Plasticity
Recent articles
2025 Brain Prize honors pair of cancer neuroscientists
Michelle Monje and Frank Winkler share the $1.4 million award for their discovery of synapses between brain cancer cells and neurons.
2025 Brain Prize honors pair of cancer neuroscientists
Michelle Monje and Frank Winkler share the $1.4 million award for their discovery of synapses between brain cancer cells and neurons.
Remembering Eleanor Maguire, ‘trailblazer’ of human memory
Maguire, mastermind of the famous London taxi-driver study, broadened the field and championed the importance of spatial representations in memory.
Remembering Eleanor Maguire, ‘trailblazer’ of human memory
Maguire, mastermind of the famous London taxi-driver study, broadened the field and championed the importance of spatial representations in memory.
To beat the heat, hypothalamus neurons in mice ramp up their firing
The uptick may help the rodents acclimate to temperature hikes and keep their cool.
To beat the heat, hypothalamus neurons in mice ramp up their firing
The uptick may help the rodents acclimate to temperature hikes and keep their cool.
This paper changed my life: ‘Histone demethylation mediated by the nuclear amine oxidase homolog LSD1,’ from the Shi Lab
This paper defined key rules of epigenomic regulation and shaped how I study chromatin plasticity as a mechanism for experience-dependent changes in the brain.
This paper changed my life: ‘Histone demethylation mediated by the nuclear amine oxidase homolog LSD1,’ from the Shi Lab
This paper defined key rules of epigenomic regulation and shaped how I study chromatin plasticity as a mechanism for experience-dependent changes in the brain.
As circuits wire up, interneurons take cues from surrounding cells
The inhibitory cells’ development, diversity and abundance in the cortex is directed in part by pyramidal cells, a new preprint suggests.
As circuits wire up, interneurons take cues from surrounding cells
The inhibitory cells’ development, diversity and abundance in the cortex is directed in part by pyramidal cells, a new preprint suggests.
How to teach this paper: ‘Behavioral time scale synaptic plasticity underlies CA1 place fields,’ by Bittner and Milstein et al. (2017)
Katie Bittner, Aaron Milstein and their colleagues found that cellular learning can happen over longer timescales than Hebb’s rule predicts. How long should we wait to teach students about this phenomenon?
How to teach this paper: ‘Behavioral time scale synaptic plasticity underlies CA1 place fields,’ by Bittner and Milstein et al. (2017)
Katie Bittner, Aaron Milstein and their colleagues found that cellular learning can happen over longer timescales than Hebb’s rule predicts. How long should we wait to teach students about this phenomenon?
Eve Marder, neural circuits and being heard
The National Medal of Science winner explains why she built her career around the crustacean and what it was like attending high school in a Hudson River town.
Eve Marder, neural circuits and being heard
The National Medal of Science winner explains why she built her career around the crustacean and what it was like attending high school in a Hudson River town.
The question of regeneration—an excerpt from ‘Periphery: How Your Nervous System Predicts and Protects Against Disease’
In his recent book, Moses Chao makes the case that the peripheral nervous system can warn of future illnesses.
The question of regeneration—an excerpt from ‘Periphery: How Your Nervous System Predicts and Protects Against Disease’
In his recent book, Moses Chao makes the case that the peripheral nervous system can warn of future illnesses.
Neurons making memories shush their neighbors
When neurons strengthen their synapses, they “infect” surrounding cells with a virus-like protein to weaken those cells’ excitatory connections, according to a new preprint.
Neurons making memories shush their neighbors
When neurons strengthen their synapses, they “infect” surrounding cells with a virus-like protein to weaken those cells’ excitatory connections, according to a new preprint.
Going deep: The Transmitter’s top long-form stories in 2023
Our favorite features and book excerpts from the past year delved into the neurobiology of cancer; problems with survey data; free will; mathematical minds; and questions around one startup’s quest to treat brain conditions with cell therapies.
Going deep: The Transmitter’s top long-form stories in 2023
Our favorite features and book excerpts from the past year delved into the neurobiology of cancer; problems with survey data; free will; mathematical minds; and questions around one startup’s quest to treat brain conditions with cell therapies.
Explore more from The Transmitter
On the importance of reading (just not too much)
The real fun of being a neuroscientist, and maybe the key to asking and answering new questions, is to think big and take intellectual risks.
On the importance of reading (just not too much)
The real fun of being a neuroscientist, and maybe the key to asking and answering new questions, is to think big and take intellectual risks.
How developing neurons simplify their search for a synaptic mate
Streamlining the problem from 3D to 1D eases the expedition—a strategy the study investigators deployed to rewire an olfactory circuit in flies.
How developing neurons simplify their search for a synaptic mate
Streamlining the problem from 3D to 1D eases the expedition—a strategy the study investigators deployed to rewire an olfactory circuit in flies.
NIH autism database announcement raises concerns among researchers
The U.S. National Institutes of Health announced a plan to pour $50 million into data science projects intended to investigate the condition’s causes, but the initiative’s short timeline and other atypicalities have prompted questions.
NIH autism database announcement raises concerns among researchers
The U.S. National Institutes of Health announced a plan to pour $50 million into data science projects intended to investigate the condition’s causes, but the initiative’s short timeline and other atypicalities have prompted questions.