Category Archives: Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Rhythm in the Brain: Music Exposure Influences Rhythmic Interpretation – Neuroscience News

Summary: A new study involving participants from 15 countries, shed light on the universal preference for simple integer ratios in rhythms, revealing significant cultural variations in musical perception.

This research, conducted with 39 groups, including people from traditional societies, indicates that while theres a common bias towards certain rhythmic structures, the specific preferences can differ markedly across cultures. The findings suggest that the brains bias towards these rhythms aids in error correction during music production, ensuring the consistency of musical systems across generations.

This landmark study, which is unparalleled in its scope, emphasizes the need for diverse, global research to fully understand the complexities of music perception.

Key Facts:

Source: MIT

When listening to music, the human brain appears to be biased toward hearing and producing rhythms composed of simple integer ratios for example, a series of four beats separated by equal time intervals (forming a 1:1:1 ratio).

However, the favored ratios can vary greatly between different societies, according to a large-scale study led by researchers at MIT and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics and carried out in 15 countries.

The study included 39 groups of participants, many of whom came from societies whose traditional music contains distinctive patterns of rhythm not found in Western music.

Our study provides the clearest evidence yet for some degree of universality in music perception and cognition, in the sense that every single group of participants that was tested exhibits biases for integer ratios. It also provides a glimpse of the variation that can occur across cultures, which can be quite substantial, saysNori Jacoby, the studys lead author and a former MIT postdoc, who is now a research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt, Germany.

The brains bias toward simple integer ratios may have evolved as a natural error-correction system that makes it easier to maintain a consistent body of music, which human societies often use to transmit information.

When people produce music, they often make small mistakes. Our results are consistent with the idea that our mental representation is somewhat robust to those mistakes, but it is robust in a way that pushes us toward our preexisting ideas of the structures that should be found in music, says Josh McDermott,an associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT and a member of MITs McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines.

McDermott is the senior author of the study, which appears today inNature Human Behaviour.The research team also included scientists from more than two dozen institutions around the world.

A global approach

The new study grew out of a smaller analysis that Jacoby and McDermott published in 2017. Inthat paper, the researchers compared rhythm perception in groups of listeners from the United States and the Tsimane, an Indigenous society located in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest.

To measure how people perceive rhythm, the researchers devised a task in which they play a randomly generated series of four beats and then ask the listener to tap back what they heard.

The rhythm produced by the listener is then played back to the listener, and they tap it back again. Over several iterations, the tapped sequences became dominated by the listeners internal biases, also known as priors.

The initial stimulus pattern is random, but at each iteration the pattern is pushed by the listeners biases, such that it tends to converge to a particular point in the space of possible rhythms, McDermott says.

That can give you a picture of what we call the prior, which is the set of internal implicit expectations for rhythms that people have in their heads.

When the researchers first did this experiment, with American college students as the test subjects, they found that people tended to produce time intervals that are related by simple integer ratios. Furthermore, most of the rhythms they produced, such as those with ratios of 1:1:2 and 2:3:3, are commonly found in Western music.

The researchers then went to Bolivia and asked members of the Tsimane society to perform the same task. They found that Tsimane also produced rhythms with simple integer ratios, but their preferred ratios were different and appeared to be consistent with those that have been documented in the few existing records of Tsimane music.

At that point, it provided some evidence that there might be very widespread tendencies to favor these small integer ratios, and that there might be some degree of cross-cultural variation. But because we had just looked at this one other culture, it really wasnt clear how this was going to look at a broader scale, Jacoby says.

To try to get that broader picture, the MIT team began seeking collaborators around the world who could help them gather data on a more diverse set of populations. They ended up studying listeners from 39 groups, representing 15 countries on five continents North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

This is really the first study of its kind in the sense that we did the same experiment in all these different places, with people who are on the ground in those locations, McDermott says.

That hasnt really been done before at anything close to this scale, and it gave us an opportunity to see the degree of variation that might exist around the world.

Cultural comparisons

Just as they had in their original 2017 study, the researchers found that in every group they tested, people tended to be biased toward simple integer ratios of rhythm.However, not every group showed the same biases. People from North America and Western Europe, who have likely been exposed to the same kinds of music, were more likely to generate rhythms with the same ratios. However, many groups, for example those in Turkey, Mali, Bulgaria, and Botswana showed a bias for other rhythms.

There are certain cultures where there are particular rhythms that are prominent in their music, and those end up showing up in the mental representation of rhythm, Jacoby says.

The researchers believe their findings reveal a mechanism that the brain uses to aid in the perception and production of music.

When you hear somebody playing something and they have errors in their performance, youre going to mentally correct for those by mapping them onto where you implicitly think they ought to be, McDermott says.

If you didnt have something like this, and you just faithfully represented what you heard, these errors might propagate and make it much harder to maintain a musical system.

