Last August, the cover of the prestigious journal Cell Stem Cell, was dedicated to a pioneering discovery made by two independent groups that obtained functional neuron cells from human and mouse fibroblasts cultured with a cocktail of several small molecules. This finding may position these Chinese researchers at the cutting edge of translational and regenerative […]
Brain networks
New insights about the astro-neuronal network that controls brain function
When Albert Einstein died in 1955, his brain was put in a jar of formaldehyde and sectioned at the University of Pennsylvania by the pathologist Thomas Harvey, who discovered that the brilliant scientist had more astrocytes (or glial cells) than an average male brain. This finding remained underestimated until the 90s, when Stephen J. Smith […]
Optogenética, ¿la clave para controlar las redes neuronales?
El sistema nervioso está formado por diferentes tipos de células: las células gliales, responsables de dar soporte neuronal (además de controlar la homeostasis, conformar la mielinización y regular neurotransmisores en la transmisión sináptica) y las neuronas, células nerviosas conectadas entre sí, cuya función principal es el procesamiento y transmisión de la información en el sistema […]
A computer system that can simulate the brain
Scientists from Stanford University have generated a model capable of simulating brain activity (Benjamin BV et al). It’s capable of simulating a million neurons with billions of synaptic connections. The amount of power required is similar to that necessary for running a tablet computer. They’re calling the system Neurogrid. It’s composed of 16 Neurocore chips that […]

The creative brain: “the imagination network”
Cognitive neuroscientists are investigating what happens in the brain during the creative process. Conventional notions about creativity were based on the differences between the right and left brain. The left brain was considered to be responsible for realistic, practical, analytical and logical functions whereas the right brain was supposed to be involved in creativity and […]