Brain and Behavior

Can resilience be learned?
Oct. 19, 2022
Author
Written by Allison Gasparini for the Office of the Dean for Research

A study by Princeton researchers finds that mice that resist aggression from larger mice can become resilient and less prone to depression-like symptoms. Activating the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain while the mice fought back led to further resilience.

Bumblebees kept in isolation make up for it by being more social later
July 6, 2022
Author
Written by Alaina O'Regan, Office of the Dean for Research

A new study shows that social isolation changes the behavior and brain development of bumblebees, but not in the way researchers expected.

The study explored how bumblebees, which depend largely on their social instincts for survival, were impacted by being socially isolated during a key developmental period.

The researchers…

DataX is funding eight new AI research projects across disciplines
April 4, 2022
Author
Written by Sharon Adarlo, Center for Statistics and Machine Learning

Eight new interdisciplinary research projects have won seed funding from Princeton University’s Schmidt DataX Fund, marking the third round of grants undertaken by the fund since 2019. The fund, supported…

Scientists unveil brain wiring diagram with 200,000 cells and half a billion connections
Aug. 6, 2021
Author
Written by The Office of Communications

Neuroscientists and computer scientists from Princeton University, the Allen Institute and Baylor College of Medicine have just released a collection of data that marries a 3-D wiring diagram with the function of tens of thousands of neurons to create the most detailed examination of mammalian brain circuitry to date.

“Our five-year…

Projects that blaze new trails in research will receive Dean for Research Innovation funding
July 21, 2021
Author
Written by Catherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research

Nine exploratory projects, from an effort to exploit inter-microbial warfare in the search for new antibiotics to the development of artificial intelligence for the transcription of ancient documents, have been selected to receive support through the Dean for Research Innovation Funds.

The new initiatives, spanning…

Acot mixes engineering and neuroscience to better understand head injuries
May 10, 2021
Author
Written by Sharon Waters for the Office of Engineering Communications

Gabbie Acot started off on a pre-med track at Princeton before broadening her studies to include structural engineering and then neuroscience. Her senior thesis project brought together all of these interests, combining video analysis, neuroimaging and numerical modeling to perform a forensic reconstruction of college football head impacts.

Attention and working memory: Two sides of the same neural coin?
March 31, 2021
Author
Written by Eoin O’Carroll for the Office of Communications

In 1890, psychologist William James described attention as the spotlight we shine not only on the world around us, but also on the contents of our minds. Most cognitive scientists since then have drawn a sharp distinction between what James termed “sensorial attention” and “intellectual attention,” now usually called “attention” and “working…

Basketball on the brain: Neuroscientists use sports to study surprise
Nov. 25, 2020
Author
Written by Liz Fuller-Wright, Office of Communications

The gasp of surprise. Fans leap to their feet. Shouts ring out.

The most exciting moments in sports are often linked to surprise, an unexpected change of circumstances that abruptly shifts the anticipated outcome of the game.

Princeton neuroscientist James Antony decided to capitalize on these moments to study how human…

Princeton study suggests that monkeys, like humans, may have 'self-domesticated'
Oct. 15, 2020
Author
Written by Liz Fuller-Wright, Office of Communications

It’s not a coincidence that dogs are cuter than wolves, or that goats at a petting zoo have shorter horns and friendlier demeanors than their wild ancestors. Scientists call this “domestication syndrome” — the idea that breeding out aggression inadvertently leads to physical changes, including floppier ears, shorter muzzles and snouts, curlier…

Novel technology aims to improve treatment of neurological diseases
April 16, 2020
Author
Written by Catherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research
A recently developed system for turning on the activity of genes could benefit the treatment of a broad range of genetic diseases.