The thalamus engages in various functions including sensory processing, attention, decision
making and memory. Classically, this diversity of function has been attributed to the nuclear …

The role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) takes center stage among unanswered questions in
modern neuroscience. The PFC has a Janus-faced nature: it enables sophisticated cognitive …

Corticostriatal connections play a central role in developing appropriate goal-directed
behaviors, including the motivation and cognition to develop appropriate actions to obtain a …

Historically, the thalamus has been viewed as little more than a relay, simply transferring
information to key players of the cast, the cortex and hippocampus, without providing any …

Depression is the leading cause of disability around the world, but little is known about its
pathology. Currently, the diagnosis of depression is made based on clinical manifestations …

Adult cortical areas consist of specialized cell types and circuits that support unique higher-
order cognitive functions. How this regional diversity develops from an initially uniform …

The striatum integrates excitatory inputs from the cortex and the thalamus to control diverse
functions. Although the striatum is thought to consist of sensorimotor, associative and limbic …

Animal research indicates that a combination of physical activity and sensory enrichment
has the largest and the only sustaining effect on adult neuroplasticity. Dancing has been …

Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder characterized by the loss of control over drug
intake, high motivation to obtain the drug, and a persistent craving for the drug …

Decisions take time, and as a rule more difficult decisions take more time. But this only
raises the question of what consumes the time. For decisions informed by a sequence of …