Mapping neural activity to corresponding behaviors is a major goal for neuroscientists developing brain–machine interfaces (BMIs): devices that read and interpret brain activity and transmit instructions to a computer or machine. Though this may seem like science fiction, existing BMIs can, for example, connect a paralyzed person with a robotic arm; the device interprets the […]

Recently, the video game retailer GameStop and other struggling companies were part of an unprecedented movement in financial history in which armchair traders wildly disrupted the stock market. The traders’ meddling was possible thanks to online forums like those on Reddit and trading platforms such as Robinhood that let people buy and sell stocks for […]

Some of the most challenging problems facing our world, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, require not just one field of expertise but a unified interdisciplinary approach. Or so explains a team of social scientists at Caltech in a new report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Likening the report to […]

Nestled deep in the nucleus of each of your cells is what seems like a magic trick: Six feet of DNA is packaged into a tiny space 50 times smaller than the width of a human hair. Like a long, thin string of genetic spaghetti, this DNA blueprint for your whole body is folded and […]

In a new paper, titled “Personality beyond taxonomy,” published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, Caltech researchers from the disciplines of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy discuss the long-standing question: What is personality? Whereas most studies measure personality in various ways, they are often ambiguous about what personality really is: Is it in the behaviors themselves […]

The GABAB receptor (GABABR) agonist baclofen has been used to treat alcohol and several other substance use disorders yet how exactly it works remains unclear. Professor Tifei Yuan, a Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Translational Research project lead and Principal Investigator at Shanghai Mental Health Center recently published an online paper titled, “Reduced Motor […]

A new study from Caltech compares brain scans of humans playing classic Atari video games to sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) networks that have been trained to play the same games. The research was led by graduate student Logan Cross, in the laboratory of TCCI®-affiliated Professor of Psychology John O’Doherty and found that the activity in […]

Mounting behavior, that awkward thrusting motion dogs sometimes do against your leg, is usually associated with sexual arousal in animals, but this is not always the case. New research by Caltech neuroscientists that explores the motivations behind mounting behavior in mice finds that sometimes there is a thin line between love and hate (or anger) […]

During a long‐duration manned spaceflight mission, such as flying to Mars and beyond, all crew members will spend a long period in an independent spacecraft with closed‐loop bioregenerative life‐support systems. Saving resources and reducing medical risks, particularly in mental health, are key technology gaps hampering human expedition into deep space. Professor Tifei Yuan, a Tianqiao […]

Two TCCI®-affiliated researchers at Caltech have received funding for neuroscience projects from the National Institutes of Health’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative.   Joe Parker, Assistant Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering, is the lead investigator on a project that aims to study the brain circuits that control behavioral interactions between animals. […]