The hottest Neurobiology Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Health & Wellness Topics

Mystery of the Head Activator

Asimov Press • 328 implied HN points • 18 Jan 26
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. A small peptide called the “head activator” was reported to trigger head regeneration in hydra and was even sequenced and sold as a synthetic compound, but many labs couldn’t replicate the effect and later genomic and proteomic data show that sequence isn’t encoded in hydra, undermining the original claim.
  2. The controversy became deeply personal and institutional, leading to accusations, a formal inquiry and fines, missed career opportunities, and lasting grudges among researchers involved.
  3. Meanwhile, hydra patterning is now better explained by established ideas like the Gierer–Meinhardt model and Wnt signaling, illustrating how science self-corrects even though the true origin of the originally reported peptide remains an unresolved puzzle.

Overcome OCD With Walking Sensory Meditation

Harnessing the Power of Nutrients • 1397 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Neurobiology
  1. Overcoming OCD can be aided by a walking sensory meditation that focuses on physical sensations and external stimuli, helping to balance analytical thinking.
  2. OCD involves complex neurobiological aspects like increased dopamine input, decreased activity in the salience network, and decreased responsiveness to punishment.
  3. Practices like walking sensory meditation can help address the sensory-cognitive balance in the brain, similar to how exercise improves cerebellar functions.

All Bayes Everything

Holodoxa • 239 implied HN points • 14 Jun 24
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. Bayes' Theorem is a powerful concept in probability theory that helps update beliefs based on new evidence, highlighting the importance of combining prior knowledge and new data.
  2. Bayesian methods can offer valuable improvements to scientific research practices by emphasizing uncertainty, effect magnitude, and probability distributions over traditional p-values and null hypothesis testing.
  3. The concept of the brain functioning as a prediction machine aligns with Bayesian principles, suggesting that the brain uses prior knowledge and new sensory inputs to make predictions and construct conscious experiences.

An undergrad, twitching rodent heads, DOI, and the DEA: 5 Questions for researcher Alyssa Gillies

The Microdose • 511 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. Researchers use DOI in the lab to study the head twitch response in rodents as an indicator of 5-HT2 receptor activation.
  2. Scheduling DOI as a Schedule I drug would create barriers for labs studying the 5-HT2 receptor due to accessibility and legal requirements.
  3. There is minimal recreational use of DOI and DOC, with the DEA's proposal affecting the progress of psychedelic research and impacting researchers.

Action Potentials for December

Neurobiology Notes • 137 implied HN points • 27 Dec 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. High-pressure freezing method allows larger biospecimens to be imaged with less milling time.
  2. New study maps neurotransmitter expression in the mouse brain, revealing diversity among neuron types.
  3. Advances in neural recording technology now allow for full cortical depth recording in the brain.
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Can we freeze time?

Neurobiology Notes • 157 implied HN points • 15 May 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. Brain rhythms are natural patterns of neural activity measured using EEG or other neuroimaging techniques.
  2. Preserving brain structure could potentially help recapitulate brain rhythms, but uncertainties remain about the link between structure and function.
  3. Research on cryopreserving brain cells responsible for brain rhythms is valuable, but demonstrating memory retention post-preservation requires more than just measuring electrophysiological signals.

Action Potentials for November

Neurobiology Notes • 117 implied HN points • 28 Nov 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. Study on extrasynaptic neural signaling in C. elegans challenges the idea that synapses are the sole key to brain information content.
  2. Neuropeptide signaling plays a crucial role in behaviors like aggression in mice, emphasizing its significance beyond nematodes.
  3. Mouse amygdala study highlights differences in brain cell activity during memory formation and recall, shedding light on the complex processes of memory.

Action Potentials for January

Neurobiology Notes • 78 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. The brain's sensory information changes over time through representational drift
  2. Memory formation and synaptic strength may have similarities in dendritic spine volumes
  3. New methods are helping to identify and understand specific cell types in the brain

What should we be measuring in brain preservation?

