Learning to memorize: Shedding new light on prefrontal functions

This study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure prefrontal cortex activity during a 23 min block-design yoga asana sequence with 27 adults. Resting-state connectivity was recorded before and after practice. Findings highlight fNIRS's effectiveness in movement-based research and provide neurological insights into the effects of yoga...

This protocol outlines the use of a custom-designed recording device and electrodes to record local field potentials and investigate information flow in the mouse hippocampus and prefrontal...

Source: Laboratories of Jonas T. Kaplan and Sarah I. Gimbel—University of Southern California
Our experience of memory is varied and complex. Sometimes we remember events in vivid detail, while other times we may only have a vague sense of familiarity. Memory researchers have made a distinction between memories that are recollected versus those that are familiar. A recollected item is one that is not only remembered, but carries with it details of the time at which it was learned or...

The light microscope is an instrument used by researchers in many different fields to magnify specimens to as much as a thousand times their original size. In its simplest form, it is composed of a clear lens that magnifies the sample and a light source to illuminate it. However, most light microscopes are much more complex and house numerous fine-tuned lenses with tightly controlled dimensions all within the body of the microscope itself and in components such as the objectives and...

This protocol describes methods to orally expose and infect the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster with bacterial pathogens, and to measure the number of infectious bacteria shed following gut infection. We further describe the effect of immune mutants on fly survival following oral bacterial...

Memory is one of the most vital higher mental functions of the brain. Memory is closely related to learning because it enables us to retain information and experiences from our past to use them in our present life. It also helps us to remember facts, events, and skills, such as riding a bike or swimming. There are two types of memory — declarative memory, which involves memorizing facts or events, and procedural memory, which enables us to remember how to do something like writing or...