Category: Scientific Advances
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Reassessing How Light Impacts Behavior
Northwestern Medicine investigators have found that a small subset of cells in the retina inhibit the communication of light signals from the eyes to the brain, impacting how light affects daily activity and how the pupils constrict to light.
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New Map of Inference-Based Behavior
Both the hippocampus and the orbitofrontal cortex are involved in inference-based behavior, according to a new study.
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Unexpected Diversity in Neuronal Spine Projections
Small projections of dendritic spines known as spinules are unexpectedly dynamic, while a stable subgroup may form multi-synaptic spine connections, according to the first detailed study of their behavior.
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New Neural Connections Between Thalamus and Cortex
A Northwestern Medicine study has identified looped neural connections between the cortex and thalamus, providing a new understanding of connectivity between the two brain regions.
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Compound Influences Age-Related Decline in Circadian Rhythms
Supplementing lab animal diets with a chemical precursor of the molecule NAD+ countered certain age-related declines in circadian rhythm function, according to a recent study.
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Muscle Synergy Helps Maintain Joint Balance
The nervous system groups sets of muscles producing opposing forces on joints, firing the muscles simultaneously to ensure joints aren’t stressed or injured by unbalanced forces, according to a recent study.
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New Function for Transcriptional Regulator Discovered
A new Northwestern Medicine study discovered a new and unexpected function for the transcriptional regulator MLL2/COMPASS.
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Memory-Related Signaling May Influence Anxiety and Substance Misuse
Neural signaling that encodes certain memories as negative could impact anxiety and substance misuse disorders, according to a recent study.
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Study Explores How Memory Influences Visual Exploration
Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered that eye movements are tightly linked to learning and retrieval, according to new findings.
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Rare Immune Cell Population May Promote Antitumor Immunity
A specialized subset of rare immune cells called plasmacytoid dendritic cells may promote antitumor immunity, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
