[{"id":254627,"date":"2026-08-28T09:01:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/?p=254627"},"modified":"2026-09-01T11:35:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:35:48","slug":"revealing-how-crabs-make-their-escape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america\/revealing-how-crabs-make-their-escape\/","title":{"rendered":"Revealing how crabs make their escape"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Houdini-like Neohelice granulata<\/em> offers a rare opportunity to record intracellularly from awake, behaving animals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":254628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[189,273,195,1209],"class_list":["post-254627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-behavioral-neuroscience","tag-neuroethology","tag-social-behavior","tag-the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america"],"acf":{"primary_tag":1209,"doi_url":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.53053\/ANIX7251","citation_count":"0","custom_js_library":"","hero_type":"video","hero_alt_image":null,"hero_youtube":"","hero_video":254643,"hero_layout":"landscape","hero_caption":"A crab snack<\/b>: As both prey and predator, Neohelice<\/em> crabs can be used to study the circuits of freezing, fleeing and pursuit.","hero_by":"Video by Daniel Tomsic","hero_credit":"","hero_bg_color":"tan","authors":[231924],"other_authors":"","related_title":"Explore more from The Transmitter<\/em>","related_hide":false,"related_filter":"latest","related_tag":null,"related_category":null,"related_custom":{"articles":null},"related_custom_wwn":{"articles":null},"newsletter":"","banner_content":"

THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF OUR STATE OF NEUROSCIENCE IN LATIN AMERICA REPORT.<\/p>","banner_url":"http:\/\/thetransmitter.org\/state-of-neuroscience-latin-america\/","apple_article_id":"a64bde8e-89f7-4245-847a-b00449e827d5","apple_article_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","google_button_text":"","google_btn_bg_color":"","tooltip_text":"","sidebar_related_hide":false,"sidebar_related_title":"related articles","sidebar_related_hide_images":false,"sidebar_related_articles":[254482,254503,254489,254619,254611],"comps":[{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Lea este art\u00edculo en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLeia este artigo em portugu\u00eas<\/a>.\r\n\r\nOn the coast of Argentina, in the estuaries and salt marshes of the Southwestern Atlantic, countless mud crabs burrow into the sand. <\/span>Daniel Tomsic<\/span><\/a>, associate professor of neuroscience at the University of Buenos Aires, grew up watching the ubiquitous creatures, called <\/span>Neohelice granulata,<\/span><\/i> scuttle in and out of their nests whenever he visited the beach.<\/span>\r\n\r\nTomsic now studies how the crab\u2019s ganglia control visually guided escape behavior in the same crabs. Gulls prey on the creatures, which are just barely bigger than a guitar pick. When a crab sees a gull flying overhead, it must decide whether to scurry and in what direction. It\u2019s the same computation a tennis player makes in reading a 200-kilometer-per-hour serve and deciding when to swing, Tomsic says. \u201cNobody knows how these time-to-collision calculations are made,\u201d he says, adding that the crab is a tractable model organism for studying this question.<\/span>\r\n\r\nTomsic inherited the model from his mentor, Hector Maldonado, who introduced <\/span>Neohelice <\/span><\/i>as a neuroethological model in Argentina after returning from 18 years in exile. Tomsic advanced the work by making intracellular recordings of live, behaving animals, something that had previously been done only in insects and only after removing the animal\u2019s legs. The crab\u2019s rigid carapace and accessible brain region, reachable through a small hole drilled in the cuticle, made it possible, Tomsic says.<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"video_comp","type":"video","video":254662,"youtube_id":"","cover_image":"","caption":"Looming large:<\/strong> In the lab, Daniel Tomsic and his colleagues use looming stimuli to test crabs\u2019 escape response. ","byline":{"by":"Photography by Daniel Tomsic","credit":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Intracellular recordings revealed the circuits that connect visual input to motor output. The decision to flee is triggered once the apparent size of an approaching object has grown to a certain size, according to work by Tomsic and his colleagues. The crab continuously adjusts its running speed as the threat expands, slowing immediately if the stimulus stops growing. A single giant neuron, the MLG2 neuron, encodes how fast the threat is expanding and drives that speed adjustment in real time, and another neuron, MLG1, controls a crab\u2019s <\/span>freezing response<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\r\n\r\nField studies in collaboration with <\/span>Jan Hemmi<\/span><\/a>, professor of biological sciences at the University of Western Australia, revealed that crabs behave differently in the lab than in the wild. In the lab, crabs consistently flee in the opposite direction from an approaching stimulus, and they wait until the looming object is fairly large before moving. In the field, however, crabs bolt in response to smaller stimuli and run toward their burrows to hide, even if it\u2019s in the same direction as a predator. Without a place to hide, lab animals freeze to avoid detection. \u201cThat was a big lesson for me,\u201d Tomsic says. The mismatch showed that laboratory conclusions about natural behavior carry real risk without field checks, he says.<\/span>\r\n\r\nMore recently, Tomsic\u2019s focus has shifted to the decision-making behind the escape behavior, and how being <\/span>surrounded by other crabs<\/span><\/a> changes when and how an individual crab chooses to flee. And, because <\/span>Neohelice <\/span><\/i>prey upon each other, the model enables researchers to study <\/span>predatory behavior<\/span><\/a> as well.<\/span>"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254627"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255590,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254627\/revisions\/255590"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254611"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254619"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254489"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254503"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254482"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/231924"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"post_tag","href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/1209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":254619,"date":"2026-08-28T09:01:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/?p=254619"},"modified":"2026-09-01T11:35:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:35:54","slug":"discovering-how-butterflies-choose-their-mate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america\/discovering-how-butterflies-choose-their-mate\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovering how butterflies choose their mate"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heliconius<\/em> butterflies offer a window into the neural circuits and genes involved in mate color preference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":254621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[303,273,1209],"class_list":["post-254619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-animal-behavior","tag-neuroethology","tag-the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america"],"acf":{"primary_tag":1209,"doi_url":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.53053\/INJX4894","citation_count":"0","custom_js_library":"","hero_type":"video","hero_alt_image":null,"hero_youtube":"","hero_video":254649,"hero_layout":"portrait","hero_caption":"A pop of color:<\/strong> Heliconius<\/em> butterflies tend to prefer mates that match their own color patterns.","hero_by":"Video by Mariana Murillo","hero_credit":"","hero_bg_color":"tan","authors":[231924],"other_authors":"","related_title":"Explore more from The Transmitter<\/em>","related_hide":false,"related_filter":"latest","related_tag":null,"related_category":null,"related_custom":{"articles":null},"related_custom_wwn":{"articles":null},"newsletter":"","banner_content":"

THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF OUR STATE OF NEUROSCIENCE IN LATIN AMERICA REPORT.<\/p>","banner_url":"http:\/\/thetransmitter.org\/state-of-neuroscience-latin-america\/","apple_article_id":"600b9384-9f60-40b9-976d-c3ad7feb31bc","apple_article_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","google_button_text":"","google_btn_bg_color":"","tooltip_text":"","sidebar_related_hide":false,"sidebar_related_title":"related articles","sidebar_related_hide_images":false,"sidebar_related_articles":[254482,254503,254489,254627,254611],"comps":[{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Lea este art\u00edculo en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLeia este artigo em portugu\u00eas<\/a>.\r\n\r\nHeliconius<\/i> butterflies prefer mates that resemble themselves, and even closely related species have strikingly different patterns, ecologies and behaviors.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re trying to understand how behaviors are coded in the brain, and how this contributes to the diversification of species,\u201d says <\/span>Jos\u00e9 Borrero<\/span><\/a>, a graduate student in Richard Merrill\u2019s lab at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, who studies <\/span>Heliconius<\/span><\/i> butterflies in collaboration with <\/span>Carolina Pardo-D\u00edaz<\/span><\/a>, associate professor of evolutionary genetics, phylogeography and ecology at the Universidad del Rosario in Bogot\u00e1, and <\/span>Camilo Salazar<\/span><\/a>, professor in the same department.<\/span>\r\n\r\nColombia has an extraordinary density of <\/span>Heliconius<\/span><\/i> species, with distinct populations on either side of the Andes Mountains, making it an ideal location to study how differences in habitat shape the butterflies\u2019 brains, behavior and genetics. A single genetic locus accounts for about 30 percent of the difference in mate preference between two species, a surprisingly large effect for a behavior as complex as mate choice, says <\/span>Merrill<\/span><\/a>, professor of evolutionary biology at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. The genes underlying mate preference sit physically close in the genome to those controlling wing pattern, meaning that they tend to travel together and help populations stay distinct even when they interbreed. Both sets of genes can jump species boundaries entirely through hybridization, carrying behavioral preferences and color patterns across lineages.<\/span>\r\n\r\nNow the lab wants to understand how those genetic differences translate into differences in the brain.<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"video_comp","type":"video","video":254660,"youtube_id":"","cover_image":"","caption":"Vision test:<\/strong> Using an optomotor test, researchers test butterflies\u2019 visual acuity, which they then correlate with investment in the visual parts of the brain and with eye morphology.","byline":{"by":"Video by Mariana Murillo","credit":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"The butterflies\u2019 brains continue developing after they emerge from their chrysalises, the collaboration has shown, and for that reason, mature butterflies see significantly better than newly emerged ones. The optic lobes, which process visual information, keep growing throughout the animal\u2019s life, according to a <\/span>preprint<\/span><\/a>. Species that live in darker, more complex forest interiors have larger optic lobes and better acuity, and rely more on vision over smell when foraging. Males don\u2019t begin searching for mates until their brains and visual ability have had time to mature, the study found.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe fieldwork happens at a research station near Bogot\u00e1, where butterflies are kept in large outdoor cages set directly beside the cloud forest the species inhabit. The cages were close enough that the animals experienced the same light conditions, temperature and vegetation found in their natural environment. The setup is essential to the experiments: Butterflies tested under white lab light, without the ultraviolet wavelengths they use to perceive their environment, perform terribly, Borrero says. \u201cIf we want to understand how they behave,\u201d he adds, \u201cit\u2019s important to test them in the environment where these behaviors actually take place.\u201d<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image_comp","aspect_ratio":"inline3-2","title":"","image":254624,"link":"","image_caption":"Butterly garden:<\/strong> Butterflies were raised in large outdoor cages that closely mimic their natural habitat.","image_byline":{"by":"Photography by Mariana Murillo","credit":""}}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254619"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255591,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254619\/revisions\/255591"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254611"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254627"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254489"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254503"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254482"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/231924"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"post_tag","href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/1209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":254925,"date":"2026-08-28T09:01:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/?p=254925"},"modified":"2026-09-01T11:35:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:35:59","slug":"la-biodiversidad-de-latinoamerica-impulsa-avances-en-comportamiento-social-y-cognicion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america\/la-biodiversidad-de-latinoamerica-impulsa-avances-en-comportamiento-social-y-cognicion\/","title":{"rendered":"La biodiversidad de Latinoam\u00e9rica impulsa avances en comportamiento social y cognici\u00f3n"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Horneros, peces el\u00e9ctricos, ranitas y otra fauna regional ayudan a los neurocient\u00edficos a plantear nuevas preguntas de investigaci\u00f3n en el campo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":254483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[189,1201,273,195,1209],"class_list":["post-254925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-behavioral-neuroscience","tag-espanol","tag-neuroethology","tag-social-behavior","tag-the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america"],"acf":{"primary_tag":1209,"doi_url":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.53053\/DBEY2930","citation_count":"0","custom_js_library":"","hero_type":"feat_image","hero_alt_image":null,"hero_youtube":"","hero_video":null,"hero_layout":"landscape","hero_caption":"Act\u00faa naturalmente:<\/strong> Desde las aves hasta los peces, la neuroetolog\u00eda est\u00e1 viva en Am\u00e9rica Latina.","hero_by":"Ilustraci\u00f3n de","hero_credit":204001,"hero_bg_color":"tan","authors":[231924],"other_authors":"","related_title":"Explore more from The Transmitter<\/em>","related_hide":false,"related_filter":"latest","related_tag":null,"related_category":null,"related_custom":{"articles":null},"related_custom_wwn":{"articles":null},"newsletter":"","banner_content":"

