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Animal Learning and Intelligence

Mapping the Mouse Brain: Unveiling the Secrets of Visual Perception and Connections

In a massive scientific effort, hundreds of researchers have helped to map the connections between hundreds of thousands of neurons in the mouse brain and then overlayed their firing patterns in response to visual stimuli. This breakthrough is a critical piece of foundational science to build toward understanding how our brains process visual information to reconstruct the images we see every day.

Published

3 months ago

April 12, 2025

Tomy E.

The scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in understanding the intricacies of the mouse brain. In an unprecedented effort, hundreds of researchers worked together to map the connections between hundreds of thousands of neurons in the mouse brain and overlay their firing patterns in response to visual stimuli. This breakthrough is a crucial piece of foundational science that will help us comprehend how our brains process visual information, allowing us to reconstruct the images we see every day.

The human brain contains 86 billion neurons that make trillions of connections with each other through electrical firings. The complexity of its wiring diagram and the rapid movement of electrical signals across it in millisecond time frames hold the secrets of how our brain enables us to think, feel, and act. Although the current findings focus on a tiny fraction of the brain, they reveal the complex connections between cells and show how those connections are wired to produce functional responses.

To achieve this study, researchers presented video clips to mice genetically engineered for their neurons to emit light when they fire. The neuron firing patterns in areas associated with vision were optically recorded across a cubic millimeter – about the size of a grain of sand. Within this deceptively small amount of tissue lies remarkable complexity: four kilometers of axons, the processes that nerve cells use to communicate with each other, intertwined to make more than 524 million connections called synapses across more than 200,000 cells.

To map these connections, teams worked 12-hour shifts for 12 straight days to carefully cut and image ultra-thin slices of the brain tissue using electron microscopes. Reconstruction was the most challenging next step, as it required accurate stitching together almost 28,000 EM images to align the connections that cross the volume of brain tissue. This was followed by months of tracing the connections using deep learning algorithms, manual proofreading, and automated validation.

Deep learning predictive models were constructed and validated to explain visual information processing in the cortex. The sheer amount of data collected to create this tiny map comes out to 1.6 petabytes, roughly the equivalent of 22 years of continuous HD video.

These results come at a time when maps of neurons and their connections are increasingly revealing the mysteries of the brain. In 2023, research funded by the National Institutes of Health Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative produced the first complete cell atlas of the mouse brain, including the types and locations surveyed from more than 32 million cells. Last year, the NIH BRAIN Initiative “Flywire” project led to the complete mapping of the common fruit fly brain, demonstrating the unique value of mapping the whole brain in its entirety.

Funding for this project was provided through the Machine Intelligence from Cortical Networks Program of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity and the NIH BRAIN Initiative. The findings, published in a package of 10 papers published in the Nature family of journals, represent more than seven years of work performed by more than 150 scientists around the world.

Source:NIH/Office of the Director

Original Link:https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250409154645.htm

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Animal Learning and Intelligence

“Breathe with Identity: The Surprising Link Between Your Breath and You”

Scientists have discovered that your breathing pattern is as unique as a fingerprint and it may reveal more than just your identity. Using a 24-hour wearable device, researchers achieved nearly 97% accuracy in identifying people based solely on how they breathe through their nose. Even more intriguingly, these respiratory signatures correlated with traits like anxiety levels, sleep cycles, and body mass index. The findings suggest that breathing isn t just a passive process it might actively shape our mental and emotional well-being, opening up the possibility of using breath training for diagnosis and treatment.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 14, 2025

Veronic D.

Now, let me rewrite the article to make it more accessible and engaging for a general audience:

Breathe with Identity: The Surprising Link Between Your Breath and You

Imagine if your breath could reveal not only your health but also your identity. Sounds like science fiction? Think again! A recent study published in the journal Current Biology has shown that scientists can identify individuals based solely on their breathing patterns with an astonishing 96.8% accuracy.

The research was led by Noam Sobel and Timna Soroka from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. They were intrigued by the connection between our brain and breathing, which is processed during inhalation in mammals. Since every brain is unique, wouldn’t each person’s breathing pattern reflect that?

To test this idea, the team developed a lightweight wearable device that tracks nasal airflow continuously for 24 hours using soft tubes placed under the nostrils. This innovative approach revealed that people’s respiratory patterns are as distinctive as fingerprints – and just as reliable.

In an experiment with 100 healthy young adults, the researchers asked them to go about their daily lives while wearing the device. The collected data allowed them to identify individuals with high accuracy, rivaling the precision of some voice recognition technologies. What’s more, the study found that these respiratory “fingerprints” correlated with various aspects of a person’s life, such as:

* Body mass index (BMI)
* Sleep-wake cycle
* Levels of depression and anxiety
* Behavioral traits

For instance, participants who scored relatively higher on anxiety questionnaires had shorter inhales and more variability in the pauses between breaths during sleep. This suggests that long-term nasal airflow monitoring may serve as a window into physical and emotional well-being.

But here’s the really interesting part: what if the way we breathe affects our mental and emotional states? Could changing our breathing patterns actually change those conditions? The researchers are already investigating this possibility, aiming to develop a more discreet and comfortable version of the device for everyday use.

Sobel notes, “We intuitively assume that how depressed or anxious you are changes the way you breathe. But it might be the other way around. Perhaps the way you breathe makes you anxious or depressed. If that’s true, we might be able to change the way you breathe to change those conditions.”

