Vision scientists disprove 60-year-old perception theory

Vision researchers have disproved a long-standing theory of how the human vision system processes images, using computational models and human experiments. The findings could have implications for the understanding of human vision and diagnosis of vision anomalies.

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For better research results, let mice be mice

Animal models can serve as gateways for understanding many human communication disorders, but a new study suggests that the established practice of socially isolating mice for such purposes might actually make them poor research models for humans, and a simple shift to a more realistic social environment could greatly improve the utility of the future studies.

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Prisoner's dilemma game reveals cooperation leads to leadership

Game theory has historically studied cooperation and hierarchy, and has sought to explain why individuals cooperate, even though they might be better off not to do so. Researchers now use a specialized graph to map a social network of cooperators and their neighbors; they discovered cooperators can attract more neighbors to follow their behaviors and are more likely to become leaders, indicating different learning patterns exist between cooperators and defectors.

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Novel nanoprobes show promise for optical monitoring of neural activity

Researchers have developed ultrasensitive nanoscale optical probes to monitor the bioelectric activity of neurons and other excitable cells. This novel readout technology could enable scientists to study how neural circuits function at an unprecedented scale by monitoring large numbers of individual neurons simultaneously. It could also lead to high-bandwidth brain-machine interfaces with dramatically enhanced precision and functionality.

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