ESTE ART\u00cdCULO FORMA PARTE DE NUESTRO INFORME SOBRE EL ESTADO DE LA NEUROCIENCIA EN AM\u00c9RICA LATINA.<\/p>","banner_url":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/el-panorama-de-la-neurociencia-en-latinoamerica","apple_article_id":"bc736f13-eb8b-48da-a89f-73da44637d78","apple_article_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","google_button_text":"","google_btn_bg_color":"","tooltip_text":"","sidebar_related_hide":false,"sidebar_related_title":"Art\u00edculos relacionados","sidebar_related_hide_images":false,"sidebar_related_articles":[254953,254933,255048,255024,255147],"comps":[{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Natalia Mesa<\/a> tradujo este art\u00edculo.<\/em>\r\n\r\nRead this article in English<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLeia este artigo em portugu\u00eas<\/a><\/span>.\r\n\r\nLatinoam\u00e9rica es una de las regiones con mayor riqueza biol\u00f3gica del planeta, un mosaico enorme y variado de ecosistemas. Ah\u00ed, los cient\u00edficos aprovechan esa biodiversidad para investigar el cerebro, usando especies que no existen en ning\u00fan otro lugar, muchas veces trabajando directamente en el campo en lugar del laboratorio.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAunque la neuroetolog\u00eda no es algo nuevo en la regi\u00f3n, ha crecido en la \u00faltima d\u00e9cada, a medida que investigadores independientes desarrollan nuevos modelos animales. Ranas, mariposas y aves cantoras de Uruguay, Colombia y Argentina est\u00e1n ayudando a entender mejor la comunicaci\u00f3n, la elecci\u00f3n de pareja y el comportamiento social en su ambiente natural. Otros estudios ya <\/span>identificaron los genes<\/span><\/a> detr\u00e1s del comportamiento agresivo en peces el\u00e9ctricos, y explicaron los circuitos neuronales que gobiernan <\/span>la depredaci\u00f3n y la huida<\/span><\/a> en cangrejos.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cLatinoam\u00e9rica tiene una estaci\u00f3n experimental de campo gigantesca que quiz\u00e1s no la tenemos tan explotada\u201d, dice Paula Pouso<\/a>, profesora adjunta de histolog\u00eda y embriolog\u00eda en la Universidad de la Rep\u00fablica en Montevideo. \u201cCada vez que vamos de campo traemos preguntas nuevas porque mirar el comportamiento, lo que ocurre, abre muchas preguntas.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nLa regi\u00f3n permite estudiar especies que de otra manera ser\u00edan inaccesibles, y muchas veces en abundancia y a bajo costo, una necesidad en pa\u00edses donde el financiamiento para la investigaci\u00f3n es escaso e impredecible. Los investigadores del Cono Sur, en particular, aseguran que la ecolog\u00eda local les permite formar una comunidad cient\u00edfica cerca de casa.<\/span>\r\n\r\nConsulte nuestra colecci\u00f3n de art\u00edculos sobre la investigaci\u00f3n en neuroetolog\u00eda en Am\u00e9rica Latina:\r\n\r\nQu\u00e9 hace \u00fanico al canto de un ave<\/a><\/span>\r\n\r\nC\u00f3mo los neurop\u00e9ptidos afectan el canto de la ranita de zarzal<\/a><\/span>\r\n\r\nDescubriendo c\u00f3mo las mariposas escogen su pareja<\/a><\/span>\r\n\r\nC\u00f3mo los cangrejos logran escaparse<\/a><\/span>\r\n\r\nPescando por los or\u00edgenes neuronales de la agresi\u00f3n<\/a><\/span>"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254925"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255592,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254925\/revisions\/255592"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255147"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255024"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255048"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254933"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254953"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/231924"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/204001"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"post_tag","href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/1209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":255127,"date":"2026-08-28T09:01:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/?p=255127"},"modified":"2026-09-01T11:36:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:36:03","slug":"descobrindo-como-as-borboletas-escolhem-seus-parceiros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america\/descobrindo-como-as-borboletas-escolhem-seus-parceiros\/","title":{"rendered":"Descobrindo como as borboletas escolhem seus parceiros"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As borboletas do g\u00eanero Heliconius<\/em> permitem investigar os circuitos neurais e os genes envolvidos na prefer\u00eancia pela cor dos parceiros.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":254621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[189,273,1199,195,1209],"class_list":["post-255127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-behavioral-neuroscience","tag-neuroethology","tag-portugues","tag-social-behavior","tag-the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america"],"acf":{"primary_tag":1209,"doi_url":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.53053\/UFOP6902","citation_count":"0","custom_js_library":"","hero_type":"video","hero_alt_image":null,"hero_youtube":"","hero_video":254649,"hero_layout":"portrait","hero_caption":"Um toque de cor:<\/strong> As borboletas Heliconius<\/em> tendem a preferir parceiros que correspondam aos seus pr\u00f3prios padr\u00f5es de cores.","hero_by":"Video de Mariana Murillo","hero_credit":"","hero_bg_color":"tan","authors":[231924],"other_authors":"","related_title":"Explore more from The Transmitter<\/em>","related_hide":false,"related_filter":"latest","related_tag":null,"related_category":null,"related_custom":{"articles":null},"related_custom_wwn":{"articles":null},"newsletter":"","banner_content":"ESTE ARTIGO FAZ PARTE DO NOSSO RELAT\u00d3RIO SOBRE O ESTADO DA NEUROCI\u00caNCIA NA AM\u00c9RICA LATINA.","banner_url":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/neurociencia-na-america-latina\/","apple_article_id":"12b05a58-cf77-4003-97a4-2af5eb85f154","apple_article_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","google_button_text":"","google_btn_bg_color":"","tooltip_text":"","sidebar_related_hide":false,"sidebar_related_title":"Artigos relacionados","sidebar_related_hide_images":false,"sidebar_related_articles":[255043,255144,255118,255158,255178],"comps":[{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Helen Mendes Lima<\/a> traduziu este artigo.<\/em>\r\n\r\nRead this article in English<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLea este art\u00edculo en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>.\r\n\r\nAs borboletas preferem parceiros que se pare\u00e7am com elas, e mesmo esp\u00e9cies proximamente relacionadas apresentam padr\u00f5es, ecologias e comportamentos marcadamente diferentes.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cEstamos tentando entender como os comportamentos s\u00e3o codificados no c\u00e9rebro e como isso contribui para a diversifica\u00e7\u00e3o das esp\u00e9cies\u201d, diz <\/span>Jos\u00e9 Borrero<\/span><\/a>, aluno de p\u00f3s-gradua\u00e7\u00e3o do laborat\u00f3rio de Richard Merrill na Ludwig Maximilian University, em Munique, que estuda as borboletas do g\u00eanero <\/span>Heliconius<\/span><\/i> em colabora\u00e7\u00e3o com <\/span>Carolina Pardo-D\u00edaz<\/span><\/a>, professora associada de gen\u00e9tica evolutiva, filogeografia e ecologia na Universidad del Rosario, em Bogot\u00e1, e <\/span>Camilo Salazar<\/span><\/a>, professor do mesmo departamento.<\/span>\r\n\r\nA Col\u00f4mbia possui uma densidade extraordin\u00e1ria de esp\u00e9cies de <\/span>Heliconius<\/span><\/i>, com popula\u00e7\u00f5es distintas em ambos os lados da Cordilheira dos Andes, o que a torna um local ideal para estudar como as diferen\u00e7as no habitat moldam o c\u00e9rebro, o comportamento e a gen\u00e9tica das borboletas. Um \u00fanico locus gen\u00e9tico explica cerca de 30% da diferen\u00e7a na prefer\u00eancia por parceiros entre duas esp\u00e9cies, um efeito surpreendentemente grande para um comportamento t\u00e3o complexo quanto a escolha do parceiro, diz <\/span>Merrill<\/span><\/a>, professor de biologia evolutiva da Ludwig Maximilian University, em Munique. Os genes subjacentes \u00e0 prefer\u00eancia por parceiros est\u00e3o fisicamente pr\u00f3ximos, no genoma, daqueles que controlam o padr\u00e3o das asas, o que significa que tendem a ser herdados juntos e ajudam as popula\u00e7\u00f5es a permanecer distintas mesmo quando se cruzam. Ambos os conjuntos de genes podem atravessar as fronteiras entre esp\u00e9cies por meio da hibridiza\u00e7\u00e3o, levando prefer\u00eancias comportamentais e padr\u00f5es de colora\u00e7\u00e3o entre linhagens.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAgora, o laborat\u00f3rio quer entender como essas diferen\u00e7as gen\u00e9ticas se traduzem em diferen\u00e7as no c\u00e9rebro.<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"video_comp","type":"video","video":254660,"youtube_id":"","cover_image":"","caption":"Teste de vis\u00e3o:<\/strong> Utilizando um teste optomotor, pesquisadores avaliam a acuidade visual de borboletas e, em seguida, correlacionam esses dados com o investimento nas \u00e1reas visuais do c\u00e9rebro e com a morfologia dos olhos.","byline":{"by":"Video de Mariana Murillo","credit":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"A colabora\u00e7\u00e3o demonstrou que o c\u00e9rebro das borboletas continua se desenvolvendo depois que elas emergem das cris\u00e1lidas e, por essa raz\u00e3o, as borboletas maduras enxergam significativamente melhor do que as rec\u00e9m-emergidas. Os lobos \u00f3pticos, que processam informa\u00e7\u00f5es visuais, continuam crescendo ao longo da vida do animal, de acordo com um <\/span>preprint<\/span><\/a>. Esp\u00e9cies que vivem em interiores de florestas mais escuros e complexos t\u00eam lobos \u00f3pticos maiores e melhor acuidade visual, e dependem mais da vis\u00e3o do que do olfato ao procurar alimento. O estudo constatou que os machos s\u00f3 come\u00e7am a procurar parceiras quando seu c\u00e9rebro e sua capacidade visual j\u00e1 tiveram tempo de amadurecer.<\/span>\r\n\r\nO trabalho de campo ocorre em uma esta\u00e7\u00e3o de pesquisa pr\u00f3xima a Bogot\u00e1, onde as borboletas s\u00e3o mantidas em grandes gaiolas ao ar livre, localizadas bem ao lado da floresta de neblina onde essas esp\u00e9cies vivem. As gaiolas foram instaladas perto o suficiente para que os animais experimentassem as mesmas condi\u00e7\u00f5es de luz, temperatura e vegeta\u00e7\u00e3o encontradas em seu ambiente natural. Essa configura\u00e7\u00e3o \u00e9 essencial para os experimentos: as borboletas testadas sob a luz branca do laborat\u00f3rio, sem os comprimentos de onda ultravioleta que usam para perceber o ambiente, apresentam um desempenho muito ruim, diz Borrero. \u201cSe quisermos entender como elas se comportam\u201d, acrescenta ele, \u201c\u00e9 importante test\u00e1-las no ambiente onde esses comportamentos realmente ocorrem\u201d.<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image_comp","aspect_ratio":"inline","title":"","image":254624,"link":"","image_caption":"Jardim de borboletas:<\/strong> As borboletas eram criadas em grandes gaiolas ao ar livre que reproduziam fielmente o seu habitat natural.","image_byline":{"by":"Fotografia de Mariana Murillo","credit":""}}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255127"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255593,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255127\/revisions\/255593"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255178"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255158"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255118"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255144"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255043"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/231924"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"post_tag","href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/1209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":254005,"date":"2026-08-28T09:01:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/?p=254005"},"modified":"2026-09-22T14:40:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T18:40:44","slug":"how-falan-is-building-a-thriving-neuroscience-community-in-latin-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america\/how-falan-is-building-a-thriving-neuroscience-community-in-latin-america\/","title":{"rendered":"How FALAN is building a thriving neuroscience community in Latin America"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the Federation of Latin American and Caribbean Neuroscience Societies Congress kicks off next week, its president shares how the organization aims to foster collaborations and provide high-quality training for young neuroscientists in the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":254016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[139],"tags":[141,27,38,107,40,207,1209],"class_list":["post-254005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-perspectives","tag-academia","tag-audio-research-news","tag-community","tag-funding","tag-policy","tag-science-and-society","tag-the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america"],"acf":{"primary_tag":1209,"doi_url":"","citation_count":"","custom_js_library":"","hero_type":"feat_image","hero_alt_image":null,"hero_youtube":"","hero_video":null,"hero_layout":"landscape","hero_caption":"Stronger together:<\/strong> FALAN brings together neuroscience societies from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay to help advance neuroscience in the region.","hero_by":"Illustration by","hero_credit":204001,"hero_bg_color":"tan","authors":[254030],"other_authors":"","related_title":"Explore more from The Transmitter<\/em>","related_hide":false,"related_filter":"latest","related_tag":null,"related_category":null,"related_custom":{"articles":null},"related_custom_wwn":{"articles":null},"newsletter":"","banner_content":"

THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF OUR STATE OF NEUROSCIENCE IN LATIN AMERICA REPORT.<\/p>","banner_url":"http:\/\/thetransmitter.org\/state-of-neuroscience-latin-america\/","apple_article_id":"7b0ad6a5-43c9-49aa-a77b-f29d5351b006","apple_article_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","google_button_text":"","google_btn_bg_color":"","tooltip_text":"","sidebar_related_hide":false,"sidebar_related_title":"related articles","sidebar_related_hide_images":false,"sidebar_related_articles":"","comps":[{"acf_fc_layout":"audio_comp","audio_title":"LISTEN TO THIS STORY:","audio":256654,"apple_link":"","spotify_link":"","google_link":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Lea este art\u00edculo en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLeia este artigo em portugu\u00eas<\/a>.\r\n\r\nAs is true for a lot of scientists, my career has taken me all over the world. I earned my Ph.D. in Italy, moved to France for two postdoctoral fellowships and later had a stint in Brazil as a visiting professor. I finally settled in Uruguay at the Universidad de la Rep\u00fablica in 2008.<\/span>\r\n\r\nPracticing neuroscience in all these countries helped me develop a passion for fostering international scientific cooperation. Alongside my academic career, I\u2019ve helped build collaborative research networks at organizations such as the AMSUD Pasteur Network, la Sociedad de Neurociencias del Uruguay and the <\/span>Federation of Latin American and Caribbean Neuroscience Societies<\/span><\/a> (FALAN), where I currently serve as president of the executive committee. The federation brings together neuroscience societies from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay to help advance neuroscience in the region.<\/span>\r\n\r\nNext week we kick off the <\/span>fourth FALAN Congress<\/span><\/a> in Santiago, Chile. This important event is made possible by the dedicated efforts of all FALAN member societies and especially the hosting society, the <\/span>Sociedad Chilena de Neurociencia<\/span><\/a>, under the leadership of its director <\/span>Mar\u00eda Pertusa<\/span><\/a>. We\u2019re expecting more than 1,000 attendees, with a large portion of them having received financial support to facilitate their participation.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe meeting plays a fundamental role in achieving our main goal of strengthening regional collaboration. Guided by the motto \"Unity Is Strength,\" the federation seeks to address our shared challenges across Latin America\u2014including limited research funding, inadequate infrastructure and insufficient opportunities for capacity building\u2014by fostering scientific collaboration, education, training, public engagement and the development of neuroscience, particularly in emerging countries. For example, this year we\u2019ve launched an intensive postgraduate course in Chile that combines theoretical instruction with hands-on laboratory training, open to students from all over the region.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAt FALAN, many researchers discover that there are colleagues working on remarkably similar research questions in neighboring countries, not just in Europe or North America. Such relationships enable neuroscientists to share expertise, equipment, training opportunities and funding resources; they create a stronger collective voice for investment in science and help develop research networks that reflect the region\u2019s unique populations and health priorities. To foster this kind of collaboration, we organized two special events during FALAN\u2014one with a theme of \u201cInternational Networking\u201d and another focused on \u201cConnecting Minds, Connecting Regions: Neuroscience Networks across Latin America<\/span>.<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nThis year\u2019s scientific program includes plenary lectures by <\/span>Mu-ming Poo<\/span><\/a>, emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and <\/span>Shubha Tole<\/span><\/a>, president of the <\/span>International Brain Research Organization<\/span><\/a> (IBRO), as well as an outstanding representation of neuroscientists from across Latin America and the Caribbean, including <\/span>Francisco Aboitiz<\/span><\/a> of the Pontifica Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Chile, <\/span>Grace Schenatto<\/span><\/a> of the<\/span>\u00a0Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and several notable early-career researchers. We\u2019ll also host events dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion. We\u2019ve organized discussion panels on women\u2019s leadership in neuroscience in Latin America and on neurorights and neuroethics, and a special event on <\/span>career, equity and collective capacity<\/span><\/a> hosted by the <\/span>ALBA Network<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_text class='']F[\/tt_text]ALAN got its start in 2008, when leading neuroscientists from Latin America, the Caribbean and the Iberian Peninsula met during the first IBRO-Latin America Regional Committee Congress in B\u00fazios, Brazil. The federation was formally established in 2013 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile. IBRO has continued to play a central role in FALAN's creation and remains one of its strongest partners.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn my first term on the FALAN executive committee in 2022, we focused on expanding our social media presence, strengthening relationships among member societies, engaging with potential new members and formalizing collaborative networks in the region. During the following term, our efforts focused primarily on organizing the federation\u2019s Congress, which takes place every four years. So far, we've held congresses in Cancun, Mexico; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Belem, Brazil (and one virtual meeting, during COVID), each attracting 800 to 1,200 attendees.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn addition to connecting researchers across the region, FALAN also has a strong focus on expanding local training programs. Latin America has a long tradition of producing highly talented young neuroscientists, as demonstrated by the many successful careers of researchers trained in the region. Unfortunately, several excellent educational initiatives\u2014including the renowned Escuela Latinoamericana de Neurociencias and the Miledi Neuroscience Training Program for Latin America\u2014have struggled to achieve long-term continuity because of financial and organizational constraints.<\/span>\r\n\r\nRecognizing this need, we decided to take on the responsibility of building a sustainable regional training program. At the end of 2024, we organized the <\/span>Kick-off Meeting for the Strategic Plan of the FALAN Neuroscience School<\/span><\/a>, bringing together scientific societies, research institutions, funding agencies and other stakeholders interested in contributing to this vision. This year, in close collaboration with IBRO\u2019s <\/span>Latin American Regional Committee<\/span><\/a> (IBRO-LARC), we\u2019ve launched an ambitious initiative, the <\/span>Latin American Training Program in Neuroscience<\/span><\/a>, a first-of-its-kind postgraduate course that provides participants with comprehensive exposure to modern neuroscience methodologies, including electrophysiology, computational neuroscience, intravital microscopy and neurotranscriptomics. We were able to support the participation of 27 students from across the region!<\/span>\r\n

[tt_sidebar_quote author='']We envision a future in which researchers, clinicians, trainees and scientific societies are more closely connected, sharing knowledge, expertise and opportunities that help break down borders.<\/span>[\/tt_sidebar_quote]<\/blockquote>\r\nThis initiative has been made possible through the essential support of IBRO and the <\/span>International Society for Neurochemistry<\/span><\/a> (ISN), together with the remarkable commitment of the Chilean neuroscience community\u2014led by <\/span>Patricio Rojas<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> professor at the Universidad de Santiago de Chile\u2014whose members generously opened up their laboratories and dedicated their time and expertise to the program. Our goal is to establish a long-lasting program under FALAN\u2019s umbrella that will continue providing high-quality neuroscience training for young scientists throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe are committed to playing a pivotal role in regional development by connecting researchers, sharing opportunities and creating new collaborative initiatives. We\u2019ve built relationships with organizations such as the <\/span>Latin American Brain Initiative<\/span><\/a> (LatBrain), a collective effort to strengthen brain research across the region. We\u2019ve also participated in activities of the <\/span>Brain Research International Data Governance & Exchange<\/span><\/a> (BRIDGE) project, which seeks to develop responsible and sustainable frameworks for international sharing of brain data and ultimately to establish a global consortium for brain and mental health data governance. Together with the growing network of regional scientific collaborations, we are creating new pathways toward academic excellence while making more efficient use of available resources.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAt FALAN, we believe deeply in the potential of Latin American neuroscience and in what we can achieve when we come together as a region. We envision a future in which researchers, clinicians, trainees and scientific societies are more closely connected, sharing knowledge, expertise and opportunities that help break down borders. By strengthening regional networks and investing in the next generation, we can address shared challenges, reduce disparities and ensure that Latin American neuroscience continues to make meaningful contributions to the global scientific community.<\/span>"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254005"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":256665,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254005\/revisions\/256665"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/254030"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/204001"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"post_tag","href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/1209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":254448,"date":"2026-08-28T09:01:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/?p=254448"},"modified":"2026-09-01T11:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:36:12","slug":"the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america-introduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america\/the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america-introduction\/","title":{"rendered":"The State of Neuroscience in Latin America"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Through interviews with dozens of Latin American neuroscientists, The Transmitter<\/em> explores how researchers in six countries\u2014Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay\u2014conduct high-quality research in the face of numerous obstacles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":254449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[187,1209],"class_list":["post-254448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-neuroscience","tag-the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america"],"acf":{"primary_tag":1209,"doi_url":"","citation_count":"","custom_js_library":"","hero_type":"feat_image","hero_alt_image":null,"hero_youtube":"","hero_video":null,"hero_layout":"landscape","hero_caption":"","hero_by":"Illustration by","hero_credit":204001,"hero_bg_color":"tan","authors":[202025],"other_authors":"","related_title":"Explore more from The Transmitter<\/em>","related_hide":false,"related_filter":"latest","related_tag":null,"related_category":null,"related_custom":{"articles":null},"related_custom_wwn":{"articles":null},"newsletter":"","banner_content":"

THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF OUR STATE OF NEUROSCIENCE IN LATIN AMERICA REPORT.<\/p>","banner_url":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/state-of-neuroscience-latin-america\/","apple_article_id":"c837e17d-985b-4586-bb53-efca3920d022","apple_article_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","google_button_text":"","google_btn_bg_color":"","tooltip_text":"","sidebar_related_hide":false,"sidebar_related_title":"related articles","sidebar_related_hide_images":false,"sidebar_related_articles":[254482,254005,253203,254033,252235],"comps":[{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"