This study opens up exciting possibilities for using respiratory monitoring as a tool for improving mental and emotional well-being. And who knows? Maybe one day, your breath will be the key to unlocking a healthier, happier you!

Animal Learning and Intelligence

Whales Speak Their Minds: Decoding the Secret Language of Bubble Rings

Humpback whales have been observed blowing bubble rings during friendly interactions with humans a behavior never before documented. This surprising display may be more than play; it could represent a sophisticated form of non-verbal communication. Scientists from the SETI Institute and UC Davis believe these interactions offer valuable insights into non-human intelligence, potentially helping refine our methods for detecting extraterrestrial life. Their findings underscore the intelligence, curiosity, and social complexity of whales, making them ideal analogues for developing communication models beyond Earth.

Published

3 weeks ago

June 8, 2025

Tomy E.

As we delve into the fascinating world of marine mammals, a team of scientists from the SETI Institute and the University of California at Davis has made a groundbreaking discovery. For the first time, they’ve documented humpback whales producing large bubble rings, akin to a human smoker blowing smoke rings, during friendly interactions with humans. This previously little-studied behavior may represent play or communication.

Humpback whales are already known for using bubbles to corral prey and creating bubble trails and bursts when competing to escort a female whale. These new observations show humpback whales producing bubble rings during friendly encounters with humans. This finding contributes to the WhaleSETI team’s broader goal of studying non-human intelligence to aid in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

The study, published in Marine Mammal Science, analyzed 12 bubble ring-production episodes involving 39 rings made by 11 individual whales. According to Dr. Laurance Doyle, SETI Institute scientist and co-author on the paper, “Because of current limitations on technology, an important assumption of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that extraterrestrial intelligence and life will be interested in making contact and so target human receivers.” This assumption is certainly supported by the independent evolution of curious behavior in humpback whales.

Dr. Fred Sharpe, co-lead author and UC Davis Affiliate, notes, “Humpback whales live in complex societies, are acoustically diverse, use bubble tools, and assist other species being harassed by predators. Now, akin to a candidate signal, we show they are blowing bubble rings in our direction in an apparent attempt to playfully interact, observe our response, and/or engage in some form of communication.”

The team’s findings have significant implications for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. By studying intelligent, non-terrestrial (aquatic), nonhuman communication systems, they aim to develop filters that aid in parsing cosmic signals for signs of extraterrestrial life.

Other team members and coauthors of the paper include Dr. Josephine Hubbard, Doug Perrine, Simon Hilbourne, Dr. Joy Reidenberg, and Dr. Brenda McCowan, with specialties in animal intelligences, photography, behavior of humpback whales, whale anatomy, and the use of AI in parsing animal communication.

An earlier paper by the team was published in PeerJ, entitled “Interactive Bioacoustic Playback as a Tool for Detecting and Exploring Nonhuman Intelligence: ‘Conversing’ with an Alaskan Humpback Whale.” The authors would like to acknowledge the Templeton Foundation Diverse Intelligences Program for financial support of this work.

Animal Learning and Intelligence

The Buzz on Caffeine: How it Affects the Sleeping Brain

Coffee can help you stay awake. But what does caffeine actually do to your brain once you’re asleep? Using AI, a team of researchers has an answer: it affects the brain’s ‘criticality’.

Published

1 month ago

May 31, 2025

Veronic D.

The article delves into the intricate relationship between caffeine and the sleeping brain, offering fresh insights from a recent study published in Nature Communications Biology. Researchers from Université de Montréal have shed new light on how caffeine can modify sleep patterns and influence the brain’s recovery during the night.

Led by Philipp Thölke, a research trainee at UdeM’s Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Laboratory (CoCo Lab), the team used AI and electroencephalography (EEG) to study caffeine’s effects on sleep. Their findings reveal that caffeine increases the complexity of brain signals and enhances brain “criticality” during sleep – a state characterized by balanced order and chaos.

Interestingly, this effect is more pronounced in younger adults, particularly during REM sleep, the phase associated with dreaming. The researchers attribute this finding to a higher density of adenosine receptors in young brains, which naturally decrease with age. Adenosine is a molecule that accumulates throughout the day, causing fatigue.

The study’s lead author, Thölke, notes that caffeine stimulates the brain and pushes it into a state of criticality, where it is more awake, alert, and reactive. However, this state can interfere with rest at night, preventing the brain from relaxing or recovering properly.

The researchers used EEG to record the nocturnal brain activity of 40 healthy adults on two separate nights: one when they consumed caffeine capsules three hours before bedtime and another when they took a placebo at the same time. They applied advanced statistical analysis and artificial intelligence to identify subtle changes in neuronal activity, revealing that caffeine increased the complexity of brain signals during sleep.

The team also discovered striking changes in the brain’s electrical rhythms during sleep: caffeine attenuated slower oscillations such as theta and alpha waves – generally associated with deep, restorative sleep – and stimulated beta wave activity, which is more common during wakefulness and mental engagement.

These findings suggest that even during sleep, the brain remains in a more activated, less restorative state under the influence of caffeine. This change in the brain’s rhythmic activity may help explain why caffeine affects the efficiency with which the brain recovers during the night, with potential consequences for memory processing.

The study’s implications are significant, particularly given the widespread use of caffeine as a daily remedy for fatigue. The researchers stress the importance of understanding its complex effects on brain activity across different age groups and health conditions. They add that further research is needed to clarify how these neural changes affect cognitive health and daily functioning, potentially guiding personalized recommendations for caffeine intake.