GABA-ergic interneurons provide diverse inhibitions that are essential for the operation of neuronal circuits in the neocortex. However, the mechanisms that control the functional organization of ...

The coexistence of electrical and chemical synapses among interneurons is essential for interneuron function in the neocortex. However, it remains largely unclear whether electrical coupling between ...

Plasticity - the brain's ability to change based on experience and its own activity - is a key to critical functions such as making memories. For the first time, Brown University scientists have shown ...

They are part of the brain of almost every animal species, yet they remain usually invisible even under the electron microscope. "Electrical synapses are like the dark matter of the brain," says ...

An often-overlooked communication strategy for neurons might be more prevalent than previously believed. New research from biology professor Adam Miller’s lab in the UO’s College of Arts and Sciences ...

Most nerve cells use messenger chemicals to communicate. Now science is learning more about the brain's rarer, lightning-fast electrical signaling Too hot! As our fingertips graze the hot stove, their ...

(Nanowerk Spotlight) The human brain processes complex information while consuming merely the power of a dim light bulb. This remarkable efficiency stems from synapses, the connections between brain ...

Electrical synapses that carry messages through the brain have been artificially engineered in mammals for the first time, altering their behaviour. This could have potential for preventing or ...

A child with absence epilepsy may be in the middle of doing something—she could be dancing, studying, talking—when all of a sudden she stares off into space for a few moments. Then, as quickly as she ...

The brain's ability to reorganize itself - strengthening or weakening connections between neurons or adding or subtracting those connections - allows it to form memories, make transitions between ...