Lea este art\u00edculo en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>.<\/p>\r\nLeia este artigo em portugu\u00eas<\/a>.\r\n\r\nA pulm\u00f3n.<\/span><\/i> That\u2019s how neuroscientists in Latin America say they get their work done: through sheer grit in the face of numerous obstacles, including an ongoing lack of infrastructure and funding. For this report, which you can explore here<\/a>, we spoke to nearly 50 Latin American neuroscientists to learn how those constraints shape the way they work\u2014and how they conduct high-quality research despite them.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nA common theme we heard was that Latin American neuroscientists make use of what is available to them. Native animals can reveal the power of using nontraditional models. Because new technologies can be expensive, researchers build their own infrastructure from scratch. \u201cWe put it together with wire,\u201d one Argentine saying goes.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s not as if there\u2019s a department that hands you the electrodes; you have to make the electrodes yourself. It\u2019s not as if there\u2019s a data scientist who runs the analyses for you; you have to perform the analyses yourself,\u201d says <\/span>Agust\u00edn Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez<\/span><\/a>, an Argentine neuroscientist at Trinity College Dublin who founded BrainLat<\/a><\/span>, which seeks to advance brain research in Latin America.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn these stories of how Latin American neuroscientists have adapted to limited resources lie lessons for all researchers on how make the most of what is available to them and how these constraints can inspire new ways to work and collaborate.\r\n\r\nBut the story of neuroscience in Latin America is not just one of scarcity: Across the region, researchers are constantly contributing important findings and innovative ways of thinking to the field at an international level.\r\n\r\nHere we focus on neuroscientists and institutions from six countries\u2014Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay\u2014chosen based on our reporting and a <\/span>study<\/span> that quantified neuroscience and psychology research output. It is not a comprehensive picture, so stay tuned for our ongoing coverage from these and other countries in Latin America, including dispatches from the Federation of Latin American and Caribbean Neuroscience Societies (FALAN) meeting in Santiago, Chile, this week.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cIn some countries, where neuroscience is developed, I see it keeping pace with neuroscience across the globe,\u201d says <\/span>Luiz Mello<\/span><\/a>, director of research and innovation at the Instituto D\u2019Or de Pesquisa e Ensino in Brazil. But still, \u201cthere is a long, long way to go in many, many countries.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nRead additional coverage from\u00a0The Transmitter<\/em> in Spanish<\/a> and Portuguese<\/a>."}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254448"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255595,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254448\/revisions\/255595"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252235"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254033"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253203"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254005"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254482"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/202025"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/204001"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"post_tag","href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/1209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":255144,"date":"2026-08-28T09:01:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/?p=255144"},"modified":"2026-09-01T11:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:36:16","slug":"identificando-o-que-torna-o-canto-de-uma-ave-unico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america\/identificando-o-que-torna-o-canto-de-uma-ave-unico\/","title":{"rendered":"Identificando o que torna o canto de uma ave \u00fanico"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As oscinas e as suboscinas, duas linhagens de aves evolutivamente pr\u00f3ximas, aprendem e n\u00e3o aprendem a cantar, respectivamente, ajudando os cientistas a desvendar os correlatos neuronais da aprendizagem e da variabilidade vocal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":254490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[189,273,1199,195,1209],"class_list":["post-255144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-behavioral-neuroscience","tag-neuroethology","tag-portugues","tag-social-behavior","tag-the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america"],"acf":{"primary_tag":1209,"doi_url":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.53053\/IYFQ9357","citation_count":"0","custom_js_library":"","hero_type":"feat_image","hero_alt_image":null,"hero_youtube":"","hero_video":null,"hero_layout":"portrait","hero_caption":"Cabana de barro:<\/strong> Os jo\u00f5es-de-barro, nativos da Am\u00e9rica Central e do Sul, vivem dentro de estruturas feitas de barro que lembram fornos a lenha.","hero_by":"Fotografia de Ana Amador","hero_credit":"","hero_bg_color":"tan","authors":[231924],"other_authors":"","related_title":"Explore more from The Transmitter<\/em>","related_hide":false,"related_filter":"latest","related_tag":null,"related_category":null,"related_custom":{"articles":null},"related_custom_wwn":{"articles":null},"newsletter":"","banner_content":"ESTE ARTIGO FAZ PARTE DO NOSSO RELAT\u00d3RIO SOBRE O ESTADO DA NEUROCI\u00caNCIA NA AM\u00c9RICA LATINA.","banner_url":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/neurociencia-na-america-latina\/","apple_article_id":"feaef2a4-1c57-46db-aae4-b8a787d7e7f5","apple_article_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","google_button_text":"","google_btn_bg_color":"","tooltip_text":"","sidebar_related_hide":false,"sidebar_related_title":"Artigos relacionados","sidebar_related_hide_images":false,"sidebar_related_articles":[255043,255118,255127,255158,255178],"comps":[{"acf_fc_layout":"audio_comp","audio_title":"Ou\u00e7a um casal de jo\u00e3o-de-barro sincronizando perfeitamente seus cantos ao cantar em conjunto:","audio":254608,"apple_link":"","spotify_link":"","google_link":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Helen Mendes Lima<\/a> traduziu este artigo.<\/em>\r\n\r\nRead this article in English<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLea este art\u00edculo en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>.\r\n\r\nMachos e f\u00eameas do jo\u00e3o-de-barro (<\/span>Furnarius rufus<\/span><\/i>)<\/span> cantam em duetos, combinando seus cantos em harmonia. Essas aves canoras s\u00e3o comuns em todo o Cone Sul e vivem em ninhos de barro que lembram um forno a lenha.<\/span>\r\n\r\nOs jo\u00f5es-de-barro s\u00e3o suboscinos, um grupo de aves evolutivamente pr\u00f3ximo dos oscinos. Mas, ao contr\u00e1rio dos oscinos, que aprendem a cantar imitando um tutor, o canto dos suboscinos \u00e9 inato. Comparar os dois grupos permite levantar quest\u00f5es sobre as origens neurais da produ\u00e7\u00e3o vocal, diz <\/span>Ana Amador<\/span><\/a>, professora da Universidad de Buenos Aires. \u201c\u00c9 uma janela de oportunidade: exatamente onde eles s\u00e3o evolutivamente mais pr\u00f3ximos, qual \u00e9 a diferen\u00e7a entre aprender a cantar e n\u00e3o aprender a cantar?\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nDurante a pandemia de COVID-19, Amador percebeu algo estranho nas f\u00eameas de jo\u00f5es-de-barro em seu jardim. Cada uma tinha uma estrutura sil\u00e1bica distinta e individualmente identific\u00e1vel, diz ela. Isso foi inesperado, pois esse tipo de assinatura vocal \u00e9 normalmente associado a esp\u00e9cies que aprendem a cantar. Al\u00e9m disso, essas aves podem ser uma das \u00fanicas esp\u00e9cies suboscinas conhecidas em que as s\u00edlabas das f\u00eameas s\u00e3o estruturalmente mais complexas do que as dos machos, abrindo uma oportunidade para estudar diferen\u00e7as no canto das aves relacionadas ao sexo, acrescenta ela.<\/span>\r\n\r\nGrava\u00e7\u00f5es de campo feitas fora do jardim de Amador revelaram que cada f\u00eamea de jo\u00e3o-de-barro possui, de fato, caracter\u00edsticas vocais \u00fanicas. A modelagem biof\u00edsica dos comandos motores que chegam \u00e0s cordas vocais das aves reproduziu essa variabilidade, descobriu Amador. O modelo \u00e9 capaz de prever as instru\u00e7\u00f5es motoras necess\u00e1rias para produzir o canto de cada f\u00eamea, mas ainda n\u00e3o se sabe se essas instru\u00e7\u00f5es individuais se originam no c\u00e9rebro ou se a variabilidade decorre de diferen\u00e7as f\u00edsicas entre os corpos das aves. \u201cQue instru\u00e7\u00f5es o corpo recebe para gerar o canto? Que instru\u00e7\u00f5es ele recebe do c\u00e9rebro?\u201d, pergunta Amador.<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"video_comp","type":"video","video":254639,"youtube_id":"","cover_image":"","caption":"Um dueto:<\/strong> Ana Amador, professora de f\u00edsica da Universidade de Buenos Aires, estuda jo\u00f5es-de-barro em campo e grava seus cantos para embasar seus estudos de modelagem.","byline":{"by":"V\u00eddeo de Ana Amador","credit":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Amador continua a ampliar o conjunto de dados de cantos do jo\u00e3o-de-barro para investigar o quanto os cantos das f\u00eameas variam entre as popula\u00e7\u00f5es. Mas, como essas aves n\u00e3o conseguem sobreviver em cativeiro, o grupo de Amador n\u00e3o pode testar diretamente se essas assinaturas individuais refletem instru\u00e7\u00f5es motoras distintas do c\u00e9rebro.<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image_comp","aspect_ratio":"inline","title":"","image":254607,"link":"","image_caption":"\u00c1ria das aves:<\/strong> Ao contr\u00e1rio de outras aves da mesma linhagem evolutiva, as f\u00eameas de jo\u00e3o-de-barro possuem um canto mais complexo do que os machos.","image_byline":{"by":"Cortesia de Ana Amador","credit":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"O bem-te-vi (<\/span>Pitangus sulphuratus<\/span><\/i>), outro suboscino comum na Am\u00e9rica Latina, tolera o cativeiro, no entanto. A implanta\u00e7\u00e3o de eletrodos nos m\u00fasculos que controlam o \u00f3rg\u00e3o vocal de um bem-te-vi dormindo mostrou que os m\u00fasculos se ativam espontaneamente no mesmo padr\u00e3o observado quando a ave est\u00e1 acordada e cantando. A conclus\u00e3o \u00e9 que as aves est\u00e3o <\/span>sonhando seus cantos<\/span><\/a>, diz Amador. O laborat\u00f3rio tamb\u00e9m trabalha com can\u00e1rios, que s\u00e3o oscinos. O canto r\u00edtmico e repetitivo dos can\u00e1rios os torna ideais para estudar como o c\u00e9rebro codifica <\/span>a estrutura do canto<\/span><\/a> no n\u00edvel de neur\u00f4nios individuais, utilizando eletrofisiologia.