Navigating a 3D World
The brain has an amazing ability to form internal maps of the world around it. Knowing Neurons has previously written several articles about place cells in the hippocampus and how… Read more
2013
A Piece of Licorice a Day Keeps the Doctor Away?
Turns out that tub of black licorice you got from Costco, and managed to eat in only a few days (don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody!), might have actually done… Read more
The Smell of the Good Ol’ Days
The innumerable ways in which our parents contribute to our physical and mental identities are as complex as they are fascinating. From the genetic information they share with us to… Read more
Reverse Inference: Neuroscience’s Greatest Fallacy?
The recent unveiling of the BRAIN Initiative promised a greater understanding of cognition through improved imaging techniques. However, the biggest problem in neuroscience is not the limits of technology, but… Read more
The Sum of All Fears… Includes Safety?
Identifying safe or dangerous situations are essential for survival. A child may be fearful of crossing a road alone, but he will be completely relaxed while crossing the same road… Read more
Repaving Old Roads After Spinal Cord Injury
The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 500,000 people will experience spinal cord injuries (SCI) every year. Researchers at the Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute in… Read more
Can Looking at Food Photos Ruin Your Dinner?
How many advertisements do you see each day? If you could count them all (billboards, television commercials, sidebar advertisements on your Facebook feed), it would add up to almost 5,000! … Read more
Sleep ‘til you’re Hungry. Eat ‘til you’re Sleepy.
Have you ever tried to go to sleep hungry? Believe me, it doesn’t work. You just end up lying in bed, listening to your stomach growl, and dreaming about your… Read more
The Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting 2013
This is BIG week for neuroscience!
Each year more than 30,000 neuroscientists from more than 80 countries come together in the largest scientific meeting in the world! At the Society… Read more
Chromosome Silencing: Turning Off Genes in Down Syndrome
Close your eyes and try to imagine medical treatment in the future. I envision sophisticated robots wielding lasers that precisely eliminate deadly tumors. I predict that insight from genome wide… Read more
Imaging the Brain with Sculpted Light
Perhaps the biggest goal in neuroscience is to understand how individual neurons interact with each other in both space and time. The more detailed our understanding of complex neural networks… Read more
Unhappy with your life? Try spending less time on Facebook!
I’m going to ask you a question, and you have to be honest. Promise? OK. Here’s the question: how much time do you spend on Facebook each day? Take a… Read more