Neuroscientists pinpoint where (and how) brain circuits are reshaped as we learn new movements

Originally published at Science Daily by the University of California, San Diego, on May 7, 2025

Brain researchers have identified a bridge between the thalamus and the cortex as the key area that is modified during motor learning functions. They found that such learning does much more than adjust activity levels, it sculpts the circuit's wiring, refining the conversation between brain regions.

 

 AI-generated image by Asaf Ramot using ChatGPT

 

A landmark study published by scientists at the University of California San Diego is redefining science's understanding of the way learning takes place. The findings, published in the journal Nature and supported by the National Institutes of Health and U.S. National Science Foundation, provide novel insights on how brain wiring changes during learning periods, offering a path to new therapies and technologies that aid neurological disorders.

For many years, neuroscientists have isolated the brain's primary motor cortex (M1), an area in the frontal lobe region, as a hub for sending out signals related to complex movements during episodes of learning. More recently, the motor thalamus, located in the center of the brain, has been implicated as an area that influences M1 during motor learning functions.

But even with such advancements, evidence was lacking on how this learning process unfolds, mainly due to the complex nature of monitoring the interactions of cells across brain areas.

A research team led by Professor Takaki Komiyama's laboratory used powerful neurobiological research techniques to describe these mechanisms in mice for the first time. Using high-tech imaging and a novel data analysis method, the researchers identified the thalamocortical pathway, a communication bridge between the thalamus and the cortex, as the key area that is modified during learning.

Read more

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First map of every neuron in an adult brain has been produced for a fruit fly

Image
Originally published by UK Research and Innovation on October 2, 2024   3D rendering of all ~140k neurons in the fruit fly brain. Credit: Data source: FlyWire.ai; Rendering by Philipp Schlegel (University of Cambridge/MRC LMB). The first wiring diagram of every neuron in an adult brain and the 50 million connections between them has been produced for a fruit fly . This landmark achievement has been conducted by a large international collaboration of scientists , called the FlyWire Consortium , including researchers from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology ( in Cambridge, UK ), Princeton University, the University of Vermont and the University of Cambridge . It is published in a pair of papers in Nature . The diagram of all 139,255 neurons in the adult fly brain is the first of an entire brain for an animal that can walk and see . Previous efforts have completed the whole brain diagrams for much smaller brains , for example, for that of a fruit fly larva, whi...
Read more

Neuromorphic camera and machine learning aid nanoscopic imaging

Image
Neuromorphic camera and machine learning aid nanoscopic imaging by Indian Institute of Science Transformation of cumulative probability density of ON and OFF processes allows localisation below the limit of classical single particle detection. Credit: Mangalwedhekar et al In a new study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) show how a brain-inspired image sensor can go beyond the diffraction limit of light to detect miniscule objects such as cellular components or nanoparticles invisible to current microscopes. Their novel technique, which combines optical microscopy with a neuromorphic camera and machine learning algorithms, presents a major step forward in pinpointing objects smaller than 50 nanometers in size. The results are published in Nature Nanotechnology. Original article  
Read more

No Bones About It: New Details About Skeletal Cell Aging Revealed

Image
Originally published at cockrell.utexas.edu on April 04, 2025   It's no coincidence that our bodies feel a little creakier as we age. The trillions of cells that make up our skeleton age too, and some change in ways that weaken the very structure of our bones. Scientists and researchers around the globe are investigating a series of mysteries about what happens to our bones over time . In a new study, a team led by The University of Texas at Austin , in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center just made a major break in the case. New research found that osteocytes undergo dramatic structural and functional changes with age that impair their ability to keep our bones strong . Their findings, published in Small and Aging Cell , offer new insights that could pave the way for better treatments for osteoporosis and age-related bone loss.   Aging and stress can induce cellular senescence in osteocytes, resulting in cytoskeletal and mechanical chan...
Read more