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Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the future of humanity.
Mar 17, 2019...
Taking a deep breath in through the nose appears to help the human brain create a laser-like focus on visuospatial tasks, according to a new study by a team of researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. This paper, “Human Non-Olfactory Cognition Phase-Locked with Inhalation,” was published March 11 in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.
As the title of this electroencephalography-based study suggests, the researchers found that breathing in through the nose—without the intention of sniffing a scent or catching a whiff of something based on the olfactory-based sense of smell—synchronized EEG brain activity on a wavelength that helped to optimize visuospatial acuity. In many situations, survival of the fittest requires a perfect blend of nasal inhalations, laser-like mental focus, and quick thinking.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/autism-and-the-smell-of-fear/
Nov 27, 2017...
Skydivers provided the smell of fear for investigating how autistic men react to odors
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—November 27, 2017— Autism typically involves the inability to read social cues. We most often associate this with visual difficulty in interpreting facial expression, but new research at the Weizmann Institute of Science suggests that the sense of smell may also play a central role in autism. As reported in Nature Neuroscience, Institute researchers show that people on the autism spectrum have different – and even opposite – reactions to odors produced by the human body. These odors are ones that we are unaware of smelling, but which are, nonetheless, a part of the nonverbal communication that takes place between people, and which have been shown to affect our moods and behavior. Their findings may provide a unique window on autism, including, possibly, on the underlying developmental malfunctions in the disorder.
Jan 15, 2017...
Credit: akindo via iStock
How do humans and other animals find their way from A to B? This apparently simple question has no easy answer. But after decades of extensive research, a picture of how the brain encodes space and enables us to navigate through it is beginning to emerge. Earlier, neuroscientists had found that the mammalian brain contains at least three different cell types, which cooperate to encode neural representations of an animal’s location and movements.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/bad-smells-impair-learning/
Dec 09, 2011...
Performance usually improves with practice, but not if training is arotten time. A new study shows that people's ability to identify noisesdeclines when the sounds are paired with putrid smells–a phenomenon thatmay allow our brain to detect danger more quickly.
In a study published in May in Nature Neuroscience,neurobiologist Rony Paz of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot,Israel, and his colleagues exposed volunteers to auditory tonespresented with no other stimuli or immediately followed by a rancid orfragrant odor delivered through a nose mask.
Apr 07, 2016... The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now states that about 1 in 68 children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and that ASDs are five times more common in boys (1 in 42) than girls (1 in 189). ASDs are a group of developmental disabilities characterized by impairment in thinking, feeling, language, and ability to relate to others. The condition’s cause or causes are still unclear, and seem to be multiply determined – for example, a combination of genetic and environmental factors could be to blame.
Jul 02, 2015...
It may be possible to diagnose autism by giving children a sniff test, a new study suggests.
Most people instinctively take a big whiff when they encounter a pleasant smell and limit their breathing when they encounter a foul smell.
Children with autism spectrum disorder do not make this natural adjustment, said Liron Rozenkrantz, a neuroscientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and one of the researchers involved with the study.
Jun 17, 2013...
How does a social animal — mouse or human — gain dominance over his or her fellow creatures? A unique experiment conducted by Dr. Tali Kimchi and her team in the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Neurobiology provides some unusual insight into the social behavior that enables a social hierarchy, complete with a head honcho, to form.
Dr. Kimchi and her research team, Aharon Weissbrod, Genady Wasserman, and Alex Shapiro, together with Dr. Ofer Feinerman of the Department of Physics of Complex Systems, developed a system that enabled them to observe a large group of animals living together in semi-natural conditions. This setup was a sort of mouse version of the television show Big Brother. Different strains of mice were placed in the “house” — a four-meter-square pen — and allowed to go about their lives with no intervention from the human team. To automatically track the mice day and night, each mouse was implanted with an ID chip similar to those used in pet cats and dogs, and video cameras were placed strategically around the area, with infrared lighting that enabled nighttime filming. With the combined chip reporting and continuous video footage, the system could automatically keep tabs on each individual mouse, knowing its precise location down to the half centimeter, in measurements that were recorded 30 times a second for days — and sometimes even months — on end.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/thanks-for-the-memories/
Jun 30, 2011...
How easy is it to falsify memory? New research at the Weizmann Institute shows that a bit of social pressure may be all that is needed. The study, which appears Friday inScience, reveals a unique pattern of brain activity when false memories are formed – one that hints at a surprising connection between our social selves and memory.
The experiment, conducted by Prof. Yadin Dudai and research student Micah Edelson of the Institute’s Neurobiology Department with Prof. Raymond Dolan and Dr. Tali Sharot of University College London, took place in four stages. In the first, volunteers watched a documentary film in small groups. Three days later, they returned to the lab individually to take a memory test, answering questions about the film. They were also asked how confident they were in their answers.
May 12, 2010...
Neuroscientists have found that the mirror neuron system, which is thought to play a central role in social communications, responds normally in individuals with autism. Their findings counter theories suggesting that a mirror system dysfunction causes the social difficulties exhibited by individuals with autism. Photo © iStockphoto/ktaylorg.
A team of neuroscientists has found that the mirror neuron system, which is thought to play a central role in social communications, responds normally in individuals with autism. Their findings, reported in the journal Neuron, counter theories suggesting that a mirror system dysfunction causes the social difficulties exhibited by individuals with autism.
Aug 06, 2013...
At Weizmann: Researchers Rafael Malach and Tal Harmelech, pushing the boundaries of brain research. Courtesy of Prof. Rafael Malach
It is well known that the patterns of activity in the human brain change according to the different tasks that people are performing. But could it be that an imprint of these patterns remains on the brain hours and even days later, like footprints in the sand?
At the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, home to a Nobel laureate and three Turing Award laureates, neurobiology professor Rafael Malach claims to have evidence that such a record remains — for 24 hours, at least.
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