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neurodudes

at the intersection of neuroscience and AI

Circadian rhythm disruption -> too much GABA -> learning problem

by Bayle
2 Nov 2008 at 2:40 am


Norman F. Ruby, Calvin E. Hwang, Colin Wessells, Fabian Fernandez, Pei Zhang, Robert Sapolsky, and H. Craig Heller. Hippocampal-dependent learning requires a functional circadian systemPNAS 2008 105:15593-15598; published ahead of print October 1, 2008, doi:10.1073/pnas.0808259105

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/october8/hamster-100808.html:

The hamsters were first exposed to two ho

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NSF/EFRI neuro grants

by Neville
7 Oct 2008 at 7:57 am

NSF:ENG:EFRI:Home Page

NSF’s Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) office funded 4 very futuristic neuroengineering grants.

Deep learning in mammalian cortex Studying neural networks in vitro with an innovative patch clamp array Determining how the brain controls the hand for robotics In vitro power grid simulation using real neurons

Disclaimer: I was involved with the secon

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Adaptive binning in the retina

by Neville
6 Oct 2008 at 5:00 pm

The Circadian Clock in the Retina Controls Rod-Cone Coupling (Christophe Ribelayga, Yu Cao, and Stuart C. Mangel)

An amazing paper from Neuron demonstrating adaptive (circadian clock-governed) binning in the retina, based on dopamine modulation of gap junction (electrical) synapses between retinal photodetectors. During the day, abundant dopamine release weakens gap junctions coupling rods and

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Log or Linear? Distinct Intuitions of the Number Scale

by Bayle
30 Sep 2008 at 8:25 pm

Stanislas Dehaene, Véronique Izard, Elizabeth Spelke, and Pierre Pica. Log or linear? Distinct intuitions of the number scale in Western and Amazonian indigene cultures. Science, 320(5880):1217–1220, May 2008.

The Mundurucu are an indigenous culture whose language does not contain exact words for numbers above 5. Dehaene, Izard, Spelke, and Pica basically gave subjects an empty horizontal l

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New Yorker article on number sense

by Bayle
30 Sep 2008 at 8:06 pm

From March. Actually, the topic of the article is Dehaene, but it talks about some studies too. Excerpts after the break, interspersed with hyperlinks to citations that I looked up.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/03/080303fa_fact_holt?currentPage=all

…Mr. N, had sustained a brain hemorrhage that left him with an enormous lesion in the rear half of his left hemisphere. He suffere

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Psychophysics experiment is bad news for deer

by Neville
23 Sep 2008 at 10:17 pm

Findings: Tapping Into What a Deer Sees, and Doesn’t

Not being a hunter, I’m not sure how much I support this, but I must admit this is at least a very interesting application of psychophysics data. Using deer as subjects in a standard battery of visual psychophysics tests, researchers have engineered a new material/pattern (”Gore Optifade”) that is superior to standard camo f

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Neuroscience of voting

by Neville
22 Sep 2008 at 11:07 pm

As the first presidential debate nears, there’s a lot of excitement (and worry) regarding the election. Today, Salon had an interesting piece on voter behavior and irrational attachment to ideologies and candidates. Recounting a recent psychology paper’s punchline:

The article’s conclusion should be posted as a caveat under every political speech of those seeking office. And

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Neuroengineering mosquito repellents

by Neville
18 Aug 2008 at 10:57 pm

There has been a few articles recently in the NYT about the neural mechanisms used by mosquito repellents. What a wonderful idea: Do some ephys recordings to find which neurons are sensitive to DEET (the current standard for mosquito repellents, which I can attest both doesn’t work very well and eats holes in synthetic clothing) and then build targeted compounds for those receptors/neurons/p

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An apology

by Neville
18 Aug 2008 at 10:31 pm

It has just been brought to my attention that for the last few months (!) neurodudes has had some serious problems with allowing users to comment, ie. commenting was completely closed. I am very sorry for that. The problem should be fixed and now commenting should again be easy for anyone to use. As always, feel free to contact us at contactus^neurodudes^com (replacing ^ as appropriate) if you hav

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Google TechTalk on personal genomics

by Neville
4 Jul 2008 at 11:29 am

Personal genomics is just starting and this talk gives a preview of what one of the first companies is doing to bring this to market, though the field is starting to heat up with some competition.

Surprising facts from the video:

23andme co-founder Anne Wojcicki is married to Google co-founder Sergei Brin Data portability is already available. According to the video, users can download the raw da ... read more