A major breakthrough in understanding how the brain accomplishes learning and memory began with the study of a person known by his initials, H.M.

Cells within the nervous system, called neurons, communicate with each other in unique ways. The neuron is the basic working unit of the brain.

Brain injury is all too common, but treatments are being improved constantly. Those who survive a brain injury face a lifetime of disability, with economic costs approaching $60 billion annually.

Currently approved treatments for Alzheimer’s disease do not modify the course of the disease and offer only temporary mitigation of some symptoms, such as agitation, anxiety, unpredictable behavior, sleep disturbances, and depression.

Processing information from the sensory systems is one of many functions of the brain. Such information is often the first step in other brain activities, including learning and retaining knowledge.

Genes and the environment converge powerfully during early sensitive windows of brain development to form the neural circuits underlying behavior. Although most neuronal cell death occurs in the embryo, the paring down of connections occurs in large part during critical periods in early postnatal life.

The moment light meets the retina, the process of sight begins. About 60 years ago, scientists discovered that each vision cell’s receptive field is activated when light hits a tiny region in the center of the field and inhibited when light hits the area surrounding the center.

The two halves of the nervous system work together in order for your body to properly communicate its sensations and needs.

Most medicines today were developed using trial-and-error techniques, which often do not reveal why a drug produces a particular effect. But the expanding knowledge gained from molecular biology methods makes safer and more effective drugs possible.

Once the neural induction has occurred, the next step for new neurons is a journey to the proper position in the brain. This process is called migration, and it begins three to four weeks after a human baby is conceived.