16 Vote(s)
October 6, 2009
Nerve Cells Live Double Lives
Scientists have identified a new neural circuit in the retina responsible for the detection of approaching objects. Surprisingly, however, this is not the only function the circuit fulfills. The same nerve cells are also responsible for night vision. This is the first time such a dual function has been demonstrated, shedding new light on the nervous system's information-processing capacity.
16 Vote(s)
16 Vote(s)
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June 25, 2009
Sleep Helps Build Long-Term Memories - Picower Institute Study Strengthens Link Between Sleep, Memory Formation
Experts have long suspected that part of the process of turning fleeting short-term memories into lasting long-term memories occurs during sleep. Now, researchers at the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics of MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have shown that mice prevented from "replaying" their waking experiences while asleep do not remember them as well as mice who are ab
6 Vote(s)
6 Vote(s)
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