Publications by authors named "B D Mensh"

The interplay between two major forebrain structures-cortex and subcortical striatum-is critical for flexible, goal-directed action. Traditionally, it has been proposed that striatum is critical for selecting what type of action is initiated, while the primary motor cortex is involved in specifying the continuous parameters of an upcoming/ongoing movement. Recent data indicate that striatum may also be involved in specification.

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Dance plays a vital role in human societies across time and culture, with different communities having invented different systems for artistic expression through movement (genres). Differences between genres can be described by experts in words and movements, but these descriptions can only be appreciated by people with certain background abilities. Existing dance notation schemes could be applied to describe genre-differences, however they fall substantially short of being able to capture the important details of movement across a wide spectrum of genres.

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Objective: Spinal cord injury (SCI) damages synaptic connections between corticospinal axons and motoneurons of many muscles, resulting in devastating paralysis. We hypothesized that strengthening corticospinal-motoneuronal synapses at multiple spinal cord levels through Hebbian plasticity (i.e.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Animals use their movements to track where they are in space, but it’s unclear how this works in older brain structures compared to the mammalian brain.
  • - In a study with larval zebrafish in a virtual swimming environment, researchers found that the fish could remember their previous locations and swim back to them after being moved involuntarily.
  • - The study identified a network in the brain that helps remember these locations and influences movement, showing that even ancient brain regions in vertebrates play a crucial role in integrating motion and controlling behavior.
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Brain function is mediated by the physiological coordination of a vast, intricately connected network of molecular and cellular components. The physiological properties of neural network components can be quantified with high throughput. The ability to assess many animals per study has been critical in relating physiological properties to behavior.

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