‘Mind-readers’ get a clearer view. A recent breakthrough in biological sample preparation by scientists at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wako may give Astro Boy’s ‘x-ray vision’ a run for its money.
By treating tissue samples with an easy-to-prepare mix of chemicals, Atsushi Miyawaki, Hiroshi Hama and their colleagues can render the brain and other tissues as clear as glass, a reversible transformation that gives researchers an unobstructed view of fluorescently labeled cells residing within1. For decades, the limits of available technology have thwarted attempts to map the dizzying twists and turns of the brain.
Neuroscientists have achieved some success in simpler organisms, such as the worm or fly, by using tiny blades to sequentially peel off ultrathin strips of tissue, which can then be imaged via electron microscopy and reassembled computationally. New neurons help us to remember fear. Fear burns memories into our brain, and new research by University of California, Berkeley, neuroscientists explains how.
Scientists have long known that fear and other highly emotional experiences lead to incredibly strong memories. In a study appearing online today (Tuesday, June 14) in advance of publication in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, UC Berkeley’s Daniela Kaufer and colleagues report a new way for emotions to affect memory: The brain’s emotional center, the amygdala, induces the hippocampus, a relay hub for memory, to generate new neurons. The figure shows newly born nerve cells (green) colocalizing with a neuronal marker which indicates immature nerve cells (red). The Five Senses. Uncommon Sense Synesthesia helps the brain luxuriate in metaphor. by Alice Flaherty.