Among the groups that they studied, the researchers took care to include not only college students, who are easy to study in large numbers, but also people living in traditional societies, who are more difficult to reach.

Participants from those more traditional groups showed significant differences from college students living in the same countries, and from people who live in those countries but performed the test online.

Whats very clear from the paper is that if you just look at the results from undergraduate students around the world, you vastly underestimate the diversity that you see otherwise, Jacoby says.

And the same was true of experiments where we tested groups of people online in Brazil and India, because youre dealing with people who have internet access and presumably have more exposure to Western music.

The researchers now hope to run additional studies of different aspects of music perception, taking this global approach.

If youre just testing college students around the world or people online, things look a lot more homogenous. I think its very important for the field to realize that you actually need to go out into communities and run experiments there, as opposed to taking the low-hanging fruit of running studies with people in a university or on the internet, McDermott says.

Funding: The research was funded by the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the Canadian National Science and Engineering Research Council, the South African National Research Foundation, the United States National Science Foundation, the Chilean National Research and Development Agency, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Keio Global Research Institute, the United Kingdom Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Swedish Research Council, and the John Fell Fund.

Author: Sarah McDonnell Source: MIT Contact: Sarah McDonnell MIT Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: The findings will appear in Nature Human Behavior

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Rhythm in the Brain: Music Exposure Influences Rhythmic Interpretation - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Physicist Haim Sompolinsky first Israeli to win largest brain science research prize – The Times of Israel

Prof. Haim Sompolinsky of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has been awarded the Brain Prize for 2024, the largest and most prestigious international prize for brain research. The prize is awarded annually by the Lundbeck Foundation of Denmark.

Sompolinsky, who is also affiliated with Harvard University, is a physicist and pioneer in the field of theoretical and computational neuroscience, particularly in the study of neural circuit dynamics in the brain. His research has significantly contributed to understanding how neural circuits process and encode information, map the external world, and participate in learning and memory.

Sompolinsky shares the annual prize totaling 1.3 million euros ($1.4 million) with Prof. Larry Abbott of Columbia University and Prof. Terrence Sejnowski of the Salk Institute, who are also widely recognized for their groundbreaking work in computational and theoretical neuroscience, which applies physics, mathematics and statistics as tools for studying the brain and how it functions.

Haims work over more than 40 years has been instrumental in establishing theoretical and computational neuroscience as a cornerstone of modern brain research, said Richard Morris, chair of The Brain Prize selection committee.

Sompolinsky will be presented the Brain Prize medal by King Frederik on May 30 in Copenhagen, where he was born in 1949. The son of Danish and Hungarian Holocaust survivors who met in Sweden after the war, he is the third of 10 children, and the last to be born in Denmark before his family immigrated to Israel.

During the war, his father, Prof. David Sompolinsky, worked with the Danish Resistance to save 700 co-religionists from extermination by the Nazis, by arranging their escape to Sweden in October 1943.

Haim Sompolinsky as a young boy with his teacher, Rishon Lezion, 1954. (Courtesy of Sompolinsky family)

When asked whether his fathers work as a microbiologist inspired him to become a scientist, Sompolinsky said that while it is hard to know why someone goes into one profession or another, his father undoubtedly was an inspiration. The elder Sompolinsky modeled how a person could combine Orthodox Jewish observance with a deep love of science.

My fathers big library in our living room was a complete chaotic mix of Talmud, Torah and books of Jewish law. In the middle of this were books about mathematics, microbiology and physics. To me, it was a place where I could just pick up a book and read, Sompolinsky recalled.

There was no conflict between religious observance and a professional life in the sciences. I think I inherited from him the idea of leading a coherent lifestyle. I think that being a scientist enriches my religious experiences and insights and vice versa, he said.

In the following interview, edited for length and clarity, The Times of Israel asked Sompolinsky about how theoretical and computational neuroscience helps us understand the brain, where he sees the field going and his reaction to receiving the worlds largest prize for brain research.

The Times of Israel: Why did you decide to pursue research in neuroscience in particular?

Prof. Haim Sompolinsky: It was a matter of personal choice. Many of my physicist colleagues who, like me, worked on the theory of spin glasses branched out to problems in the areas of economics and other complex systems in physics. Some went into the fields of biochemistry or biophysics. For me, neuroscience and the brain presented a very attractive set of problems. Throughout my career, I have always chosen problems that I think are intellectually interesting and worthwhile. It was natural for me to go in the direction of neuroscience because there was a mesh between my interest in the problems and my abilities to contribute to [understanding] them.

Haim Sompolinsky and his wife Elisheva with their family on vacation in Holland, 2016. (Courtesy of Sompolinsky family)

Were you motivated by a desire to find cures for specific neurological diseases?