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAmador diz que usa o trabalho de campo para identificar quest\u00f5es e o laborat\u00f3rio para respond\u00ea-las. A biodiversidade da regi\u00e3o \u00e9 uma \u201cmina de ouro\u201d, acrescenta ela. A maioria das linhagens suboscinas est\u00e1 concentrada na Am\u00e9rica Latina, tornando o continente um dos poucos lugares para estudar a fronteira evolutiva entre a aprendizagem vocal e o canto inato.<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image_comp","aspect_ratio":"inline","title":"","image":254606,"link":"","image_caption":"Toca-discos:<\/strong> Amador continua a construir um conjunto de dados sobre pares de jo\u00e3o-de-barro para entender o grau de varia\u00e7\u00e3o de seu canto entre as popula\u00e7\u00f5es.","image_byline":{"by":"Cortesia de Ana Amador","credit":""}}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255144"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255596,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255144\/revisions\/255596"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255178"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255158"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255127"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255118"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255043"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/231924"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"post_tag","href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/1209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":255158,"date":"2026-08-28T09:01:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/?p=255158"},"modified":"2026-09-01T15:30:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T19:30:32","slug":"revelando-como-os-caranguejos-conseguem-escapar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america\/revelando-como-os-caranguejos-conseguem-escapar\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelando como os caranguejos conseguem escapar"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Os Neohelice granulata<\/em>, verdadeiros Houdinis, oferecem uma rara oportunidade de realizar registros intracelulares em animais acordados e em movimento.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":254628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[189,273,1199,195,1209],"class_list":["post-255158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-behavioral-neuroscience","tag-neuroethology","tag-portugues","tag-social-behavior","tag-the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america"],"acf":{"primary_tag":1209,"doi_url":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.53053\/YVRP9567","citation_count":"0","custom_js_library":"","hero_type":"video","hero_alt_image":null,"hero_youtube":"","hero_video":254643,"hero_layout":"landscape","hero_caption":"Um petisco de caranguejo:<\/strong> Por serem tanto presas quanto predadores, os caranguejos Neohelice podem ser usados \u200b\u200bpara estudar os circuitos de congelamento, fuga e persegui\u00e7\u00e3o.","hero_by":"Video de Daniel Tomsic","hero_credit":"","hero_bg_color":"tan","authors":[231924],"other_authors":"","related_title":"Explore more from The Transmitter<\/em>","related_hide":false,"related_filter":"latest","related_tag":null,"related_category":null,"related_custom":{"articles":null},"related_custom_wwn":{"articles":null},"newsletter":"","banner_content":"ESTE ARTIGO FAZ PARTE DO NOSSO RELAT\u00d3RIO SOBRE O ESTADO DA NEUROCI\u00caNCIA NA AM\u00c9RICA LATINA.","banner_url":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/neurociencia-na-america-latina\/","apple_article_id":"686c6781-c342-4116-a211-2111c7540653","apple_article_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","google_button_text":"","google_btn_bg_color":"","tooltip_text":"","sidebar_related_hide":false,"sidebar_related_title":"Artigos relacionados","sidebar_related_hide_images":false,"sidebar_related_articles":[255043,255144,255118,255127,255178],"comps":[{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Helen Mendes Lima<\/a> traduziu este artigo.<\/em>\r\n\r\nRead this article in English<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLea este art\u00edculo en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>.\r\n\r\nNa costa da Argentina, nos estu\u00e1rios e p\u00e2ntanos salgados do Atl\u00e2ntico Sudoeste, in\u00fameros caranguejos escavam tocas na areia. <\/span>Daniel Tomsic<\/span><\/a>, professor associado de neuroci\u00eancia da Universidad de Buenos Aires, cresceu observando essas criaturas t\u00e3o comuns, <\/span>Neohelice granulata,<\/span><\/i> entrando e saindo rapidamente de suas tocas sempre que visitava a praia.<\/span>\r\n\r\nTomsic agora estuda como os g\u00e2nglios do caranguejo controlam o comportamento de fuga guiado pela vis\u00e3o nesses mesmos animais. As gaivotas ca\u00e7am essas criaturas, que s\u00e3o apenas um pouco maiores do que uma palheta de viol\u00e3o. Quando um caranguejo v\u00ea uma gaivota voando acima dele, precisa decidir se deve fugir e em que dire\u00e7\u00e3o. \u00c9 o mesmo c\u00e1lculo que um tenista faz ao avaliar um saque a 200 quil\u00f4metros por hora e decidir quando rebater, diz Tomsic. \u201cNingu\u00e9m sabe como esses c\u00e1lculos de tempo at\u00e9 a colis\u00e3o s\u00e3o feitos\u201d, afirma, acrescentando que o caranguejo \u00e9 um organismo-modelo adequado para estudar essa quest\u00e3o.<\/span>\r\n\r\nTomsic herdou o modelo de seu mentor, Hector Maldonado, que introduziu o <\/span>Neohelice <\/span><\/i>como um modelo neuroetol\u00f3gico na Argentina ap\u00f3s retornar de 18 anos de ex\u00edlio. Tomsic avan\u00e7ou no trabalho realizando registros intracelulares em animais vivos em atividade, algo que antes s\u00f3 havia sido feito em insetos e somente depois que bra\u00e7os e pernas do animal eram removidos. A carapa\u00e7a r\u00edgida do caranguejo e a regi\u00e3o cerebral acess\u00edvel, que pode ser alcan\u00e7ada por meio de um pequeno orif\u00edcio perfurado na cut\u00edcula, tornaram isso poss\u00edvel, diz Tomsic.<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"video_comp","type":"video","video":254662,"youtube_id":"","cover_image":"","caption":"Amea\u00e7a iminente:<\/strong> No laborat\u00f3rio, Daniel Tomsic e seus colegas utilizam est\u00edmulos de aproxima\u00e7\u00e3o iminente para testar a resposta de fuga de caranguejos.","byline":{"by":"Video de Daniel Tomsic","credit":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Os registros intracelulares revelaram os circuitos que conectam o est\u00edmulo visual \u00e0 resposta motora. A decis\u00e3o de fugir \u00e9 desencadeada assim que o tamanho aparente de um objeto que se aproxima atinge determinado limiar, segundo o trabalho de Tomsic e seus colegas. O caranguejo ajusta continuamente sua velocidade de corrida \u00e0 medida que a amea\u00e7a se expande, desacelerando imediatamente se o est\u00edmulo parar de crescer. Um \u00fanico neur\u00f4nio gigante, o MLG2, codifica a velocidade com que a amea\u00e7a se expande e controla esse ajuste de velocidade em tempo real, enquanto outro neur\u00f4nio, o MLG1, controla a <\/span>resposta de imobiliza\u00e7\u00e3o<\/span><\/a> do caranguejo.<\/span>\r\n\r\nEstudos de campo em colabora\u00e7\u00e3o com <\/span>Jan Hemmi<\/span><\/a>, professor de ci\u00eancias biol\u00f3gicas da University of Western Australia, revelaram que os caranguejos se comportam de maneira diferente no laborat\u00f3rio e na natureza. No laborat\u00f3rio, os caranguejos fogem consistentemente na dire\u00e7\u00e3o oposta ao est\u00edmulo que se aproxima e esperam at\u00e9 que o objeto que se aproxima pare\u00e7a bastante grande antes de se moverem. No campo, por\u00e9m, os caranguejos fogem em resposta a est\u00edmulos menores e correm para suas tocas para se esconder, mesmo que a toca esteja na mesma dire\u00e7\u00e3o de um predador. Sem um lugar para se esconder, os animais de laborat\u00f3rio permanecem im\u00f3veis para evitar serem detectados. \u201cEssa foi uma grande li\u00e7\u00e3o para mim\u201d, diz Tomsic. Essa diferen\u00e7a mostrou que as conclus\u00f5es de laborat\u00f3rio sobre o comportamento natural acarretam risco real sem verifica\u00e7\u00f5es de campo, afirma ele.<\/span>\r\n\r\nMais recentemente, o foco de Tomsic mudou para a tomada de decis\u00e3o por tr\u00e1s do comportamento de fuga dos caranguejos e como o a <\/span>presen\u00e7a de outros caranguejos<\/span><\/a> altera quando e como cada caranguejo decide fugir. E, como os <\/span>Neohelice <\/span><\/i>predam uns aos outros, esse modelo tamb\u00e9m permite aos pesquisadores estudar o <\/span>comportamento predat\u00f3rio<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255158"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255675,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255158\/revisions\/255675"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255178"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255127"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255118"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255144"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255043"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/231924"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"post_tag","href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/1209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":254953,"date":"2026-08-28T09:01:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/?p=254953"},"modified":"2026-09-01T11:36:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:36:26","slug":"que-hace-unico-al-canto-de-un-ave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america\/que-hace-unico-al-canto-de-un-ave\/","title":{"rendered":"Qu\u00e9 hace \u00fanico al canto de un ave"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Los oscinos y los suboscinos son dos linajes de aves evolutivamente cercanos, pero solo uno de ellos aprende a cantar. Esa diferencia les permite a los cient\u00edficos rastrear las bases neuronales del aprendizaje vocal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":254490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[189,1201,273,195,1209],"class_list":["post-254953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-behavioral-neuroscience","tag-espanol","tag-neuroethology","tag-social-behavior","tag-the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america"],"acf":{"primary_tag":1209,"doi_url":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.53053\/AIRT4214","citation_count":"0","custom_js_library":"","hero_type":"feat_image","hero_alt_image":null,"hero_youtube":"","hero_video":null,"hero_layout":"portrait","hero_caption":"Casa de barro:<\/strong> Los horneros, nativos de Am\u00e9rica Central y del Sur, viven dentro de estructuras de barro que se parecen a hornos de le\u00f1a.","hero_by":"Fotograf\u00eda de Ana Amador","hero_credit":"","hero_bg_color":"tan","authors":[231924],"other_authors":"","related_title":"Explore more from The Transmitter<\/em>","related_hide":false,"related_filter":"latest","related_tag":null,"related_category":null,"related_custom":{"articles":null},"related_custom_wwn":{"articles":null},"newsletter":"","banner_content":"

