Remember the necomimi ears? They made a big splash a couple of years ago, then disappeared. They seem to have evolved a bit since I wrote this (see here: http://en.necomimi.com/)
Tag Archives: Neuroscience
That’s all kinds of square…which is why I like it so much
Via gaksdesigns
This gallery contains 4 photos
Mmmm, neural circuitry.
Cognitive consilience
More than a century ago, a Spanish pathologist named Santiago Ramon y Cajal produced a series of highly detailed drawings of the microscopic structures of the human brain. It marked the beginning of modern neuroanatomy and ultimately helped earn Cajal a share of the 1906 Nobel Prize for medicine (with Italian anatomist Camillo Golgi.
Cajal’s drawings remain a marvel and are still widely used, but advances in neuroscience demand new ways to look at – and understand – how the human brain is structured and how it functions.
A recent PhD graduate and a post-doc at the University of California San Diego – Soren Solari in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Rich Stoner in the Department of Neurosciences – have created a modern take on Cajal’s pioneering work.
Publishing in the journal Frontiers in Neuroanatomy, Solari and Stoner have created a detailed review of cortical circuitry, along with a first-of-a-kind interactive website and an iPhone/iPad application that allows scientists to navigate aspects of the human brain.
“We wanted to create an interactive Figure 1,” said Stoner, who currently conducts research at the UC San Diego Autism Center of Excellence. “Readers of the review are able to click on a circuit and quickly find an accompanying reference.”
To build the tool, Solari and Stoner synthesized seven hypothetical circuits of the brain from scores of published neuroanatomy papers into a single interactive map that depicts consolidated long-term declarative memory, short-term declarative memory, working memory/information processing, behavioral memory selection, behavioral memory output, cognitive control and cortical information flow regulation. The map is built on data derived from multiple mammalian models.
“It’s the first coherent view of cortical circuits across different scales from different sources,” said Stoner. “We use the term ‘cognitive consilience’ because it’s about bringing together a lot of different information to form a coherent picture. It’s the unity of knowledge.”
By clicking on different links within each depicted circuit, users can read brief descriptions of the visualized cells and structures. The information is not definitive, of course. Solari and Stoner say they have erected this first iteration as a model for future researchers to add new information. “We’d like to see this become a viable tool for scientists to describe their work,” said Stoner.
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Who knew a brain-machine interface could have such a cute consequence?
Via jtotheizzoe:
This is what science can do for us. This baby was born deaf, and received a cochlear implant to try and give him the ability to hear.
This video shows the moment it was first turned on, and the first time he heard sound … the sound of his mother’s voice.
(by Pasanonic)
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Nice visualisation: from a whole mouse to synapse formation on a granular neuron dendritic spine.
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Drawing Autism is an incredible collection of artwork by people diagnosed with autism, from teenage amateurs to established artists. (via Drawing Autism – 50 Watts)
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