When we work on basic research, we all hope that it will contribute in the long run to the benefit of humanity, whether it is health, ecology, climate, energy or whatever. But Im a basic scientist and my area of excellence is thinking more about principles and fundamental problems. I dont think Id be very good at applied research, where the details and the short-term goals dominate the thinking and research. My primary interest has been to contribute to understanding the principles of brain function.

Brain research has different levels. Can you explain what these levels are in laymans terms?

People are more familiar with the experimental and empirical aspects of neuroscience. First, there is the molecular level. People often read about discoveries of genes or molecules in the brain. Then there is cellular neuroscience. There is very active and fascinating research in this area, including on the properties of single nerve cells and other cells in the brain aside from neurons.

Then comes the level of circuits, and above it the level of systems. Most of the work in theoretical and computational neuroscience is at the level of circuits and above. We dont study the theoretical principles of molecular neuroscience because, at the level of principles, molecular neuroscience is very similar to molecular biology. The DNA and the expression of proteins in molecules in brain cells are the same as in any other setting in the body. On the other hand, the circuit level is what is unique about the brain and more directly related to computation.

What are some examples of what we can understand by studying brain circuits and systems?

You can ask how a circuit stores information or how it encodes or retrieves memories. You can ask how the visual system in the brain performs cognitive functions associated with vision perception. How do we recognize somebody simply from visual signals? The primary focus of theoretical and computational neuroscience science is to try to understand the relation between the structure of the neurocircuits and the dynamics of the activation of the neurons and the function that comes out of it.

Hebrew University theoretical and computational neuroscientist professor Haim Sompolinsky with junior colleagues in Jerusalem, 2014. (Courtesy of Sompolinsky family)

Do theoretical and computational neuroscientists work on their own, or do they interact with neuroscientists who work in the lab?

Our goal is to make sense of experimental results and even make predictions about what can be expected based on our theoretical models. If you have a good idea, you have to be able to translate it to a concrete model, which means mathematical equations and algorithms and analyzing them. Then you can approach an experimentalist and say, hey, I have a great idea, and here are the predictions and lets see if they are right. By working this way with the experimentalist, we advanced the understanding of the brain.

What do you think will be the legacy that you and other pioneers in theoretical and computational neuroscience will leave to the next generation?

There are several legacies. Ill mention just a couple. First, I think we succeeded in establishing solid foundations based on physics and mathematics for theoretical neuroscience, which will largely remain relevant for future generations. What we started as research is now part of textbooks in the field.

Second, I believe the interdisciplinary nature of brain science research that developed due to our efforts will remain forever. Brain science is no longer just part of biology studies or medical school. Its too complex and important for humanity not to recruit all the intellectual and technical skills of disciplines in science and maybe also in philosophy. Most neuroscience institutes today are multidisciplinary, not only in terms of research but also education. The Hebrew University made a pioneering contribution to the development of multidisciplinary research in neuroscience, and I am very proud and grateful for that.

What are the more recent developments in computational neuroscience that will help carry the field forward?

An important and extremely active research area in neuroscience is artificial intelligence. It is an exciting new direction. We hope to integrate new ideas, tools and models coming from AI into experimental paradigms. AI is already showing its impact in the research of my group and that of others in the last 10 years.

On the technical side of neuroscience, the toolbox for researchers has grown exponentially in terms of devices, electronics, optics and more. With this, the amount of data that is accumulated in neuroscience has grown exponentially, and now we are talking about international observatories and centers that specialize in generating big data for neuroscience research and are open access.

The Brain Prize medal, designed by Georg Jensen. (The Lundbeck Foundation)

What does it mean to you to be awarded The Brain Prize?

It is very satisfactory and a personal honor. For me and my co-winners, it is an expression of the international national recognition of the central contribution and role that theoretical and computational neuroscience plays in contemporary brain research.

You are the first Israeli to be given this award.

Im humbled by my ability to bring honor to Israeli science, particularly at this time.

What does receiving this award from a Danish foundation at a ceremony in Copenhagen mean to you given your familys background?

We were always told about the king of Denmarks empathy and public expression of support for the Jewish community [during World War II]. My going to Copenhagen in a couple of months to receive the prize from the present king, who is a descendant of the wartime one, is going to be very moving.

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Physicist Haim Sompolinsky first Israeli to win largest brain science research prize - The Times of Israel

Neuroscience

Prestigious 2024 Brain Prize awarded to Hebrew University’s Prof. Haim Sompolinsky by Lundbeck Foundation – EurekAlert

image:

Prof. Haim Sompolinsky

Credit: Kris Snibbe/Harvard File

Prof. Haim Sompolinsky of the Hebrew University and Harvard University has been awarded the Brain Prize for 2024, the largest and most prestigious international prize in neuroscience.

