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Scientists studying learning in mice have inadvertently encountered 'zombie neurons' in the brain – not flesh-eating, virus-spreading monsters, but cells that stop interacting normally even though they're functionally alive. What's more, they shed new light on
The cerebellum processes sensory information related to motor movements. It helps us walk down a crowded street, or pick up a drink without spilling it, and it's also important for learning: so if we bump into something, we know how to refine our movement to avoid it next time. Exactly how that learning happens was the subject of this new study.
that the climbing fibers were somehow involved in learning, and this is more evidence that might clarify some of the confusion and controversy surrounding their role. Other types of brain cells manipulated in the same way didn't have the same effect on the mice's ability to learn.That is to say, they were alive in the sense that they were still active and firing like neurons usually would – but those messages weren't being passed on.
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Study Reveals Role of 'Zombie Neurons' in Cerebellum's FunctionA study led by the Champalimaud Foundation uncovers the role of 'zombie neurons' in the cerebellum's function and their importance in associative learning signals.
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Unprecedented Simultaneous Recording of the Activity of One Million Neurons Answers Fundamental Question of NeuroscienceScience, Space and Technology News 2024
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Freshman House Rep. Leads Democrats' Effort to Ban 'Zombie Guns'Freshman House Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) is heading up the Democrats’ latest gun control push by seeking to ban “zombie guns.” The “zombie gun” moniker is one that Frost applies to guns that were not destroyed after being “retired by law enforcement” or taken in via gun buybacks. The Zombie Gun Loophole is a problematic way that guns can end up in the hands of those responsible for gun violence. We must close this loophole and destroy zombie guns now. Every life lost to gun violence is one too many. The existence of “zombie guns” comes within years of Democrats telling the world about “ghost guns,” which is a description they gave to guns assembled from parts kits or various parts of other guns.
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Developmental crossroads in the brainStudy reveals how proteins direct nerve cell precursors to turn into specialized neurons.
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Tiger Woods' first agent recalls 'zombie-like' firing by golf superstar: 'Betrayal with a capital B'Hughes Norton, the first agent of golf superstar Tiger Woods, divulged the grudge he's held against his former client for years in his new book.
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