‘The Brain, In Theory,’ an Excerpt
The excerpt argues that the brain cannot be considered a programmable computer because neither evolution nor synaptic plasticity provides arbitrary, user‑directed modifications of neural parameters. Evolution shapes brain structure indirectly through genetic constraints, not by encoding specific synaptic weights. Likewise, plasticity follows biologically governed rules rather than free‑form programming. Although abstract neural network models can implement any logical function by adjusting weights, this universality depends on a modeler‑defined distinction between parameters and dynamical variables that does not exist in real brains. Consequently, neuroscientists treat the brain as an information‑processing system rather than a literal computer.
Computational Neuroscientist Keith Hengen Explains His Work Through Illustrations
Computational neuroscientist Keith Hengen, an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis, has turned to hand‑crafted illustrations to make his research on neuronal networks more accessible. Using Adobe Illustrator and AI‑generated textures, he creates comic‑style visuals that precede the...
What a Bird’s-Eye View of Half a Million Papers Reveals About Neuroscience
Researchers led by Mario Senden used AI‑driven text embeddings to analyze nearly half a million neuroscience abstracts from 1999‑2023, revealing 175 distinct research clusters. The analysis shows strong integration, with hubs such as resting‑state fMRI dynamics and hippocampal plasticity linking...
Newly Identified Barrier Cells Seal Off Choroid Plexus From CSF, Rest of Brain
Researchers have identified a previously unknown population of fibroblasts that create a tight‑junction barrier at the base of the choroid plexus, sealing it off from cerebrospinal fluid and the rest of the brain. The barrier, observed in both mouse models...
‘Digital Sphinx’ Raises Questions About Connectome Models
A preprint from Bing Wen Brunton's team demonstrates that a neural network built on the nematode *C. elegans* connectome can control a simulated fruit‑fly body, a system they dub the “digital sphinx.” The model learns to walk via deep reinforcement...
Taking a Closer Look at Astrocytes and Autism
Astrocytes, the brain's most abundant glial cells, are emerging as central players in autism research. Recent mouse studies reveal they encode emotional states, amplify oxytocin signaling, and stabilize adult neural circuits through protein secretion. Astrocyte networks span large brain regions,...
Neuro’s Ark: Sounding Out the Evolution of Hearing with Geckos
Catherine Carr’s team showed that tokay geckos sense low‑frequency vibrations (50‑200 Hz) through the saccule, a fluid‑filled inner‑ear organ traditionally linked to aquatic hearing. The saccular signals are routed via the vestibularis ovalis to higher‑order auditory brain regions, creating a parallel...
Cortical Evolution, ZBTB18, and More
A new study reveals that the transcription factor ZBTB18 governs the molecular diversity and connectivity of excitatory projection neurons in the mammalian cortex. Deleting ZBTB18 in mice reduces neuronal heterogeneity and produces wiring patterns reminiscent of primitive, non‑mammalian brains. The...
Letter Asks Congress for Nearly $500 Million to Sustain BRAIN Initiative
A coalition of 150 neuroscience organizations sent a letter to Congress requesting $468 million for the NIH BRAIN Initiative for the upcoming fiscal year, matching the 2022 funding level and averting a budget shortfall as the 21st Century Cures Act funding...
Juan Gallego Discusses How Manifolds Are Transforming Our Understanding of the Coordination of Neuronal Population Activity
Juan Gallego, principal investigator at the Be.Neural Lab, discussed how neural manifolds are reshaping our understanding of coordinated activity across large neuronal populations. He highlighted evidence that population firing patterns collapse onto low‑dimensional manifolds, especially in motor control and learning...
Astrocytes in Mouse Amygdala Encode Emotional State
A new Neuron study shows that astrocytes in the mouse basolateral amygdala, not neurons, encode anxiety‑like states. Calcium imaging revealed astrocytic activity spikes during exposure to open, threatening environments and closely mirrors freezing and hesitancy. A machine‑learning model using astrocyte...
Data Duplications Flagged in Highly Cited Gut-Brain Studies
Two high‑profile gut‑microbiome studies—one on Parkinson’s disease published in Cell in 2016 and another on anxiety published in Nature in 2022—have been flagged for duplicated mouse‑behavior data. The duplications were uncovered by a software engineer using a repository‑scanning tool and...
David Sussillo on Persistence, Luck and the Bonds Between Life and Work
David Sussillo’s memoir recounts how a chance email linked him to Larry Abbott, whose mentorship at Columbia’s Center for Theoretical Neuroscience led to the development of FORCE learning. The method trains chaotic recurrent neural networks by harnessing their intrinsic dynamics...
Leucovorin, Long-Read Sequencing, and More
Leucovorin prescriptions for autistic children jumped 71% after a White House briefing promoted the drug, yet the FDA only approved it for cerebral folate deficiency and withdrew any autism claim. A 2024 autism trial supporting leucovorin was retracted, casting doubt...
Large-Scale Neuroimaging Datasets Often Lack Information Specific to Women’s Health, Constraining AI’s Analysis Potential
Large‑scale neuroimaging studies largely omit women‑specific health information, limiting AI’s ability to model female brain dynamics. Only about 0.5 % of neuroscience papers address women’s health, and few datasets capture menstrual, pregnancy, or menopause data. Recent precision‑imaging work and the Women’s...
Remembering Annette Dolphin, Who Helped Explain Gabapentin’s Effects
Annette Dolphin, a pioneering neuropharmacologist at UCL, died on 27 January at 74 after a five‑decade career that reshaped voltage‑gated calcium‑channel research. Her 2005 discovery that α2δ subunits control channel trafficking clarified the molecular basis of neuropathic pain and revealed...
Portfolio of SCN2A Gene Variants, and More
A new preprint maps a broad portfolio of SCN2A gene variants onto the Nav1.2 sodium channel, revealing distinct functional impacts that correspond to neurodevelopmental outcomes. Loss‑of‑function mutations linked to non‑syndromic autism reduce channel activity, while co‑expression with wild‑type proteins produces...