Neurobiology
Category archives for Neurobiology
European Big Brain Project Draws Ire From European Brain Science Community
Posted by Greg Laden on July 14, 2014 
Over 600 (as of this writing) neuroscientists from around the world, but with a very large proportion representing Europe, have written an open letter expressing concern with the Human Brain Project (HBP) and its cousin the U.S. BRAIN Initiative. It appears that the neuroscience community regards these projects as of relatively low value, while at…
Canadian Scientists Create Virtual Human Brain
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2012 
A large scale model of a human brain has been created by a team of scientists at the Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience, University of Waterloo, Ontario. This is a virtual model, inside a computer, that involves 2,5 million virtual neurons structures in a pattern resembling the overall human brain’s anatomy, including cortical regions, motor control…
No new nose neurons?
Posted by Greg Laden on May 26, 2012 
Elizabeth Norton has an interesting write-up in Science Now. Some years ago, after a long period of suspicion, it was seemingly demonstrated that neurogenesis (the formation of new neurons) happened in the human nose. This research was based on the identification of proteins that would be associated with the early formation of baby neurons. Therefore,…
Falsehoods: Human Universals
Posted by Greg Laden on January 26, 2011 There are human universals. There, I said it. Now give me about a half hour to explain why this is both correct and a Falsehood. But first, some background and definition.
The Oystercatcher and the Clam
Posted by Greg Laden on July 10, 2010 One of those really cool and useful “evolution stories” gets verified and illuminated by actual research. And blogging!
Culture Shapes How We Look at Faces
Posted by Greg Laden on October 15, 2009 Constructivism. Determinism. It is all a bunch of hooey. A recent paper published by PLoS (Culture Shapes How We Look at Faces) throws a sopping wet blanket on widely held deterministic models of human behavior. In addition, the work underscores the sometimes spooky cultural differences that can emerge in how people see things, even how…
Human Brain Size: Does it matter? And has it decreased?
Posted by Greg Laden on September 23, 2009 Sometimes people walk around with only half a brain, or a large portion of their brain disconnected, or simply having never developed, or an extra large brain, and we usually take little notice. But when there is a five or ten or twenty percent difference between two groups of people we are quickly willing to…
The Synaptic Cleft Rap
Posted by Greg Laden on July 8, 2009 Ion channels, chica. Hat Tip: Virginia Hughes. Who also has something interesting on Coffee.
Cerebral activation patterns induced by inflection of regular and irregular verbs with positron emission tomography: A comparison between single subject and group analysis
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 The raw material for Miriam Sach’s solo contemporary dance was her 2004 Ph.D. thesis at the University of Düsseldorf, Germany, titled “Cerebral activation patterns induced by inflection of regular and irregular verbs with positron emission tomography: A comparison between single subject and group analysis.” The question behind her research was whether different types of verbs…
Precarious Pettiness of Sexual Politics In the Blogosphere: An uppity response to the perspicacious Dr. Isis and an appeal to get serious about sexual aggression and exploitation
Posted by Greg Laden on September 11, 2008 Dr. Isis the Scientist at On Becoming a Domestic and Laboratory Goddess, has written an open letter to our sister, Zuska, regarding (in part) the exchanges between my Sbling and myself. Dr. Isis points out that she has had a long term academic interests in breasts, which is primarily political and pragmatic as it turns…