News

News

Why does COVID-19 make you sneeze?

April 8, 2024
New research from the Bautista lab, led by Neuroscience PhD student Sonali Mali.Read more about Why does COVID-19 make you sneeze?

For new professor, psychedelics and octopuses may hold keys to the human mind

February 12, 2024
Gül Dölen is known for her research on how psychedelics affect "critical periods" and learning.Read more about For new professor, psychedelics and octopuses may hold keys to the human mind

World-Renowned Neuroscientist Doctor Gül Dölen to Join UC Berkeley Faculty

February 1, 2024

Dölen will join HWNI, Psychology, and the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.Read more about World-Renowned Neuroscientist Doctor Gül Dölen to Join UC Berkeley Faculty

Bat study reveals how the brain is wired for collective behavior

August 3, 2023

The Yartsev lab has found that neurons that encode location also represent the social environment.Read more about Bat study reveals how the brain is wired for collective behavior

A warm welcome to our new PhD students!

August 3, 2023

We are very excited to welcome our incoming class of 2023 into the Berkeley Neuroscience community and to support them in their scientific development. If you see them around campus, be sure to give them a wave!

Bottom row, left to right: Haidyn Bulen,...Read more about A warm welcome to our new PhD students!

Adolescent Development of Biological Rhythms in Female Rats: Estradiol Dependence and Effects of Combined Contraceptives

May 26, 2022

Front Physiol. 2021 Nov 5;12:752363. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.752363. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Adolescence is a period of continuous development, including the maturation of endogenous rhythms across systems and timescales. Although, these dynamic changes are well-recognized

...Read more about Adolescent Development of Biological Rhythms in Female Rats: Estradiol Dependence and Effects of Combined Contraceptives

The Role of Executive Function in Shaping Reinforcement Learning

February 23, 2022

Curr Opin Behav Sci. 2021 Apr;38:66-73. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.10.003. Epub 2020 Nov 14.

ABSTRACT

Reinforcement learning (RL) models have advanced our understanding of how animals learn and make decisions, and how the brain supports some aspects of learning. However, the

...Read more about The Role of Executive Function in Shaping Reinforcement Learning

Müller Glia in Retinal Development: From Specification to Circuit Integration

February 21, 2022

Front Neural Circuits. 2022 Feb 4;15:815923. doi: 10.3389/fncir.2021.815923. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Müller glia of the retina share many features with astroglia located throughout the brain including maintenance of homeostasis, modulation of neurotransmitter spillover,

...Read more about Müller Glia in Retinal Development: From Specification to Circuit Integration

Longitudinal Early-onset Alzheimer's Disease Study (LEADS) genetic screening: Initial results

February 3, 2022

Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Dec;17 Suppl 3:e056493. doi: 10.1002/alz.056493.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The Longitudinal Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Study (LEADS) aims to enroll and study participants with sporadic early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) or early-onset non-Alzheimer

...Read more about Longitudinal Early-onset Alzheimer's Disease Study (LEADS) genetic screening: Initial results

Sex-specific genetic predictors of memory performance

February 3, 2022

Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Dec;17 Suppl 3:e056083. doi: 10.1002/alz.056083.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: There are notable sex differences in the clinical manifestation of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including differences in baseline and longitudinal changes in memory performance. However

...Read more about Sex-specific genetic predictors of memory performance

Sex differences in the genetic architecture underlying resilience in AD

February 3, 2022

Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Dec;17 Suppl 3:e055010. doi: 10.1002/alz.055010.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Approximately 30% of older adults are cognitively normal at death despite presence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology at autopsy. Studying these "resilient" individuals may

...Read more about Sex differences in the genetic architecture underlying resilience in AD

Long-Term Motor Learning in the "Wild" With High Volume Video Game Data

January 6, 2022

Front Hum Neurosci. 2021 Dec 20;15:777779. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.777779. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Motor learning occurs over long periods of practice during which motor acuity, the ability to execute actions more accurately, precisely, and in less time, improves.

...Read more about Long-Term Motor Learning in the "Wild" With High Volume Video Game Data

What do Reinforcement Learning Models Measure? Interpreting Model Parameters in Cognition and Neuroscience

January 5, 2022

Curr Opin Behav Sci. 2021 Oct;41:128-137. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.06.004. Epub 2021 Jul 3.

ABSTRACT

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a concept that has been invaluable to fields including machine learning, neuroscience, and cognitive science. However, what RL entails differs

...Read more about What do Reinforcement Learning Models Measure? Interpreting Model Parameters in Cognition and Neuroscience

A silicon-rhodamine chemical-genetic hybrid for far red voltage imaging from defined neurons in brain slice

January 3, 2022

RSC Chem Biol. 2021 Sep 29;2(6):1594-1599. doi: 10.1039/d1cb00156f. eCollection 2021 Dec 2.

ABSTRACT

We describe the design, synthesis, and application of voltage-sensitive silicon rhodamines. Based on the Berkeley Red Sensor of Transmembrane potential, or BeRST, scaffold,

...Read more about A silicon-rhodamine chemical-genetic hybrid for far red voltage imaging from defined neurons in brain slice