How the brain produces consciousness in 'time slices'

EPFL scientists propose a new way of understanding of how the brain processes unconscious information into our consciousness. According to the model, consciousness arises only in time intervals of up to 400 milliseconds, with gaps of unconsciousness in between.

The Singularity and the Neural Code

Bionic convergence and psychic uploading won’t be possible unless we crack the neural code, science’s hardest problem.

New Map Of Brain Connections Is Most Detailed Ever Produced

Researchers seeking to unlock the secrets of how the brain works have created the largest and most detailed map of connections between brain cells ever produced.

Complex learning dismantles barriers in the brain

Biology lessons teach us that the brain is divided into separate areas, each of which processes a specific sense. But findings to be published in eLife show we can supercharge it to be more flexible.

Discovery of a 'neuronal big bang' in brain of newborns: New technology reveals genetic origin of newborn neurons in the brain

Our neurons are derived from progenitor cells, which are specialized stem cells that have the ability to divide to give rise to neurons. Today, neuroscientists shed light on the mechanisms that allow progenitors to generate neurons.

Enhanced Training Through Neurostimulation

It’s a case of life imitating art. Much as the sci-fi film “The Matrix” depicted a device capable of enhancing skill acquisition, researchers at HRL Laboratories, LLC, have discovered that low-current electrical brain stimulation can modulate the learning of complex real-world skills.

Scientists turn skin cells into stem cells that kill brain cancer

Scientists have turned skin cells into stem cells that can hunt down and destroy the deadly remains inevitably left behind when a glioblastoma is removed.

'Dial' on astrocytes means brain cells can be adjusted

A dial-like structure found on brain cells called astrocytes means they are "actually incredibly flexible and potentially modifiable," says Keith Murai.

Mind-controlled prosthetic arm moves individual "fingers"

Physicians and biomedical engineers from Johns Hopkins report what they believe is the first successful effort to wiggle fingers individually and independently of each other using a mind-controlled artificial "arm" to control the movement.

New "Mini-Brains" Could Put Thousands of Lab Animals Out of Work

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have produced tiny brains made of human neurons and cells. These mini-brains could radically change how drugs are tested, replacing the many animals currently being used for neurological scientific research.

Mindfulness training cools inflammation

A study of stressed-out adults suggests that mindfulness meditation causes brain changes that can lower inflammation levels.

A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses

These students in Matamoros, Mexico, didn't have reliable Internet access, steady electricity, or much hope—until a radical new teaching method unlocked their potential.

Researchers start to understand how the environment impacts state of mind

Anxiety disorder is the most common mental illness, affecting at least one in five adults. In their latest study, scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich have shown that an enzyme called Dnmt3a is crucial in how the frontal cortex mediates stress-induced anxiety. Manipulation of this enzyme might represent a new therapeutic target.

Implant to 'Plug' Brain into Supercomputers

DARPA wants to develop a tiny device that would translate the electrochemical language of the brain into the 1s and 0s of computers.

Memory capacity of brain is 10 times more than previously thought

The brain's memory capacity is in the petabyte range, as much as entire Web, new research indicates. The new work answers a longstanding question as to how the brain is so energy efficient and could help engineers build computers that are incredibly powerful but also conserve energy.