Synapses

Synapses

Illustration of a brain with highlighted regions overlaid on a close-up image of blue synapses and neurons, representing neural communication.
2mins
Your brain changes when you experience something, and it changes again when you remember it. Two neuroscientists explain what that means for memory, perception, and identity.
Unlikely Collaborators
A man with glasses and a brain in front of a yellow background.
6mins
There are three kinds of memory that all work together to shape your reality. Neuroscientist André Fenton explains.
Unlikely Collaborators
A crab with evolved brain functions.

Note: Keywords "crab" and "brain evolution" were used.
600 million years ago, the sea sponge had a dream.
An image of a new neuron with blue and yellow lights.
There are hints that it could lead to new treatments for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and other brain disorders.
three blue - blue - blue - blue - blue - blue - blue - blue - blue - blue .
Boys are four times as likely as girls to develop autism. Girls are nearly twice as likely to experience depression. The immune system may be a player in these and other brain-health disparities.
a man and a woman posing for a picture.
New research shows that the transition from general to specific memories involves the maturation of inhibitory neurons in the hippocampus.
Over time, different structures in the brain come to play unique roles in the storage and retrieval of long-term memories.
fear
The research could aid the development of more effective treatments for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 
neuroplasticity
Long thought incapable of regenerating, we now know that brain cells can grow and reorganize. That, it turns out, is a mixed blessing.
The plant-like sea creatures contain a molecule that improves memory, learning, and even hair quality, according to a new study in mice.
gene editing alcoholism
An experiment in rats suggests that gene editing may be a treatment for anxiety and alcoholism in adults who were exposed to binge-drinking in their adolescence.
Close up of an ant on the ground.
Two aspects of memory – fast updating and long lasting – are typically considered incompatible, yet the insects combined them.