ESTE ART\u00cdCULO FORMA PARTE DE NUESTRO INFORME SOBRE EL ESTADO DE LA NEUROCIENCIA EN AM\u00c9RICA LATINA.<\/p>","banner_url":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/el-panorama-de-la-neurociencia-en-latinoamerica","apple_article_id":"92a4f1fe-d502-42fc-b3df-926bdd8ba1e7","apple_article_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","google_button_text":"","google_btn_bg_color":"","tooltip_text":"","sidebar_related_hide":false,"sidebar_related_title":"Art\u00edculos relacionados","sidebar_related_hide_images":false,"sidebar_related_articles":[254925,254933,255048,255024,255147],"comps":[{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Natalia Mesa<\/a> tradujo este art\u00edculo.<\/em>\r\n\r\nRead this article in English<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLeia este artigo em portugu\u00eas<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLos horneros (<\/span>Furnarius rufus<\/span><\/i>), machos y hembras, cantan a d\u00fao, combinando sus voces en armon\u00eda. Son aves muy comunes en todo el Cono Sur y construyen nidos de barro que les dan su nombre por su parecido con un horno de le\u00f1a.<\/span>\r\n\r\nLos horneros son sub\u00f3scinos, un grupo emparentado de cerca con los oscinos. Pero mientras los oscinos aprenden a cantar imitando a un tutor, el canto de los sub\u00f3scinos es innato, no se aprende. Comparar ambos grupos permite hacer preguntas sobre el origen neuronal del canto, explica <\/span>Ana Amador<\/span><\/a>, profesora de fisica en la Universidad de Buenos Aires. \u201cEs una ventana de oportunidad \u00fanica: justo donde est\u00e1n m\u00e1s cerca evolutivamente, \u00bfCu\u00e1l es la diferencia entre aprender a cantar y no aprender a cantar?\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nDurante la pandemia de COVID-19, Amador not\u00f3 algo curioso en las horneras de su jard\u00edn: cada una ten\u00eda s\u00edlabas propias, distinguibles individualmente. Eso llam\u00f3 la atenci\u00f3n porque ese tipo de firma vocal suele darse en especies que aprenden a cantar. Adem\u00e1s, estas aves son de las pocas especies sub\u00f3scinas donde el canto de la hembra es estructuralmente m\u00e1s complejo que el del macho, lo que abre una l\u00ednea de investigaci\u00f3n sobre diferencias sexuales en el canto de las aves, a\u00f1ade ella.<\/span>\r\n\r\nGrabaciones de campo m\u00e1s all\u00e1 del jard\u00edn de Amador confirmaron que cada hornera hembra tiene un canto \u00fanico. Construir un modelo biof\u00edsico de las se\u00f1ales motoras que llegan a las cuerdas vocales reprodujo esa misma variabilidad, Amador dice. El modelo es capaz de predecir qu\u00e9 instrucciones motoras son necesarias para producir el canto de cada hembra en particular. Lo que todav\u00eda no est\u00e1 claro es si esas instrucciones nacen en el cerebro o si la variabilidad viene de diferencias f\u00edsicas en el cuerpo de cada ave. \u201c\u00bfQu\u00e9 instrucciones recibe el cuerpo para generar el canto? \u00bfY cu\u00e1les vienen del cerebro?\u201d, se pregunta Amador.<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"video_comp","type":"video","video":254639,"youtube_id":"","cover_image":"","caption":"Un dueto perfecto:<\/strong> Ana Amador, profesora de f\u00edsica en la Universidad de Buenos Aires, estudia a los horneros en el campo y grava sus cantos para nutrir sus estudios de modelado.","byline":{"by":"Video de Ana Amador","credit":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Amador sigue ampliando su base de datos de cantos de horneras para ver cu\u00e1nto var\u00edan entre poblaciones. El problema es que los horneros no sobreviven en cautiverio, por lo que su equipo no puede comprobar directamente si esas firmas vocales individuales realmente vienen de instrucciones cerebrales distintas.<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image_comp","aspect_ratio":"inline","title":"","image":254607,"link":"","image_caption":"Aria aviar:<\/strong> A diferencia de otras aves del mismo linaje evolutivo, las hembras de hornero tienen un canto m\u00e1s complejo que los machos.","image_byline":{"by":"Cortes\u00eda de Ana Amador.","credit":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"El bienteveo (<\/span>Pitangus sulphuratus<\/span><\/i>), otro sub\u00f3scino muy com\u00fan en Latinoam\u00e9rica, s\u00ed se adapta bien al cautiverio. Al implantar electrodos en los m\u00fasculos del \u00f3rgano vocal a un bienteveo dormido, se <\/span>observ\u00f3 <\/span>que esos m\u00fasculos se activan espont\u00e1neamente, siguiendo el mismo patr\u00f3n que cuando el ave est\u00e1 despierta y cantando. En cierto modo, las aves <\/span>sue\u00f1an su canci\u00f3n<\/span><\/a>, dice Amador. El laboratorio tambi\u00e9n trabaja con canarios, que son oscinos. Su canto r\u00edtmico y repetitivo los hace ideales para investigar c\u00f3mo el cerebro codifica la <\/span>estructura del canto<\/span><\/a> a nivel de neuronas individuales mediante electrofisiolog\u00eda.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAmador dice que usa el trabajo de campo para encontrar las preguntas y el laboratorio para responderlas. La biodiversidad de la regi\u00f3n es una \u201cmina de oro\u201d, dice. La mayor\u00eda de los linajes sub\u00f3scinos se concentran en Latinoam\u00e9rica, volviendo a la regi\u00f3n uno de los pocos lugares del mundo donde se puede investigar la frontera evolutiva entre el canto aprendido y el canto innato.<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image_comp","aspect_ratio":"inline","title":"","image":254606,"link":"","image_caption":"Tocadiscos:<\/strong> Amador contin\u00faa construyendo una base de datos de parejas de horneros para entender cu\u00e1n variable es su canto entre distintas poblaciones. ","image_byline":{"by":"Cortes\u00eda de Ana Amador","credit":""}}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254953"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255598,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254953\/revisions\/255598"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255147"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255024"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255048"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254933"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254925"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/231924"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"post_tag","href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/1209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":253203,"date":"2026-08-28T09:01:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/?p=253203"},"modified":"2026-09-03T11:32:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T15:32:06","slug":"the-transmitters-directory-of-new-labs-in-latin-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america\/the-transmitters-directory-of-new-labs-in-latin-america\/","title":{"rendered":"The Transmitter<\/em>\u2019s directory of new labs in Latin America"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learn about early-career neuroscientists who have started new labs or independent lines of research in Latin America over the past five years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[154],"tags":[38,170,940,207,1209],"class_list":["post-253203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-profiles","tag-community","tag-craft-and-careers","tag-early-career-researchers","tag-science-and-society","tag-the-state-of-neuroscience-in-latin-america"],"acf":{"primary_tag":1209,"doi_url":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.53053\/URST6244","citation_count":"0","custom_js_library":"","hero_type":"feat_image","hero_alt_image":null,"hero_youtube":"","hero_video":null,"hero_layout":"landscape","hero_caption":"Starting strong:<\/strong> The directory features new labs established by researchers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay.","hero_by":"","hero_credit":"","hero_bg_color":"tan","authors":[206346],"other_authors":"","related_title":"Explore more from The Transmitter<\/em>","related_hide":false,"related_filter":"latest","related_tag":null,"related_category":null,"related_custom":{"articles":null},"related_custom_wwn":{"articles":null},"newsletter":"","banner_content":"

THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF OUR STATE OF NEUROSCIENCE IN LATIN AMERICA REPORT.<\/p>","banner_url":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/state-of-neuroscience-latin-america\/","apple_article_id":"087c2fa0-0e19-47b4-b410-ee98e0a62c7e","apple_article_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAw==","google_button_text":"","google_btn_bg_color":"","tooltip_text":"","sidebar_related_hide":true,"sidebar_related_title":"related articles","sidebar_related_hide_images":false,"sidebar_related_articles":"","comps":[{"acf_fc_layout":"copy_comp","copy":"Lea este art\u00edculo en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLeia este artigo em portugu\u00eas<\/a>.\r\n\r\nThe Transmitter<\/span><\/i>\u2019s directory of new labs in Latin America <\/span>features early-career neuroscientists who have opened labs or established independent lines of research within their institutions over the past five years. Are you a new principal investigator in Latin America? Email Francisco J. Rivera Rosario at <\/span>francisco@thetransmitter.org<\/span><\/a> to be added to the directory.<\/span>\r\n\r\nLabs are listed in alphabetical order and by country of origin. Some descriptions have been translated into English by Francisco J. Rivera Rosario.<\/span><\/i>\r\n

Argentina<\/b><\/h2>\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253215'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Esteban Beckwith<\/a>, adjunct researcher, Instituto de Investigaci\u00f3n en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET<\/strong>\r\n\r\nBeckwith\u2019s Behavioural Neurobiology Laboratory investigates the neural and physiological mechanisms underlying sleep, circadian rhythms and other innate behaviors, with a particular interest in how these processes interact with immunity and gut physiology, using <\/span>Drosophila melanogaster<\/span><\/i> as a model organism.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253216'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Evelin Cotella<\/a>, assistant researcher, Instituto de Investigaci\u00f3n M\u00e9dica Mercedes y Martin Ferreyra (INIMEC)-Universidad Nacional de C\u00f3rdoba-CONICET<\/strong>\r\n\r\nCotella studies developmental programming of the adult stress response, with the aim of understanding the mechanisms of vulnerability and resilience to developmental stress and their implications in the etiology of psychiatric disorders in adulthood.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253213'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Daniela Di Bella<\/a>, group leader, Fundaci\u00f3n Instituto Leloir<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe Di Bella lab studies the development of the cerebral cortex and the diversification of neuronal subtypes.\r\n<\/span>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='255250'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]<\/strong>Ver\u00f3nica del Carmen Piatti<\/a>, researcher, Instituto Tecnol\u00f3gico de Buenos Aires (ITBA)<\/strong>\r\n\r\nPiatti's lab aims to understand how neural activity anticipates the next action and how, through action, the biological network reorganizes through feedback from its interaction with the environment.\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253227'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Noel Federman<\/a><\/strong>, CONICET researcher, associate professor, Instituto Tecnol\u00f3gico de Buenos Aires (ITBA)<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Federman laboratory investigates the neural circuit dynamics underlying learning, with a particular emphasis on communication across distributed brain regions, using approaches that bridge cutting-edge neurotechnology, computational analysis and neuroethology.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253221'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Laura Kaczer<\/a><\/strong>, independent investigator, Universidad de Buenos Aires<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nKaczer studies how humans are capable of language learning, processing and comprehension, using a combination of behavioral, neurophysiological and computational tools.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253226'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Maximiliano Katz<\/a>, group leader, Instituto de Fisiolog\u00eda y Biof\u00edsica Bernardo Houssay-Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET<\/strong>\r\n\r\nKatz\u2019s lab studies the regulation of the gut-brain axis using the fruit fly <\/span>Drosophila melanogaster <\/span><\/i>as an experimental model.<\/span>\r\n

Brazil<\/b><\/h2>\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253231'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Simoni Avansini<\/a>, researcher, Universidade Estadual de Campinas<\/strong>\r\n\r\nAvansini's lab uses human stem-cell-derived brain organoids and assembloids to investigate mechanisms of drug-resistant epilepsy and to develop precision therapies.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253209'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Amanda Morato do Canto<\/a>, principal investigator and research scientist, Universidade Estadual de Campinas<\/strong>\r\n\r\nMorato do Canto\u2019s laboratory investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying focal cortical dysplasia type IIb and drug-resistant epilepsy using spatial multiomics approaches.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253210'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Andressa Radiske<\/a>, group leader, Instituto Internacional de Neuroci\u00eancias Edmond e Lily Safra, Instituto Santos Dumont<\/strong>\r\n\r\nRadiske\u2019s lab studies the neural mechanisms involved in the formation, expression and updating of fear memories in rodents and marmosets.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253212'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Cleyton Sobrinho<\/a>, assistant professor and principal investigator, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe Sobrinho lab investigates the mechanisms underlying the control of breathing, how these pathways are disrupted in disease states, and how the loss of autism-linked genes alters respiratory function.<\/span>\r\n

Chile<\/b><\/h2>\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253222'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Macarena Arr\u00e1zola<\/a><\/strong>, assistant professor and principal investigator, Universidad Mayor<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nArr\u00e1zola\u2019s lab investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern the vulnerability and degeneration of the retina and visual circuits, with a focus on dominant optic atrophy, glaucoma and central nervous system aging.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253217'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Evelyn Avil\u00e9s<\/a>, assistant professor, Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Chile<\/strong>\r\n\r\nAvil\u00e9s\u2019 research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that regulate neuronal tissue polarity and organization during development, using the retina as a model to understand the formation and maintenance of functional neural circuits.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253232'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]V\u00edctor Cornejo Corona<\/a><\/strong>, assistant professor, Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Chile<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nCornejo Corona studies the mechanisms of synaptic function and plasticity in mammals, using advanced in vivo microscopy techniques to study subcellular dynamics during learning and how these are altered in brain disorders.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253220'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Josefina Cruzat Grand<\/a><\/strong>, assistant professor, Instituto Latinoamericano de Salud Cerebral (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Cruzat Lab studies how the exposome\u2014our cumulative biological, environmental and social experiences across life\u2014shapes brain aging, dementia risk and brain health.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253299'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Ang\u00e9lica Escobar Maldonado<\/a><\/strong>, adjunct professor, Universidad de Valpara\u00edso<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nEscobar Maldonado combines behavioral, chemogenetic, neurochemical and histological techniques to study the neurobiological basis of compulsivity and maladaptive behaviors, with a focus on dopamine signaling.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253046'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Vicente Medel<\/a><\/strong>, assistant professor, Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Chile<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nMedel\u2019s lab studies how arousal organizes brain states through neurovascular and metabolic mechanisms that link neuronal activity with systemic physiology, with a focus on cognition and aging.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253218'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Joaqu\u00edn Migeot Guajardo<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, principal investigator, Instituto Latinoamericano de Salud Cerebral (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez <\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nMigeot Guajardo leads BrainLat's research on the exposome on brain health, aging and dementia, with a special focus on populations in Latin America.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253211'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Carolina Ochoa-Rosales<\/a><\/strong>, assistant professor and principal investigator, Instituto Latinoamericano de Salud Cerebral (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Ochoa-Rosales lab investigates genetic factors associated with the development of dementia in genetically diverse populations. The laboratory also studies gene-exposome interactions and aging trajectories through epigenetic and multi-omics regulatory mechanisms.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253224'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image][tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253219'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Maritza O\u00f1ate<\/a>, assistant professor, and Jorge Vera,<\/a> assistant professor at Universidad Mayor<\/strong>\r\n\r\nO\u00f1ate and Vera\u2014co-principal investigators and husband and wife\u2014 study how interactions between the cerebellum and the dopaminergic system regulate motor and non-motor behaviors in healthy states, aging and neurobiological disorders.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253214'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Enzo P\u00e9rez Valenzuela<\/a>, assistant professor, Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Chile<\/strong>\r\n\r\nP\u00e9rez Valenzuela\u2019s lab researches how cannabis exposure during crucial developmental periods alters brain maturation and leads to increased vulnerability to neuropsychiatric disorders.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253229'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Paula Slater Guzm\u00e1n<\/a>, assistant professor, Universidad San Sebasti\u00e1n<\/strong>\r\n\r\nSlater Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s lab uses the frog <\/span>Xenopus laevis<\/span><\/i> to study neuronal development and regeneration in the spinal cord, with a special focus on intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate early responses to damage, including metabolism, mitochondria, the cytoskeleton and the extracellular microenvironment.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253230'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Rafaella Z\u00e1rate Canales<\/a>, assistant professor, Universidad de Antofagasta<\/strong>\r\n\r\nZ\u00e1rate Canales\u2019 lab uses <\/span>Drosophila melanogaster<\/span><\/i> as a model to investigate early alterations in redox homeostasis and their contribution to neuronal dysfunction and vulnerability during aging and neurodegenerative diseases.<\/span>\r\n

Colombia<\/b><\/h2>\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253223'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Mar\u00eda Vel\u00e1squez Toledo<\/a><\/strong>, assistant professor, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nVel\u00e1squez Toledo\u2019s lab integrates basic research and clinical work to study genetic, biological and contextual factors associated with mental and cerebral health from an interdisciplinary perspective.<\/span>\r\n

Mexico<\/b><\/h2>\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='254944'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Ana Inacio<\/a><\/span>, researcher title A, Universidad Nacional Aut\u00f3noma de M\u00e9xico<\/strong>\r\n\r\nInacio\u2019s Neural Circuits to Action Lab investigates how neural circuits generate sensorimotor behavior and reorganize to support recovery after stroke.\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253208'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Ver\u00f3nica L\u00f3pez Virgen<\/a><\/strong>, investigating professor, Universidad de Colima<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nL\u00f3pez Virgen studies the role of growth factors during neurodevelopment and their role in autism, using a multidisciplinary approach that combines molecular neurobiology and behavior analysis.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253228'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Oswaldo P\u00e9rez Mart\u00ednez<\/a><\/strong>, associate professor, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Juriquilla, Universidad Nacional Aut\u00f3noma de M\u00e9xico<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nP\u00e9rez Mart\u00ednez\u2019s group combines experimental neuroscience, mathematical modeling and data science to investigate how the nervous system encodes temporal information and how astrocytes contribute to information processing in the brain.<\/span>\r\n

Uruguay<\/b><\/h2>\r\n[tt_rounded_inline_image image_id='253225'][\/tt_rounded_inline_image]Matias Lorenzo Cavelli<\/a>, assistant professor, Universidad de la Rep\u00fablica<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe Cavelli laboratory studies the functions of sleep and how brain states reorganize communication between the brain and the external world, with a particular focus on respiration, sensory processing and local sleep.<\/span>"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253203"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255758,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253203\/revisions\/255758"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor\/206346"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"post_tag","href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/1209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]