Utkarsha A Singh, PhD

Neuroscience

Project Biology •

How our brain responds to storytelling?

In the early 1960s, Dr. Harry Angelman, a British pediatrician, attended to three young patients at the Warrington group of hospitals. These children were strangers to one another, being handicapped and having multiple disabilities as if presenting different illnesses.

Yet something similar about the three children struck the experienced eye of Dr. Angelman, something he could not put into words. But the lack of diagnostic methods prevented Dr. Angelman from talking about these cases to the med

The reward system beyond dopamine: DARPP-32 the master regulator.

Should I open the fridge and steal the pastry when my mother is asleep? What if she wakes up? The first act will result in a positive outcome or a reward where I will be enjoying the pastry. The second will definitely produce a negative outcome or punishment where I might end up cleaning the dishes. Reward and punishment are the strongest learning tools of nature. In our study, published in Brain Structure and Function in 2019, we locate brain cells or neurons that help in reward processing ther

A train of thoughts needs a well-orchestrated railway system to run

Networks in the brain resemble the London underground, filled with interconnected circuits. In the brain, trains are replaced by electrical signals, tracks by neurons, and stations by synapses. Is it not remarkable that the term “train of thoughts” was introduced as early as in 1651 by Thomas Hobbes in his

This plasticity of synapses - termed long term potentiation (LTP) - is achieved by time-synchronized activity between a specific presynaptic and a specific postsynaptic neuron - a process cal

Being selfish might be good for society.

Me, myself and I

Have just one point of view

We're convinced

There's no one else…

A group six of friends decide to start a saving scheme where each person will donate a sum of money (depending upon their own free will) to a common bank account. After receiving interest on the total sum, the money shall be withdrawn and equally distributed among all the friends.

This is an example of the public goods game, a strategic game where although nobody loses some individuals may be better off than o
Research Matters •

Science shows there’s more to a heartfelt conversation than just words

Two words—boisterous and chatty—pretty much describe a typical conversation among friends. Every word uttered is not just a word that makes up the sentence; an array of emotions are conveyed through them. When we are upbeat and joyful, we tend to speak faster and in a higher pitch, while sadness slows us down and lowers our tones. We also talk differently to our friends, colleagues, and strangers. Are these observations anecdotal, or is there science behind our vibrant speech pattern?

In a rece
Research Matters •

Lifting the fog over dementia diagnosis in India

India is ageing. Approximately 104 million Indians are above sixty and vulnerable to cognitive disorders affecting memory, such as dementia. Despite this impending future, we haven't been able to assess the current prevalence of such illnesses in the country. It is partly due to the geographical and cultural vastness of India, and the barriers of language and ethics prohibit the use of tests used in western countries. Now, a new study is trying to close this gap by introducing a psychological te
Research Matters •

Study cautions about the use of designer receptors to control the brain

A small depression in the football field, invisible to the eye due to levelled grass, may have given you a foot twist twice. The third time, however, you evade it like a charm because your brain has been constructing a map of the field and alerts you about the danger. Tiny cells called neurons, with their long tails and fibrous fingers, link together to form pathways within the brain that help you learn about your surroundings. However, it is difficult to pick out a single pathway to understand
Research Matters •

IISc scientists show how reading changes the way we see words

We all remember learning to read—at first, we were taught to read each letter or sound at a time laboriously. Eventually, we picked up reading entire words and sentences effortlessly. But, it is not yet clear as to what changes in our brain when we learn to read.

In a recent study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, have identified these changes in the brain changes that help in visually processing the words and helps us to read efficiently. The study was published in th
Research Matters •

Two-decade-long study links lack of vitamin B3 to schizophrenia among Indians

Schizophrenia is used to describe a set of conditions that represent a fragmented psyche. People with schizophrenia often hear strange voices or see unreal visions. They may even start believing these hallucinations and have trouble expressing their emotions or rational thought in real-life situations. Schizophrenia manifests in early adulthood and may persist throughout the lifetime of an individual. The disease affects 23 million people worldwide and may double the risk of premature mortality.
Research Matters •

The 'feeling' gut: Emerging role of gut microbes in mental health

Our gastrointestinal tract is teeming with a variety of microorganisms. The genes of all these microorganisms are collectively called the gut microbiome. Our unicellular gut tenants participate in our lives by being an integral part of the gut-brain axis—a two-way communication system between the gut and the brain.

We get our microbes from our mothers during childbirth and also through breastmilk. The method of childbirth determines the species of bacteria that will colonise the gut first. Thes

When the Servant becomes the Master: Role of Astrocytes in synaptic maturation.

What is synaptic maturation? How do astrocytes help?

AMPA glutamate receptors (AMPARs)- a major excitatory receptor in the central nervous system-mature from calcium-permeable state to an impermeable state as more neuronal contacts get defined. This switch requires the GluA2 subunit of AMPARs to be recruited at the synapses.

To prove that astrocytes are important for engaging the GluA2 subunit at the synapse the researchers cultured retinal ganglion cells alone and also with astrocytes. They f

Perineuronal nets- the batons for neural symphony?

We are born with brains that are naïve to the outer world, thus after birth connections in our brain continue to tune in with the stimuli from the external environment. This time period, marked by enhanced plasticity in the brain, is termed as the critical period (1) and it grants better learning abilities to the brain. However, once the critical period is over, the neural connectivity tends to move from plastic to a more stable structure.

The closure of the critical period is marked by the dev