Neurobiology Notes • 137 implied HN points • 11 Aug 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. The goal of brain preservation is to protect and store information from a person's brain for potential future revival.
  2. Structural metrics, like intact cell membrane morphology, are crucial for evaluating brain preservation methods.
  3. Connectome traceability by contemporary electron microscopy sets a high standard for brain preservation, but intact cell morphology on light microscopy can be a reasonable proxy.

Action Potentials for March

Neurobiology Notes • 137 implied HN points • 18 Mar 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. A big connectomics study of Drosophila larva was published, revealing new insights into neural connections
  2. Simulated neural networks can accurately replicate properties of connectomes in different species
  3. Research proposal aims to comprehensively measure input-output functions of all 302 neurons in C. elegans, a significant project in neuroscience

Action Potentials for June

Neurobiology Notes • 117 implied HN points • 27 Jun 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. A new strategy using SUM-PAINT for protein labeling shows promise in profiling multiple proteins at high resolution.
  2. Microscopy images alone can predict neural responses to visual stimuli in Drosophila optic pathways.
  3. Combining EM and fluorescence microscopy allows for cost-effective connectomics studies in the mouse cerebellum.

Action Potentials for October

Neurobiology Notes • 98 implied HN points • 21 Oct 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. New technologies are advancing brain mapping across species.
  2. Single-molecule protein sequencing is improving with nanopore sensors and machine learning.
  3. Studies explore topics like protein structure predictions and synaptic connectivity patterns.

Action Potentials for April

Neurobiology Notes • 98 implied HN points • 18 Apr 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. New study in neurobiology identifies different types of inhibitory neurons based on connectivity data
  2. Research on the C. elegans nervous system during unique developmental stages highlights connectomic differences
  3. Study on Drosophila visual system shows synaptic partner selection influenced by cell adhesion molecule expression patterns

Action Potentials for July

Neurobiology Notes • 98 implied HN points • 22 Jul 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. Analysis of the Drosophila connectome reveals insights about neurotransmitters and information flow in the fly brain.
  2. Cell type annotations in the Drosophila connectome highlight the complexity and comparisons with previous mapping efforts.
  3. Developing a computational model of the Drosophila connectome provides insights into neural activity dynamics and behavioral predictions.

Action Potentials for February

Neurobiology Notes • 78 implied HN points • 19 Feb 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. A study found that naturally occurring place cells do not have higher excitability than non-place cells
  2. Heterozygous states can have biological effects even in diseases traditionally thought of as 'dominant'
  3. Increasing social isolation is a public health crisis, comparable to the health impact of smoking and heavy drinking

Action Potentials for August

Neurobiology Notes • 58 implied HN points • 21 Aug 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. New microscopy method combines electron microscopy with fluorescence imaging for detailed mapping of cell types, proteins, and synaptic connections in neuroscience.
  2. Memory ensembles in the brain are formed by neurons with high excitability, helping link memories and facilitating memory recall.
  3. Memory engrams exist across multiple brain areas, and bioelectric fields may coordinate memory ensembles distributed in the brain.

Action Potentials for May

Neurobiology Notes • 39 implied HN points • 19 May 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. Scanning electron microscopy in the mouse hippocampus allows for 3D reconstructions with synaptic annotations.
  2. Neural circuitry in zebrafish shows persistent representations for head orientation.
  3. Goldfish boundary neurons selectively fire at the edge of a water tank.

A review of Principia Qualia

Unstabler Ontology • 19 implied HN points • 29 Jun 23
🔬 Science Neurobiology
  1. The paper discusses the motivation behind bottom-up physicalist consciousness theories and the importance of studying valence for determining the goodness or badness of an experience.
  2. A review of Integrated Information Theory (IIT) along with its variants and criticisms is presented, highlighting the complexities surrounding defining consciousness.
  3. The proposal of symmetry as a theory of valence is critiqued for potentially oversimplifying the complexities of consciousness and valence, emphasizing the need for a more comprehensive understanding.