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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

A team of scientists has developed a protein sensor that glows in the presence of nicotine, allowing the researchers to observe nicotine’s movements in cells and reveal more about the nature of nicotine addiction. The work was led by Henry Lester, professor of biology at Caltech and an affiliated faculty member of the Tianqiao and Chrissy […]

Hear David Anderson, Director of the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech, being interviewed on NPR’s “All Things Considered” about his research into whether animals experience anger like humans do.   Click here to listen on NPR.org

Researchers at Caltech have come up with a new way of testing one’s theory of mind which is defined as the ability to understand other people’s beliefs, preferences, and intentions as distinct from one’s own. Theory of mind is complex and involves multiple neural processes. The team, which just published their work in Current Biology, found that […]

Caroline Charpentier is a Caltech postdoc working with TCCI®-affiliated faculty member, John O’Doherty. By combining behavioral measures of observational learning with brain imaging, Charpentier is developing computational models (alogorithms) that will help us understand different types of human social behaviors such as interpreting the actions of others, decision-making or resolving uncertainties.   Read more on […]

Doris Tsao mastered facial recognition in the brain. Now she’s looking to determine the neural code for everything we see.   Read more in Nature

Researchers have identified the individual neurons that may underlie our brain’s ability to monitor our behavior, catch and correct the mistakes we make. This work provides rare recordings of individual neurons located deep within the human brain and has implications for psychiatric diseases like obsessive-compulsive disorder.   The work was a collaboration between the laboratories […]