertently created a monster. Our academic framework for research progression is not conducive to it, and history has presented an unkind picture of what happens to those who try.

New symptoms such as failing to identify more than one object at a time and a “space perception deficit” could be the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study has found.

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), is a diagnosis for those who struggle with judging distances, distinguishing between moving and stationary objects and completing tasks like writing and it overwhelmingly predicts Alzheimer’s.

In the latest study from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, some 94 per cent patients with PCA had Alzheimer’s pathology. Most patients with PCA have normal cognition early on, but by the time of their first diagnostic visit, an average 3.8 years after symptom onset, mild or moderate dementia was apparent with deficits identified in memory, executive function, behavior, and speech and language , according to the researchers’ findings.

A research team at Stanford’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute has made a major stride in using AI to replicate how the brain organizes sensory information to make sense of the world, opening up new frontiers for virtual neuroscience.

A 3D model developed by West Virginia University neuroscientists shows how implantable stimulators—the kind used to treat chronic pain—can target neurons that control specific muscles to provide rehabilitation for people with neurological disorders such as stroke and spinal cord injuries.

A study shows our brains use basic sound rates and patterns to distinguish music from speech, offering insights to enhance therapies for speech impairments like aphasia.

Music and speech are among the most frequent types of sounds we hear. But how do we identify what we think are differences between the two?

Continue reading “The Frequencies of Cognition: Exploring How Our Brains Differentiate Sounds” »

Menstruation can often come with a degree of discomfort as the uterus prepares to shed. For some, the effects can be horrendous.

It’s estimated that some 5 to 8 percent of women experience moderate to severe symptoms that have a noticeably negative impact on their lives, mental health, and ability to function normally. These premenstrual disorders, or PMDs, affect millions of women globally, yet we know shockingly little about their long-term consequences.

Now, a new nationwide observational study in Sweden has shown that women with PMDs have an increased risk of suicide. In fact, they’re more than twice as likely to die by suicide as women without PMDs. It’s a sobering figure, one that strongly suggests more work needs to be done to understand PMDs, and help the people who suffer from them.