Science has tried for a long time to explain why the brain of a baby is particularly flexible and why it changes so easily. Is it because the babies have to learn a lot? A group of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-organization in Gottingen (Germany), Princeton University (United States) and others, has now proposed a new explanation. Maybe it’s because the brain still has to grow.

Using a combination of experiments, mathematical models and computer simulations, researchers have shown that neural connections in the visual cortex of cats are restructured during the growth phase and that this restructuring can be explained by recourse to processes capable of organizing themselves. The study was led by Matthias Kaschuba, former fellow of this Institute and now at Princeton University. (more…)

A team of experts from the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT has developed a new mathematical model to describe how the human brain identifies objects visually. The model accurately predicts the degree of human efficiency in certain tasks of visual perception, suggesting that it is a good indicator of what actually happens in the brain, and could also help improve computer systems object recognition. (more…)

Look straight in the face of an unknown for a long time and probably two things happen: you will feel uncomfortable, and have the feeling that the stranger does not like to see him so strongly. For most people, that kind of social perception appears naturally. Not so for those with Williams syndrome. (more…)

A major Australian study has provided new and crucial knowledge of structural damage in a certain region of the brain and its potential association with Alzheimer’s disease.

It was found points to a buildup of beta-amyloid protein in a brain region known as the inferior temporal cortex. This region is connected to the hippocampus, which is involved in memory.

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by two factors: an accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, and a loss of neurons. (more…)

An international team of scientists has discovered striking similarities between the human brain, the nervous system of a worm and a computer chip.

Often compare the human brain with a computer, but apart from the trivial fact that both process information using a complex pattern of connections in a limited physical space, never, until now, had been unclear whether this is more than just a metaphor. (more…)

A team of scientists has developed a computerized technique to read thoughts.The new technique allows us to predict with a high level of success the images that people look through ultrasound studies the brain activity. The study could be the first step toward a method to visualize scenes from dreams or memory of a person. (more…)