Neurosciences

Thanks to their swimming robot modeled after a lamprey, EPFL scientists may have discovered why some vertebrates are able to retain their locomotor capabilities after a spinal cord lesion. The finding could also help improve the performance of swimming robots used for search and rescue missions and for environmental monitoring.

Why do some people get sick and die from COVID-19 while others seem to be completely unaffected? EPFL’s Blue Brain Project deployed its powerful brain simulation technology and expertise in cellular and molecular biology to try and answer this question.

Using a combination of powerful sequencing techniques and mathematical methods, EPFL researchers have traced the genetic programs that direct the development of each cell in the brain. This molecular map could help researchers to understand how the brain develops and provide insights into a range of conditions, including brain tumors and neurodevelopmental disorders.

An EPFL scientist has found that brain fingerprints – or maps of the neural connections within our brain – can be used to detect a decline in cognitive ability. That’s because the fingerprints are harder to detect in people who already have mild cognitive impairment.

EPFL researchers have found that a form of neuron-to-neuron communication that has long been dismissed as ‘background noise’ is required to keep nerve junctions intact as animals age. The finding suggests that defects in this type of neural communication could contribute to neurodegenerative disorders and other brain conditions.

An international team of scientists led by EPFL has developed a system that combines information from the brain’s connectome – the “wiring” between neurons – and machine learning to assess and predict the outcome of stroke victims.