Prof. Haim Sompolinsky a physicist and neuroscience researcher at the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Neuroscience (ELSC) at the Hebrew University and Professor at the Center for Brain Science (CBS) at Harvard University is the first Israeli scientist to receive this esteemed prize, which is awarded to pioneers in the field of neuroscience. He shares the prize totaling 1.3 million euros with Professor Larry Abbott at Columbia University (USA) and Professor Terrence Sejnowski at the Salk Institute (USA).

Prof. Sompolinsky is renowned for his groundbreaking work in theoretical and computational neuroscience, particularly in the study of neural circuit dynamics in the brain. His research has significantly contributed to our understanding of how neural circuits process and encode information, map the external world, and participate in learning and memory. Through a combination of theoretical and computational approaches, his work has elucidated key computational principles underlying brain function.

Prof. Sompolinsky responded: I am deeply honored to have been recognized with the Brain Prize 2024, an award that underscores the central contribution of theoretical and computational neuroscience to brain science. This distinction also allows me to highlight the pioneering efforts of the Hebrew University in fostering the development of interdisciplinary brain research.

The Brain Prize, initiated in 2011 and awarded annually by the Lundbeck Foundation, is considered the most prestigious award in neuroscience. It recognizes researchers whose work has advanced the field, from fundamental research to clinical applications. Prof. Sompolinsky's research not only deepens our knowledge of the brain's inner workings but also holds promise for applications in brain-inspired artificial intelligence.

Prof. Asher Cohen, President of the Hebrew University commented: "Prof. Sompolinsky's Brain Prize triumph is a testament to his pioneering contributions in computational neuroscience, unraveling neural circuit dynamics and laying the foundation for insights into information processing. His groundbreaking work inspires artificial intelligence, blending experimentation and theory to illuminate fundamental computational principles in brain function. This recognition not only honors his exceptional achievements but serves as a beacon guiding us toward further revelations at the intersection of neuroscience and computation."

The 2024 Brain Prize will be presented on May 30, 2024 to the three winners, Professor Haim Sompolinsky at Hebrew University (Israel) and Harvard University (USA), Professor Larry Abbott at Columbia University (USA), Professor Terrence Sejnowski at the Salk Institute (USA). The Brain Prize recipients are presented with their award by His Royal Highness, King Frederik of Denmark, at a ceremony in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

Prof. Haim Sompolinsky is the son of the late Prof. David Sompolinsky, who was born in Denmark. Together with friends from the Danish Underground, he saved hundreds of Danish Jews from Nazi persecution in October 1943 by smuggling them by fishing boats to a safe haven in Sweden.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is Israels premier academic and research institution. With over 25,000 students from 90 countries, it is a hub for advancing scientific knowledge and holds a significant role in Israels civilian scientific research output, accounting for nearly 40% of it and has registered over 11,000 patents. The universitys faculty and alumni have earned eight Nobel Prizes and a Fields Medal, underscoring their contributions to ground-breaking discoveries. In the global arena, the Hebrew University ranks 86th according to the Shanghai Ranking. To learn more about the universitys academic programs, research initiatives, and achievements, visit the official website at http://new.huji.ac.il/en

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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Prestigious 2024 Brain Prize awarded to Hebrew University's Prof. Haim Sompolinsky by Lundbeck Foundation - EurekAlert

Neuroscience

Pioneering work in computational and theoretical neuroscience is awarded the world’s largest brain research prize – EurekAlert

image:

The Brain Prize medal is awarded to the recipients at a ceremony in Copenhagen. His royal highness, king Frederik of Denmark, attends this ceremony and awards the medals.

Credit: The Lundbeck Foundation

The Lundbeck Foundation has announced the recipients of The Brain Prize 2024, the worlds largest award for outstanding contributions to neuroscience. This years award recognizes the pioneering work of three leading neuroscientists Professor Larry Abbott at Columbia University (USA), Professor Terrence Sejnowski at the Salk Institute (USA), and Professor Haim Sompolinsky at Harvard University (USA) and the Hebrew University (Israel).

Theoretical and computational neuroscience permeates neuroscience today and is of increasingly growing importance. The winners of The Brain Prize 2024 have made pioneering contributions to these scientific areas by uncovering some of the principles that govern the brains structure, function, and the emergence of cognition and behaviour.

Chair of The Brain Prize Selection Committee, Professor Richard Morris, explains the reasoning behind this years award:

It is inconceivable to imagine modern brain sciences without the concomitant development ofn computational and theoretical neuroscience. The three scientists have applied novel and sophisticated approaches from physics, mathematics, and statistics to study the brain. They have developed vital tools for the analysis of highly complex datasets acquired by modern day experimental neuroscientists. The three prize winners have also proposed conceptual frameworks for understanding some of the brains most fundamental processes such as learning, memory, perception and how the brain generates maps of the external world. They have also provided crucial new insights into what may go awry in several devastating disorders of the nervous system, such as epilepsy, Alzheimers disease, and schizophrenia. In addition, their scientific achievements have paved the way for the development of brain-inspired artificial intelligence, one of the emerging and transformational technologies of our time.

