This research suggests that changes in the Usp9X gene might be one reason why autism happens. When this gene doesn’t work ...

Electrical synapses are omnipresent and yet hardly explored. They are part of the brain of almost every animal species, yet they remain usually invisible even under the electron microscope.

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 ...

Although most synapses in the vertebrate nervous system are chemical, electrical synapses have also been identified in several brain regions. This type of synapse is dependent on the formation of gap ...

MIT neuroscientists have discovered that the adult brain contains millions of “silent synapses” — immature connections between neurons that remain inactive until they’re recruited to help form new ...

Synapses are diverse in form and function. While there are strong evidential and theoretical reasons for believing that memories are stored at synapses, the concept of a specialized “memory synapse” ...

Sleep, is an enduring mystery, and scientists continue to study its forms and its functions, and some new research shows sleep helps make us smarter. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin - ...

This important work provides insight into the activity and spatial organization of synapses during early postnatal development in the mouse visual cortex using state-of-the-art tools to show that ...

The human brain is made up of around 100 billion nerve cells, each of which is connected to other cells by several hundred to thousands of synapses. Apart from our organ and physiological functions, ...

The information we gather throughout the course of our lives—the quickest way to get to work, for instance, or the name of a friend’s new partner—is stored in synapses. In the adult brain, new ...