Home of the Stanford Neuroblog. Scientists writing about science, for a general audience.
Have a question about the brain? Ask a neuroscientist a question.
Are you a little too full of holiday treacle? Never fear - this article will give a whole new meaning to the phrase “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”. Grab a flashlight, hunker down in a blanket, and read about how a team of scientists attempted to uncover one of the visual system’s greatest mysteries.
Read MoreThe choices we make have a massive impact on almost every aspect of our lives, and poor decision-making is a common feature across many neurologic and psychiatric diseases. So it makes sense that neuroscientists have been fascinated by decision-making for a long time, and have sought to undercover what influences our choices, which parts of the brain contribute to a decision, and how different aspects of a choice (for example, the evidence in favor of one option over another, or the value of each potential outcome) are reflected in neural activity.
Read MoreScientists might claim that a single region of the brain, like the medial prefrontal cortex (MPC), have a wide variety of jobs. Who is right? This paper attempts to use a meta-analysis to determine how to map human behavior onto MPC anatomy.
Read MoreWhat do bacteria have to do with the brain? One paper suggests that Bacillus subtilis can use electrical signaling to recruit distant cells to a biofilm - even bacteria of other species.
Read MoreScience fiction or science fact? This review of a 2015 paper by Dr. Haruo Kasai explains how a group of scientists hacked the brain with light - and explores an assumption most neuroscientists have made for decades.
Read MoreHow do we know that a constellation of firing neurons are actually representing the outside world? What does it mean for the brain to “represent” something? This article weaves together a classic paper in vision with philosophical theory to explore this fundamental question.
Read MoreReader Ella asks: “I read a theory that while dreaming, the brain cannot invent new people out of nowhere. Instead, the brain shows people we've seen while awake, or combines a mix of previously-seen physical features to create a "new" person. How would you prove/disprove this theory? Why does the brain do this?”
Read MoreHumans often work together to accomplish complex tasks, including language learning, or singing harmonies. How does the brain support that kind of complex, coordinated group behavior? A species of duetting birds offers some clues - and suggests your brain may have a bigger backstage role than you might think.
Read MoreIt was the day of my defense, and as I prepared to give the biggest talk of my life thus far, I looked out into the audience, and saw Ben Barres walk into the room. Normally, this would have been a totally unremarkable event. Ben was one of the members on my committee. Except these circumstances were not normal. Ben was diagnosed with terminal cancer just over a year earlier.
Read MoreWe offer a tribute to Dr. Ben Barres, whose groundbreaking science and refusal to remain silent in the face of injustice served as an inspiration to many. This piece and its companion piece by David Lipton are the final installments in our series about inequality in STEM.
Read MoreHome of NeuWrite West and the Stanford Neuroblog.
Do you have burning questions about how the brain works? You’ve come to the right place! Submit all your questions to NeuWrite West and we will have a neuroscientist research and answer your question.
Note: The NeuWrite West team consists of research scientists. Therefore, we can not provide answers to questions of a medical nature; we are not medical doctors.
Questions will have a turn-around time of approximately one month.
Or search for "NeuWriteWest" (without spaces) on your favorite podcast app!
Powered by Squarespace
