Tianqiao & Chrissy Chen Institute – Change perception, change your world | Chen Institute

New research conducted by Dean Mobbs, assistant professor of cognitive neuroscience at Caltech shows that individuals with anxiety escape distant threats of danger sooner. The study appeared online May 20 in the journal Human Nature Behavior and was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Tianqiao & Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience.   Read more […]

Seeking to discover basic limits on the brain’s plasticity, a new Caltech study discovered that learning is indeed easier when related to skills one already has because pre-existing neuronal structure constrains what one can learn. In other words, it is likely that the skills we already have developed restrict what we can learn easily in […]

Potato chips, French fries, popcorn—whichever your preference, we all know that salt is a key component of many tasty foods. But eating too much salt has potential health risks and can lead to cardiovascular and cognitive disorders. Now, Caltech researchers in the lab of Yuki Oka, an assistant professor of biology and Chen Scholar, have […]

Chen Scholar, Yuki Oka, an assistant professor of biology at Caltech, was interviewed on NPR’s “All Things Considered” about his research into how the brain regulates sodium appetite. Oka’s team used a technique called optogenetics to switch on the neurons related to sodium appetite in mice brains. The effects were immediate.   Learn more on […]

Researchers at Caltech and the University of Tokyo developed a robust experiment that shows many humans are able to unconsciously detect changes in Earth-strength magnetic fields. Neuroscientist and TCCI®-affiliated faculty member, Shin Shomojo, worked with Caltech geoscientist Joseph Kirschvink and University of Tokyo neuroengineer Ayu Matani on the project.   Read more on the Caltech […]