They look like crawling leaves, but these sea slugs are anything but ordinary. MCB Professor Nick Bellono calls them “the weirdest animal we’ve ever studied”—a bold claim from…
Tag: Publication
Octopuses Use Microbial Signals to Guide Complex Behaviors
A new study published in Cell from the lab of MCB faculty member Nick Bellono reveals that octopuses detect microbial cues on surfaces to distinguish prey and eggs…
Understanding Dopamine Neurons on Multiple Timescales
A new paper in Nature (PDF) presents intriguing science on how dopamine neurons operate across multiple timescales to guide learning and decision-making. The study provides compelling experimental evidence…
New Stars in Neural Circuits: Astrocytes Guide Brain State Changes
Astrocytes, the most abundant non-neuronal cell type in the brain, have traditionally been thought of as passive supporters of neuronal circuits. However, in recent years, work from many…
A New Window into Protein Interactions at the Nanoscale
Understanding how proteins interact inside living cells is fundamental to biology. Yet, visualizing these interactions with high precision—and at the scale and condition at which they actually occur—has…
Decoding Learning: How Cues and Rewards Shape Behavior and Dopamine Signals
A new study from Naoshige Uchida's MCB lab provides new insight into how the brain processes contingency during associative learning. Published in Nature Neuroscience (PDF), the study demonstrates…
New Deep Learning Framework Reveals Hidden Structure in Neural Activity
Understanding how neurons encode information is one of the most pressing challenges in neuroscience. A new study from a multidisciplinary team including MCB researchers and those from the…
Avoid or ignore? How the Brain Copes with a Potential Threat
When faced with an unfamiliar threat, animals must make split-second decisions: should they flee to avoid potential harm or push forward in pursuit of a reward? This fundamental…
The Development of Instincts at the Single Cell Level
A new study from the Dulac Lab explores how one small brain region called the preoptic area (POA) of the hypothalamus changes through early life in mice. Though…
Dulac Lab Identifies “Loneliness” Neurons in the Hypothalamus
Loneliness is encoded in the brain in a way that closely resembles the neural architectures governing drives like thirst and hunger, researchers from the Dulac Lab report. A…