On behalf of the Lundbeck Foundation, CEO Lene Skole extends her warmest congratulations to each of the three Brain Prize recipients:

Their pioneering research has created trailblazing knowledge and paved the way for other scientists to better understand critical brain functions, also in relation to diseases. It aligns fully with our purpose of bringing discoveries to lives. Each of their scientific endeavours began in the 70s, and their determination, courage and persistence over decades should serve as inspiration for other scientists, and indeed be rewarded.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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Pioneering work in computational and theoretical neuroscience is awarded the world's largest brain research prize - EurekAlert

Neuroscience

Role of AI in Neuroscience Research and Understanding of the Human Brain – Medriva

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), the field of neuroscience is undergoing a transformation. The sheer complexity and intricate dynamics of the human brain have been a challenge for neuroscientists. With the explosion of data, the gap between information and knowledge is becoming increasingly apparent. However, AI is starting to bridge this gap, providing profound insights into the workings of the human brain and paving the way for unprecedented discoveries.

AI is progressively becoming a potent tool in understanding the human brain, simulating the way neurons connect and fire. By mimicking the human brains structure and function, AI algorithms can simulate how the virtual brain reacts to stimuli. This offers invaluable insights into the real brains processes. AIs ability to identify subtle patterns in brain activity is instrumental in accelerating progress in neuroscience research. It is even beginning to demonstrate abilities in understanding the emotional tone in language and generating creative text formats. The application of AI in neuroscience is transforming biology into an engineering discipline, driving innovation and opening doors to unimaginable discoveries.

Publications like the BRAIN journal underscore the intersection of artificial intelligence, cognitive sciences, and neuroscience. Listed in online libraries of universities and organizations, the journal provides original contributions in these fields, emphasizing the increasing reliance of neuroscience on AI. As such, it is clear that AI tools are streamlining neuroscience research, accelerating the pace of innovation and progress in the field.

Elemind, an AI-enhanced neurotech health company, is an excellent example of how AI is revolutionizing neuroscience. With a $12M Seed round, Elemind is developing wearable neurotechnology that reads individual brainwaves and guides them in real-time. This real-time guidance changes behavior in a more targeted, smarter, and natural way than pharmaceuticals, a method which Elemind describes as electric medicine. This adaptive, drug-free approach fine-tunes stimulation based on the bodys response until the desired state is achieved. The technology, backed by five clinical trials and several peer-reviewed scientific journals, has shown effectiveness in inducing sleep, suppressing essential tremors, boosting memory, increasing pain thresholds, and enhancing sedation. Eleminds dynamic neurostimulation techniques and core signal processing algorithms are covered by three critical patents.

At Imperial College London, the Neural Reckoning Group, led by Dan Goodman, is using spiking neural networks to understand how biological and artificial brains reckon or compute. This research is another testament to the potential of AI in neuroscience, showing how AI can be used to decipher the complex computations in both biological and artificial brains.

The integration of AI in neuroscience is a testament to the potential of technological innovation in understanding and enhancing the human brain. As AI continues to evolve, its role in neuroscience will only increase, leading to groundbreaking discoveries and advancements. Whether its understanding the emotional tone in language or enhancing cognitive function, AI is positioning itself at the forefront of neuroscience research. Its not just about gathering more information; its about turning that information into knowledge and understanding, ultimately transforming biology into an engineering discipline.

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Role of AI in Neuroscience Research and Understanding of the Human Brain - Medriva

Neuroscience

Brain’s Method for Preserving Cognition in Aging Revealed – Neuroscience News

Summary: A groundbreaking study uncovered the brains remarkable ability to compensate for age-related decline by activating additional regions to maintain cognitive performance.

This research demonstrates that older adults can indeed enhance their task performance through the brains adaptive recruitment of other areas, particularly the cuneus region, which is not typically associated with the multiple demand network (MDN) involved in fluid intelligence tasks.

By analyzing fMRI scans of 223 adults during problem-solving tasks, the study reveals a nuanced understanding of how the brain navigates the challenges of aging, potentially opening pathways to interventions that could bolster cognitive health in older populations.

This comprehensive analysis underscores the complexity of brain function and adaptation, offering hope for mitigating the effects of aging on cognitive abilities.

Key Facts:

Source: University of Cambridge

Scientists have found the strongest evidence yet that our brains can compensate for age-related deterioration by recruiting other areas to help with brain function and maintain cognitive performance.

As we age, our brain gradually atrophies, losing nerve cells and connections and this can lead to a decline in brain function. Its not fully understood why some people appear to maintain better brain function than others, and how we can protect ourselves from cognitive decline.

