Behavioral neuroscience
Recent articles
‘Natural Neuroscience: Toward a Systems Neuroscience of Natural Behaviors,’ an excerpt
In his new book, published today, Nachum Ulanovsky calls on the field to embrace naturalistic conditions and move away from overcontrolled experiments.

‘Natural Neuroscience: Toward a Systems Neuroscience of Natural Behaviors,’ an excerpt
In his new book, published today, Nachum Ulanovsky calls on the field to embrace naturalistic conditions and move away from overcontrolled experiments.
Dopamine ‘gas pedal’ and serotonin ‘brake’ team up to accelerate learning
Mice learn fastest and most reliably when they experience an increase in dopamine paired with an inhibition of serotonin in their nucleus accumbens, a new study shows, helping to resolve long-standing questions about the neuromodulators’ relationship.

Dopamine ‘gas pedal’ and serotonin ‘brake’ team up to accelerate learning
Mice learn fastest and most reliably when they experience an increase in dopamine paired with an inhibition of serotonin in their nucleus accumbens, a new study shows, helping to resolve long-standing questions about the neuromodulators’ relationship.
David Robbe challenges conventional notions of time and memory
Inspired by his own behavioral neuroscience research and the philosophy of Henri Bergson, Robbe makes the case that we don't have clocks in our brains but instead perceive time by way of our interactions with the world.
David Robbe challenges conventional notions of time and memory
Inspired by his own behavioral neuroscience research and the philosophy of Henri Bergson, Robbe makes the case that we don't have clocks in our brains but instead perceive time by way of our interactions with the world.
Brain gene expression syncs between bonded prairie voles
The overlapping activity in the animals’ nucleus accumbens may underpin pair bonding, a new preprint suggests.

Brain gene expression syncs between bonded prairie voles
The overlapping activity in the animals’ nucleus accumbens may underpin pair bonding, a new preprint suggests.
Say what? The Transmitter’s top quotes of 2024
“We’ve cured mouse-heimer’s thousands of times...”—find out who said this to a Transmitter reporter, and read our other favorite quotes from the past year.

Say what? The Transmitter’s top quotes of 2024
“We’ve cured mouse-heimer’s thousands of times...”—find out who said this to a Transmitter reporter, and read our other favorite quotes from the past year.
The Transmitter’s favorite features of 2024
Our chosen stories include tales about research misconduct in the lab, a neuroscientist working at the end of the world, and the passing of neuroanatomy’s “great-grandfather,” Harvey Karten.

The Transmitter’s favorite features of 2024
Our chosen stories include tales about research misconduct in the lab, a neuroscientist working at the end of the world, and the passing of neuroanatomy’s “great-grandfather,” Harvey Karten.
The non-model organism “renaissance” has arrived
Meet 10 neuroscientists bringing model diversity back with the funky animals they study.

The non-model organism “renaissance” has arrived
Meet 10 neuroscientists bringing model diversity back with the funky animals they study.
Synaptic changes shape winning mice into bullies
When a mouse repeatedly defeats its opponents, brain circuits that underlie aggressive behaviors develop more stable connections, helping to ensure continual triumph, a new study shows.

Synaptic changes shape winning mice into bullies
When a mouse repeatedly defeats its opponents, brain circuits that underlie aggressive behaviors develop more stable connections, helping to ensure continual triumph, a new study shows.
Dopamine and the need for alternative theories
Some experimental findings are inconsistent with the dominant model of reward prediction error, highlighting the need for alternative testable and falsifiable models for dopamine function.

Dopamine and the need for alternative theories
Some experimental findings are inconsistent with the dominant model of reward prediction error, highlighting the need for alternative testable and falsifiable models for dopamine function.
Does a new theory of dopamine replace the classic model?
My answer would be no, but the model poses challenges that will sharpen our understanding of dopamine and learning.

Does a new theory of dopamine replace the classic model?
My answer would be no, but the model poses challenges that will sharpen our understanding of dopamine and learning.
Explore more from The Transmitter
Sharing Africa’s brain data: Q&A with Amadi Ihunwo
These data are “virtually mandatory” to advance neuroscience, says Ihunwo, a co-investigator of the Brain Research International Data Governance & Exchange (BRIDGE) initiative, which seeks to develop a global framework for sharing, using and protecting neuroscience data.

Sharing Africa’s brain data: Q&A with Amadi Ihunwo
These data are “virtually mandatory” to advance neuroscience, says Ihunwo, a co-investigator of the Brain Research International Data Governance & Exchange (BRIDGE) initiative, which seeks to develop a global framework for sharing, using and protecting neuroscience data.
Cortical structures in infants linked to future language skills; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 19 May.

Cortical structures in infants linked to future language skills; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 19 May.
The BabyLM Challenge: In search of more efficient learning algorithms, researchers look to infants
A competition that trains language models on relatively small datasets of words, closer in size to what a child hears up to age 13, seeks solutions to some of the major challenges of today’s large language models.

The BabyLM Challenge: In search of more efficient learning algorithms, researchers look to infants
A competition that trains language models on relatively small datasets of words, closer in size to what a child hears up to age 13, seeks solutions to some of the major challenges of today’s large language models.