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A rendering of a human brain in blue on a dark background with blue and white lines surrounding the brain to represent the construction of new connections in the brain.
Defying Dogma: Decentralized Translation in Neurons
To understand how memories are formed and maintained, neuroscientists travel far beyond the cell body in search of answers.
Defying Dogma: Decentralized Translation in Neurons
Defying Dogma: Decentralized Translation in Neurons

To understand how memories are formed and maintained, neuroscientists travel far beyond the cell body in search of answers.

To understand how memories are formed and maintained, neuroscientists travel far beyond the cell body in search of answers.

memory

Infographic showing the selective strengthening of synapses that received stimulation.
Infographic: Synaptic Plasticity in the Sea Slug
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Sep 8, 2023 | 1 min read
The sea slug has helped scientists in their quest to understand how neurons encode memories.
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Infographic: Beyond the Nucleus: mRNA Localization in Neurons
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Sep 8, 2023 | 1 min read
To support thousands of incoming connections, neurons use sophisticated transportation networks for delivering mRNA to faraway regions.
Green-themed conceptual illustration of a human profile with abstract patterns that represent smelling.
Disease Scent Signatures Disclose What the Nose Knows
Iris Kulbatski, PhD | Jun 12, 2023 | 4 min read
Researchers redefine the lost art of smelling illness using one woman’s exquisitely sensitive nose.
Brain cell in purple on a black background. Arc mRNAs are labeled green and are mainly localized in the cell nucleus and in the dendrites.
Short-lived Molecules Support Long-term Memory 
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Jun 6, 2023 | 3 min read
A gene essential for information storage in the brain engages an autoregulatory feedback loop to consolidate memory.
Microscopy image with blue and red neurons, where red indicates neurons involved in a memory engram
Asthma Drug Helps Mice Retrieve Memories “Lost” to Sleep Deprivation
Zunnash Khan | Jan 24, 2023 | 4 min read
A study finds roflumilast can reverse sleep deprivation–induced amnesia in mice, hinting at pathways to treating memory loss in people.
Photo of Steve Ramirez
Steve Ramirez Reshapes Memories in the Brains of Mice
Dan Robitzski | Nov 1, 2022 | 3 min read
The Boston University neuroscientist wants to take the edge off traumatic memories by manipulating how they’re processed in the brain.
Woman holding a glass of water in one hand and pill in the other
Daily Multivitamin May Slow Cognitive Decline in Seniors
Andy Carstens | Sep 14, 2022 | 2 min read
Researchers caution that it’s too soon to recommend supplements based on the results of a new study.
Cartoon of a silhouetted person’s bright pink brain being shocked by jumper cables
Electrically Zapping Specific Brain Regions Can Boost Memory
Dan Robitzski | Aug 22, 2022 | 3 min read
Low-intensity electrical stimulation allows older adults to better recall a list of words for at least a month following the treatment, a study finds, providing further evidence for the debated idea that electrical stimulation can enhance cognitive performance.
A dolphin comes out of the water to catch a red ball.<br><br>
Dolphins May Remember Personal Experiences
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Jul 29, 2022 | 4 min read
Bottlenose dolphins can recall trivial details of a prior event to later solve a novel task, a study finds, suggesting these mammals are capable of episodic memory.
A colorized transmission electron microscope image of an oligodendrocyte (blue) surrounded by cells that it coated in myelin (red outlines).
Brain Fluid from Youngsters Gives Old Mice a Memory Boost
Dan Robitzski | May 11, 2022 | 3 min read
A growth factor found in the cerebrospinal fluid of young mice triggered the proliferation of myelin-making cells when injected into the brains of older mice.
Bee on purple flower
Dopamine Drives Bee Desires: Study
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Apr 28, 2022 | 3 min read
Like in humans, the neurotransmitter appears to play a role in generating wanting-like behavior and, perhaps, happy memories in honeybees.
Photo of wooden block letters
Distracted Brains Better at Parsing Unfamiliar Languages: Study
Catherine Offord | Apr 4, 2022 | 2 min read
People who had cognitive functions depleted by noninvasive brain stimulation or a mentally demanding task could subconsciously recognize individual words in a made-up language more easily than controls, researchers find.
Illustration of gray bacteriophages approaching and infecting a red and orange bacteria that has multiple fimbria protruding from it.
Bacteria-Infecting Viruses in Gut Microbiome Linked to Cognition
Dan Robitzski | Feb 16, 2022 | 5 min read
Research in mice and flies suggests that bacteriophages, including those found in dairy foods, may have an influence on an animals’ ability to learn and remember information.
Old man stands in front of tree, smiling at camera.
Neuroscientist Mortimer Mishkin Dies at 94
Lisa Winter | Oct 12, 2021 | 2 min read
His work bridged the gap between psychology and neurobiology.
Colored artistic rendition of neurons and plaque buildup
Alzheimer’s Risk Gene Paradoxically Protects Against Memory Loss
Chloe Tenn | Oct 8, 2021 | 2 min read
A new study links a variant of the apolipoprotein E gene called APOE ε4 to better memory in older age, even in the presence of amyloid plaques—a possible explanation for the variant’s persistence despite its association with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Illustration of a brain on a clock with a figure of a man moving the clock arms
Human “Time Cells” Encode, Process Flow of Time
Anne N. Connor | Oct 1, 2021 | 2 min read
Neurons in the hippocampus store information on the timing of experiences in addition to their content, helping to mediate sequential memory recall, a new study shows.
illustration of brain cells in blue with amyloid plaques in orange and pink immune cells
Excerpt from The Memory Thief
Lauren Aguirre | Jun 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Author Lauren Aguirre finds reasons for optimism in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
Dietary Spermidine Boosts Cognition in Insects and Rodents
Ruth Williams | Apr 15, 2021 | 3 min read
Mice and flies given the polyamine in their diet have increased brain cell metabolism and cognitive function, and epidemiological data hints at a similar benefit in humans.
Anesthesia Impairs Memory in Mice
Abby Olena, PhD | Apr 1, 2021 | 3 min read
A study that compared several anesthetic regimens in rodents showed that only one—inhaled isoflurane—wasn’t detrimental to the activity of neurons in the hippocampus.
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