A widely accepted notion is that some peoples brains are able to compensate for the deterioration in brain tissue by recruiting other areas of the brain to help perform tasks. While brain imaging studies have shown that the brain does recruit other areas, until now it has not been clear whether this makes any difference to performance on a task, or whether it provides any additional information about how to perform that task.

In a study published in the journaleLife, a team led by scientists at the University of Cambridge in collaboration with the University of Sussex have shown that when the brain recruits other areas, it improves performance specifically in the brains of older people.

Study lead Dr Kamen Tsvetanov, an Alzheimers Society Dementia Research Leader Fellow in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, said: Our ability to solve abstract problems is a sign of so-called fluid intelligence, but as we get older, this ability begins to show significant decline.

Some people manage to maintain this ability better than others. We wanted to ask why that was the case are they able to recruit other areas of the brain to overcome changes in the brain that would otherwise be detrimental?

Brain imaging studies have shown that fluid intelligence tasks engage the multiple demand network (MDN), a brain network involving regions both at the front and rear of the brain, but its activity decreases with age.

To see whether the brain compensated for this decrease in activity, the Cambridge team looked at imaging data from 223 adults between 19 and 87 years of age who had been recruited by theCambridge Centre for Ageing & Neuroscience (Cam-CAN).

The volunteers were asked to identify the odd-one-out in a series of puzzles of varying difficulty while lying in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner, so that the researchers could look at patterns of brain activity by measuring changes in blood flow.

As anticipated, in general the ability to solve the problems decreased with age. The MDN was particularly active, as were regions of the brain involved in processing visual information.

When the team analysed the images further using machine-learning, they found two areas of the brain that showed greater activity in the brains of older people, and also correlated with better performance on the task.

These areas were the cuneus, at the rear of the brain, and a region in the frontal cortex. But of the two, only activity in the cuneus region was related to performance of the task more strongly in the older than younger volunteers, and contained extra information about the task beyond the MDN.

Although it is not clear exactly why the cuneus should be recruited for this task, the researchers point out that this brain region is usually good at helping us stay focused on what we see.

Older adults often have a harder time briefly remembering information that they have just seen, like the complex puzzle pieces used in the task. The increased activity in the cuneus might reflect a change in how often older adults look at these pieces, as a strategy to make up for their poorer visual memory.

Dr Ethan Knights from the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge said: Now that weve seen this compensation happening, we can start to ask questions about why it happens for some older people, but not others, and in some tasks, but not others. Is there something special about these people their education or lifestyle, for example and if so, is there a way we can intervene to help others see similar benefits?

Dr Alexa Morcom from the University of Sussexs School of Psychology and Sussex Neuroscience research centre said: This new finding also hints that compensation in later life does not rely on the multiple demand network as previously assumed, but recruits areas whose function is preserved in ageing.

Funding: The research was supported by the Medical Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, the Guarantors of Brain, and the Alzheimers Society.

Author: Craig Brierley Source: University of Cambridge Contact: Craig Brierley University of Cambridge Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access. Neural Evidence of Functional Compensation for Fluid Intelligence Decline in Healthy Ageing by Kamen Tsvetanov et al. eLife

Abstract

Neural Evidence of Functional Compensation for Fluid Intelligence Decline in Healthy Ageing

Functional compensation is a common notion in the neuroscience of healthy ageing, whereby older adults are proposed to recruit additional brain activity to compensate for reduced cognitive function. However, whether this additional brain activity in older participants actually helps their cognitive performance remains debated.

We examined brain activity and cognitive performance in a human lifespan sample (N=223) while they performed a problem-solving task (based on Cattells test of fluid intelligence) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Whole-brain univariate analysis revealed that activity in bilateral cuneal cortex for hard vs. easy problems increased both with age and with performance, even when adjusting for an estimate of age-related differences in cerebrovascular reactivity.

Multivariate Bayesian decoding further demonstrated that age increased the likelihood that activation patterns in this cuneal region provided non-redundant information about the two task conditions, beyond that of the multiple-demand network generally activated in this task.

This constitutes some of the strongest evidence yet for functional compensation in healthy ageing, at least in this brain region during visual problem-solving.

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Brain's Method for Preserving Cognition in Aging Revealed - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Fatty Acids in Brain Key in Memory Formation – Neuroscience News

Summary: Researchers made a breakthrough discovery on how saturated fatty acids in the brain contribute to memory consolidation. The team have mapped out the molecular processes and identified critical genes, such as PLA1 and STXBP1, that regulate the formation of these fatty acids during neuronal communication, offering new insights into potential treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

By experimenting with mouse models, the researchers observed a direct correlation between levels of saturated fatty acids and memory function, highlighting the essential role of these compounds in cognitive health.

This work, a collaboration among several prestigious institutions, not only deepens our understanding of memory mechanisms but also opens the door to innovative therapeutic strategies for conditions like Alzheimers disease.

