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Category: neuroscience – Page 65

Music training can help the brain focus, study shows

Musical people find it easier to focus their attention on the right sounds in noisy environments.

This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Science Advances. The results suggest that can be used to sharpen and cognition.

Being able to focus on a conversation in a room full of noise is a complex task for the brain. In the new study, researchers have investigated how music training affects the brain’s ability to focus attention on specific sounds.

Soft ‘NeuroWorm’ electrode allows wireless repositioning and stable neural monitoring

In brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and other neural implant systems, electrodes serve as the critical interface and are core sensors linking electronic devices with biological nervous systems. Most currently implanted electrodes are static: Once positioned, they remain fixed, sampling neural activity from only a limited region. Over time, they often elicit immune responses, suffer signal degradation, or fail entirely, which has hindered the broader application and transformative potential of BCIs.

In a study published in Nature, a team led by Prof. Liu Zhiyuan, Prof. Xu Tiantian and Assoc. Prof. Han Fei from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with Prof. Yan Wei from Donghua University, have reported a soft, movable, long-term implantable fiber electrode called “NeuroWorm,” marking a radical shift for bioelectronic interfaces from static operation to dynamic operation and from passive recording to active, intelligent exploration.

The design of NeuroWorm is inspired by the earthworm’s flexible locomotion and segmented sensory system. By employing sophisticated electrode patterning and a rolling technique, the researchers transformed a two-dimensional array on an ultrathin flexible polymer into a tiny fiber approximately 200 micrometers in diameter.

Material that listens: Chip-based approach enables speech recognition and more

Speech recognition without heavy software or energy-hungry processors: researchers at the University of Twente, together with IBM Research Europe and Toyota Motor Europe, present a completely new approach. Their chips allow the material itself to “listen.” The publication by Prof. Wilfred van der Wiel and colleagues appears today in Nature.

Until now, has relied on cloud servers and complex software. The Twente researchers show that it can be done differently. They combined a Reconfigurable Nonlinear Processing Unit (RNPU), developed at the University of Twente, with a new IBM chip. Together, these devices process sound as smoothly and dynamically as the human ear and brain. In tests, this approach proved at least as accurate as the best software models—and sometimes even better.

The potential impact is considerable: hearing aids that use almost no energy, that no longer send data to the cloud, or cars with direct speech control. “This is a new way of thinking about intelligence in hardware,” says Prof. Van der Wiel. “We show that the material itself can be trained to listen.”

Are Five Senses Holding Us Back? Scientists Say We Could Use Seven

A mathematical model shows memory capacity is maximized when represented by seven features. The study links this to the potential for seven senses, with applications in AI and neuroscience. Skoltech researchers have developed a mathematical model to study how memory works. Their analysis led to u

Scientists reverse stroke damage with stem cells

Scientists in Zurich have shown that stem cell transplants can reverse stroke damage by regenerating neurons, restoring motor functions, and even repairing blood vessels. The breakthrough not only healed mice with stroke-related impairments but also suggested that treatments could soon be adapted for humans, marking a hopeful step toward tackling one of the world’s most devastating conditions.

Pain-detecting nerve cells could yield new way to manage lung scarring

Researchers at the University of Calgary studying a lethal lung disease called pulmonary fibrosis have found that neurons known to help detect pain are also critical for reducing harmful lung inflammation that leads to the disease.

Pulmonary fibrosis, also called lung scarring, is uncommon but it’s hard to treat and most people die within five years of diagnosis. Research to date has focused on how the lung lining gets damaged and the body’s attempts to repair the issue. The role of neurons—a complex network of cells within the nervous system that send messages between the brain, and through the body—and the immune system has received less study.

Now a research team led by Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) physician-scientist Dr. Bryan Yipp, MD, has found specific that normally detect pain also help control inflammation during lung fibrosis.

Neuromorphic Intelligence Leverages Dynamical Systems Theory To Model Inference And Learning In Sustainable, Adaptable Systems

The pursuit of artificial intelligence increasingly focuses on replicating the efficiency and adaptability of the human brain, and a new approach, termed neuromorphic intelligence, offers a promising path forward. Marcel van Gerven from Radboud University and colleagues demonstrate how brain-inspired systems can achieve significantly greater energy efficiency than conventional digital computers. This research establishes a unifying theoretical framework, rooted in dynamical systems theory, to integrate insights from diverse fields including neuroscience, physics, and artificial intelligence. By harnessing noise as a learning resource and employing differential genetic programming, the team advances the development of truly adaptive and sustainable artificial intelligence, paving the way for emergent intelligence arising directly from physical substrates.

Researchers demonstrate that applying dynamical systems theory, a mathematical framework describing change over time, to artificial intelligence enables the creation of more sustainable and adaptable systems by harnessing noise as a learning tool and allowing intelligence to emerge from the physical properties of the system itself.

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