Vision

Recent articles

Illustration of a series of shapes, with a few resembling human eyes.

The visual system’s lingering mystery: Connecting neural activity and perception

Figuring out how the brain uses information from visual neurons may require new tools. I asked 10 neuroscientists what experimental and conceptual methods they think we’re missing.

By Grace Lindsay
13 October 2025 | 5 min read
Illustration of synapse-like threads connecting in various ways.

Learning in living mice defies classic synaptic plasticity rule

Donald Hebb’s theory—memorably summarized as “cells that fire together, wire together”—does not explain the shifting hippocampal connections in mice learning to navigate a virtual environment, according to a new study.

By Sydney Wyatt
28 May 2025 | 6 min listen
Judit Pungor and Angelique Allen stand in front of a saltwater tank.

Cephalopods, vision’s next frontier

For decades, scientists have been teased by the strange but inaccessible cephalopod visual system. Now, thanks to a technological breakthrough from a lab in Oregon, data are finally coming straight from the octopus brain.

By Calli McMurray
27 May 2025 | 14 min listen
Side view of a Tardigrade.

How tiny tardigrades could help tackle systems neuroscience questions

The eight-legged, millimeter-long animals reveal how small nervous systems produce complex behaviors and perceptual abilities, a preprint suggests.

By Dori Grijseels
11 March 2025 | 6 min read
Research image of a mouse brain slice stained in purple and yellow.

Subthalamic plasticity helps mice squelch innate fear responses

When the animals learn that a perceived threat is not dangerous, long-term activity changes in a part of the subthalamus suppress their instinctive fears.

By Sydney Wyatt
6 February 2025 | 5 min read
Image of squirrels on a branch.

NeuroAI and the hidden complexity of agency

As we attempt to build autonomous artificial-intelligence systems, we're discovering that a capability we take for granted in animals may be much more complex than we imagined.

By Anthony Zador
5 February 2025 | 6 min read
Portrait of Yves Fregnac.

In memoriam: Yves Frégnac, influential and visionary French neuroscientist

Frégnac, who died on 18 October at the age of 73, built his career by meeting neuroscience’s complexity straight on.

By Bahar Gholipour
18 December 2024 | 9 min read
Dima Rinberg smells one of the compounds in his lab, looking at camera with a quizzical expression.

Sniffing out the mysteries of olfaction

A background in physics, and his own curiosity, have helped Dmitry Rinberg tackle the complexities of the neuroscience of smell.

By Lina Zeldovich
11 December 2024 | 13 min read
Black-and-white photograph of Bryan W Jones holding a camera and pointing it back at the photographer.

An eye for science: Q&A with Bryan W. Jones

The researcher explains how the beauty of the retina drew him into the vision field and why photography reminds him of the value of that work.

By Angie Voyles Askham
6 December 2024 | 7 min read
Portrait of insect-cognition researcher Martin Giurfa.

Martín Giurfa y la idea de hogar

El investigador de la cognición de insectos ha hecho su trabajo en varios continentes, pero Argentina nunca está lejos de su mente.

By Gina Jiménez
20 August 2024 | 15 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of a circuit made of sperm-like lines.

Gene variants accumulate in older men’s sperm; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 20 October.

By Jill Adams
21 October 2025 | 2 min read
Abstract illustration of a synaptic vesicle.

This paper changed my life: Sandra Jurado marvels at the first-ever 3D model of a synaptic vesicle

In this 2006 Cell paper, Shigeo Takamori and his colleagues showcased the molecular machinery of synaptic vesicles in outstanding detail. Their work taught me that these aren’t just passive containers for neurotransmitters but dynamic, precision-built nanomachines.

By Sandra Jurado
21 October 2025 | 5 min read
A worm made of circuitry.

Whole-brain, bottom-up neuroscience: The time for it is now

Applying new tools to entire brains, starting with C. elegans, offers the opportunity to uncover how molecules work together to generate neural physiology and how neurons work together to generate behavior.

By Edward Boyden, Konrad Körding
20 October 2025 | 9 min read

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