Key Facts:

Source: University of Queensland

Researchers at the University of Queensland have revealed the crucial role of saturated fatty acids in the brains consolidation of memories.

Dr Isaac Akefefrom UQsQueensland Brain Institutehas uncovered the molecular mechanism and identified the genes underlying the memory creation process, opening the door to a potential treatment for neurodegenerative disorders.

Weve shown previously that levels of saturated fatty acids increase in the brain during neuronal communication, but we didnt know what was causing these changes, Dr Akefe said.

Now for the first time, weve identified alterations in the brains fatty acid landscape when the neurons encode a memory.

An enzyme called Phospholipase A1 (PLA1) interacts with another protein at the synapse called STXBP1 to form saturated fatty acids.

The brain is the bodys fattiest organ, with fatty compounds called lipids making up 60% of its weight. Fatty acids are the building blocks of a class of lipids called phospholipids.

The work done inProfessor Frederic Meunierslaboratory has shown that STXBP1 controls the targeting of the PLA1 enzyme, coordinating the release of fatty acids and directing communication at the synapses in the brain.

Human mutations in the PLA1 and the STXBP1 genes reduce free fatty acid levels and promote neurological disorders, Professor Meunier said.

To determine the importance of free fatty acids in memory formation, we used mouse models where the PLA1 gene is removed.

We tracked the onset and progression of neurological and cognitive decline throughout their lives.

We saw that even before their memories became impaired, their saturated free fatty acid levels were significantly lower than control mice.

This indicates that this PLA1 enzyme, and the fatty acids it releases, play a key role in memory acquisition.

The research has important implications for understanding of how memories are formed.

Our findings indicate that manipulating this memory acquisition pathway has exciting potential as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers, Professor Meunier said.

The research team acknowledges the contributions of PhD candidates Saber Abd Elkader from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, and Benjamin Matthews from the Queensland Brain Institute.

This is a collaborative study with the University of New South Wales, University of Strasbourg, University of Bordeaux, The Scripp Research Institute and the Baylor College of Medicine.

Author: Elaine Pye Source: University of Queensland Contact: Elaine Pye University of Queensland Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access. The DDHD2-STXBP1 interaction mediates long-term memory via generation of saturated free fatty acids by Fred Meunier et al. EMBO Journal

Abstract

The DDHD2-STXBP1 interaction mediates long-term memory via generation of saturated free fatty acids

The phospholipid and free fatty acid (FFA) composition of neuronal membranes plays a crucial role in learning and memory, but the mechanisms through which neuronal activity affects the brains lipid landscape remain largely unexplored.

The levels of saturated FFAs, particularly of myristic acid (C14:0), strongly increase during neuronal stimulation and memory acquisition, suggesting the involvement of phospholipase A1 (PLA1) activity in synaptic plasticity.

Here, we show that genetic ablation of the PLA1 isoform DDHD2 in mice dramatically reduces saturated FFA responses to memory acquisition across the brain.

Furthermore, DDHD2 loss also decreases memory performance in reward-based learning and spatial memory models prior to the development of neuromuscular deficits that mirror human spastic paraplegia. Via pulldown-mass spectrometry analyses, we find that DDHD2 binds to the key synaptic protein STXBP1.

Using STXBP1/2 knockout neurosecretory cells and a haploinsufficient STXBP1+/mouse model of human early infantile encephalopathy associated with intellectual disability and motor dysfunction, we show that STXBP1 controls targeting of DDHD2 to the plasma membrane and generation of saturated FFAs in the brain.

These findings suggest key roles for DDHD2 and STXBP1 in lipid metabolism andin the processes of synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory.

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Fatty Acids in Brain Key in Memory Formation - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

The Synergistic Relationship between Human Brains and Large Language Models: A Cognitive and Social Revolution – Medriva

As we navigate the digital age, our understanding of cognitive development is evolving. One notable area of growth is the burgeoning partnership between human brains and Large Language Models (LLMs). This relationship is not just a scientific curiosity, but a pivotal cognitive and social advance thats reshaping how we think, solve problems, and innovate.

At the heart of this partnership is language. As explored in a Psychology Today article, language serves as a shared foundation between human cognition and LLMs. Its through language that these two entities collaborate, resulting in complementary capabilities that elevate collective wisdom and unlock new avenues of exploration and creativity.

But the synergy doesnt stop at language alone. A recent Science Daily report highlights a new perspective on how LLMs can be utilized by neuroscientists to interpret and analyze data. The potential for LLMs to generate insights and make clinical progress, even without a full understanding of the biological processes they discover, is profound. However, leveraging the full potential of LLMs in neuroscience demands more data processing and storage infrastructure, alongside a shift towards a more data-driven scientific approach.

