Photo © Razvan Tulai
When we are born, our brain starts to learn how to interpret every stimuli that we encounter. Experience it’s what defines the way brain’s abilities are formed.
Researchers at Duke University used an advanced imaging system in order to see inside the brain of a one-month old ferret that opened its eyes for the very first time and learned how to interpret moving images.
Guided by the informations they got regarding changes in the calcium levels within individual neurons – that show electrical activity – the team of researchers watched as “visual experience selectively shapes the functional properties of individual neurons” (David Fitzpatrick, professor of neurobiology and director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences). As the learning process of seeing happens, neurons show directional preferences before and after experience with moving patterns of light. See picture and full information here.
The study underlines the important role of experience in the early development of brain circuits.
Article by Lucia Grosaru
