Learning breaks are good for the memory

03-Aug-2021 - We can remember things longer if we take breaks during learning. This phenomenon is known as the spacing effect. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology have gained deeper insights into the neuronal basis for this in mice. With longer time intervals between learning repetitions, ...

Shaping the social networks of neurons

Identification of a protein complex that attracts or repels nerve cells during development

28-Jan-2020 - The three proteins Teneurin, Latrophilin and FLRT hold together and bring neighboring neurons into close contact, enabling the formation of synapses and the exchange of information between the cells. In the early phase of brain development, however, the interaction of the same proteins leads to ...

When cells become cannibals

Max Planck scientists describe mechanism of partial phagocytosis

23-Oct-2019 - Cells can cut up rough: They will sometimes even gnaw at a partner in order to get rid of it as quickly as possible. This mechanism, known as trogocytosis (Greek: trogo, to gnaw), is important for cell sorting, and plays a role in processes as diverse as embryonic development and the interaction ...

Interactive zebrafish brain

03-Jul-2019 - If zebrafish larvae used the internet, they might soon be able to download a map of their entire brain. "We're not at that point yet", explains Michael Kunst from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology. "Nevertheless, our first atlas detailing over 2,000 neurons is now available online." As ...

Artificial intelligence learns to recognize nerve cells by their appearance

Neurobiologists train artificial neural networks to map the brain

26-Jun-2019 - Is it possible to understand the brain? Science is still far from answering this question. However, since researchers have started training artificial intelligence on neurobiological analyses, it seems at least possible to reconstruct the cellular structure of a brain. New artificial neural ...

Multitasking with perfection: Nerve cell works like 1400 individual cells

Amacrine cell in the fruit fly visual system consists of electrically isolated subunits

29-Apr-2019 - CT1 is different. In general, a nerve cell receives input from a number of presynaptic cells, processes the signals, and passes its output to downstream cells. In the cell CT1, however, each of the approximately 1400 cell areas works like a separate neuron. This allows CT1 to access information ...

How visual information about females reaches the male brain

LC10 – the neuron that tracks fruit flies

23-Jul-2018 - Many animals rely on vision to detect, locate, and track moving objects. Male Drosophila fruit flies primarily use visual cues to stay close to a female and to direct their courtship song towards her. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried and the Janelia Research ...

Artificial neural networks now able to help reveal a brain’s structure

Digital image analysis steps up to the task of reliably reconstructing individual nerve cells

20-Jul-2018 - The function of the brain is based on the connections between nerve cells. In order to map these connections and to create the connectome, the “wiring diagram” of a brain, neurobiologists capture images of the brain with the help of three-dimensional electron microscopy. Up until now, however, ...

Synapses – stability in transformation

Synapses remain stable if their components grow in coordination with each other

25-Apr-2014 - Synapses are the points of contact at which information is transmitted between neurons. Without them, we would not be able to form thoughts or remember things. For memories to endure, synapses sometimes have to remain stable for very long periods. But how can a synapse last if its components have ...

Two-way traffic in the spinal cord

New cell type paves the way for movement-related nerve fibres

20-Dec-2013 - The progress a baby makes in the first year of life is amazing: a newborn can only wave its arms and legs about randomly, but not so long after the baby can reach out and pick up a crumb from the carpet. What happens in the nervous system that enables this change from random waving to finely ...