Author: Nick

  • Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Translational Research Holds Symposium“Games as The Brain Disease Therapy”

    Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Translational Research Holds Symposium“Games as The Brain Disease Therapy”

    In Mid-May, The Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute (TCCI®) for Translational Research in Shanghai hosted a symposium, titled “Games as Brain Disease Therapy.” Prominent specialists from the US and China presented their latest findings. This pioneering, cross-disciplinary research symposium in China attracted the attendance and attention of over a hundred experts from the gaming and […]

  • Anxious People Quicker to Flee Danger

    Anxious People Quicker to Flee Danger

    New research conducted by Dean Mobbs, assistant professor of cognitive neuroscience at Caltech shows that individuals with anxiety escape distant threats of danger sooner. The study appeared online May 20 in the journal Human Nature Behavior and was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Tianqiao & Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience.   Read more […]

  • Minds Wide Open Wins Gold in London Brand Film Festival

    Minds Wide Open Wins Gold in London Brand Film Festival

    The London Brand Film Festival announced today that TCCI’s documentary had won a 2019 Gold award in the Best Brand Documentary category. This is the eighth international award the film, which highlights recent advances in brain science, has received.   Watch a free, 26-minute version of the film

  • How the Brain Learns New Skills

    How the Brain Learns New Skills

    Seeking to discover basic limits on the brain’s plasticity, a new Caltech study discovered that learning is indeed easier when related to skills one already has because pre-existing neuronal structure constrains what one can learn. In other words, it is likely that the skills we already have developed restrict what we can learn easily in […]

  • TCCI® Hosts the International Conference on Clinical Assessment of Cognitive Impairment

    TCCI® Hosts the International Conference on Clinical Assessment of Cognitive Impairment

    In April 2019, the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute (TCCI®) for Translational Research co-hosted the International Conference on the Clinical Assessment of Cognitive Impairment together with the Shanghai Medical Doctors Association, and the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, China.   The four-day conference and training sessions invited 10 well-known experts and […]

  • Minds Wide Open Wins Three New York Film Festivals TV & Film Awards

    Minds Wide Open Wins Three New York Film Festivals TV & Film Awards

    With the two Gold and one Bronze World Medals, the brain science documentary has won seven international awards and is shortlisted for a 2019 Brand Film Festival London Award. Watch a full version of the film at: https://youtu.be/dkyntB4POQY   Menlo Park, CA. Minds Wide Open, a film commissioned by the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute, […]

  • Hooked on Salty Foods? These Neurons are to Blame

    Hooked on Salty Foods? These Neurons are to Blame

    Potato chips, French fries, popcorn—whichever your preference, we all know that salt is a key component of many tasty foods. But eating too much salt has potential health risks and can lead to cardiovascular and cognitive disorders. Now, Caltech researchers in the lab of Yuki Oka, an assistant professor of biology and Chen Scholar, have […]

  • Blech! Brain Science Explains Why You’re Not Thirsty For Salt Water

    Blech! Brain Science Explains Why You’re Not Thirsty For Salt Water

    Chen Scholar, Yuki Oka, an assistant professor of biology at Caltech, was interviewed on NPR’s “All Things Considered” about his research into how the brain regulates sodium appetite. Oka’s team used a technique called optogenetics to switch on the neurons related to sodium appetite in mice brains. The effects were immediate.   Learn more on […]

  • Evidence for a Human Geomagnetic Sense

    Evidence for a Human Geomagnetic Sense

    Researchers at Caltech and the University of Tokyo developed a robust experiment that shows many humans are able to unconsciously detect changes in Earth-strength magnetic fields. Neuroscientist and TCCI®-affiliated faculty member, Shin Shomojo, worked with Caltech geoscientist Joseph Kirschvink and University of Tokyo neuroengineer Ayu Matani on the project.   Read more on the Caltech […]

  • Minds Wide Open Shortlisted for Brand Film Festival Award

    Minds Wide Open Shortlisted for Brand Film Festival Award

    We are honored that our documentary “Minds Wide Open” has been shortlisted for a Brand Film Festival London Award!   Fingers crossed – winners will be announced in early May.