The integration of LLMs into neuroscience is not just about understanding the brainits about changing the face of healthcare. As detailed in an article on Medriva, LLMs like ChatGPT are being used to analyze vast datasets, accelerating discoveries in areas such as neurodegeneration drug development. The use of AI is offering unique insights into the human brain, bridging the gap between circuits and neurons, and providing unprecedented insights into how our brains process information, learn, and make decisions. The development of a virtual brain, a digital twin of the real thing, is now possible, promising breakthroughs in research and shaping the future of healthcare.

While this synergy between human brains and LLMs holds great promise, it also raises critical ethical and privacy concerns. As discussed in a LinkedIn post, the integration of LLMs into various fields such as healthcare, education, and research necessitates careful consideration of data privacy and ethical use. As we continue to leverage LLMs for human decision-making and problem-solving, these concerns must be meticulously addressed to ensure the responsible and fair use of this powerful technology.

In conclusion, the partnership between human brains and LLMs represents a significant leap forward in cognitive and social development. Whether in enriching our collective intelligence, driving breakthroughs in neuroscience, or revolutionizing healthcare, the potential of this synergistic relationship is vast. As we continue to explore this frontier, its crucial to navigate this journey with an ethical compass, ensuring that the benefits are realized responsibly and equitably.

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The Synergistic Relationship between Human Brains and Large Language Models: A Cognitive and Social Revolution - Medriva

Neuroscience

Can’t Buy Me Happiness: Joy Beyond Wealth – Neuroscience News

Summary: Many Indigenous and local communities report high levels of life satisfaction despite low monetary incomes, challenging the widely held belief that economic growth is essential for happiness.

Surveying 2,966 individuals across 19 globally diverse sites, researchers found life satisfaction scores in these communities comparable to those in affluent countries, with some even surpassing the happiness indices of wealthy Scandinavian nations. This research suggests that societal well-being does not necessarily depend on material wealth, offering valuable insights for sustainable living and human happiness.

Factors such as social support, spirituality, and a connection to nature are speculated to underpin this satisfaction, pointing to potential pathways for achieving well-being without contributing to the sustainability crisis.

Key Facts:

Source: UAB

Many Indigenous peoples and local communities around the world are leading very satisfying lives despite having very little money.

This is the conclusion of a study by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), which shows that many societies with very low monetary income have remarkably high levels of life satisfaction, comparable to those in wealthy countries.

Economic growth is often prescribed as a sure way of increasing the well-being of people in low-income countries, and global surveys in recent decades have supported this strategy by showing that people in high-income countries tend to report higher levels of life satisfaction than those in low-income countries. This strong correlation might suggest that only in rich societies can people be happy.

However, a recent study conducted by ICTA-UAB in collaboration with McGill University in Canada suggests that there may be good reasons to question whether this link is universal.

While most global polls, such as the World Happiness Report, gather thousands of responses from the citizens of industrialized societies, they tend to overlook people in small-scale societies on the fringes, where the exchange of money plays a minimal role in everyday life and livelihoods depend directly on nature.

The research, published in the scientific journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS),consisted of a survey of 2,966 people from Indigenous and local communities in 19 globally distributed sites. Only 64% of surveyed households had any cash income.

The results show that surprisingly, many populations with very low monetary incomes report very high average levels of life satisfaction, with scores similar to those in wealthy countries, says Eric Galbraith, researcher at ICTA-UAB and McGill University and lead author of the study.

The average life satisfaction score across the studied small-scale societies was 6.8 on a scale of 0-10. Although not all societies reported being highly satisfied averages were as low as 5.1 four of the sites reported average scores higher than 8, typical of wealthy Scandinavian countries in other polls, and this is so, despite many of these societies having suffered histories of marginalization and oppression.

The results are consistent with the notion that human societies can support very satisfactory lives for their members without necessarily requiring high degrees of material wealth, as measured in monetary terms.

The strong correlation frequently observed between income and life satisfaction is not universal and proves that wealth as generated by industrialized economies is not fundamentally required for humans to lead happy lives, says Victoria Reyes-Garcia, ICREA researcher at ICTA-UAB and senior author of the study.

The findings are good news for sustainability and human happiness, as they provide strong evidence that resource-intensive economic growth is not required to achieve high levels of subjective well-being.

The researchers highlight that, although they now know that people in many Indigenous and local communities report high levels of life satisfaction, they do not know why.

Prior work would suggest that family and social support and relationships, spirituality, and connections to nature are among the important factors on which this happiness is based, but it is possible that the important factors differ significantly between societies or, conversely, that a small subset of factors dominate everywhere.

I would hope that, by learning more about what makes life satisfying in these diverse communities, it might help many others to lead more satisfying lives while addressing the sustainability crisis, Galbraith concludes.

Author: Octavi Lopez Source: UAB Contact: Octavi Lopez UAB Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: The findings will appear in PNAS

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Can't Buy Me Happiness: Joy Beyond Wealth - Neuroscience News