Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS have made the surprising discovery that new neurons formed in the olfactory bulb of adult mice are constantly reorganizing the billions of synaptic contacts they establish among themselves (also described as constant structural plasticity).

The researchers found this puzzling because constant structural plasticity is normally confined to specific critical periods after birth, and “plasticity in neural circuits… read more

With its tiny brain (and no cortex), the elephantnose fish (Gnathonemus petersii)* achieves performance comparable to that of humans or other mammals in certain tasks, according to zoologists at the University of Bonn and a colleague from Oxford.

To perceive objects in the water, the fish uses electrolocation (similar to the echolocation of bats) to perceive objects in the water, aided by an electrical organ in… read more

Physical exercise after learning improves memory and memory traces if the exercise is done four hours later, and not immediately after learning, according to findings recently reported (open-access) in the Cell Press journal Current Biology.

It’s not yet clear exactly how or why delayed exercise has this effect on memory. However, earlier studies of laboratory animals suggest that naturally occurring chemical compounds in the body known as catecholamines, including… read more