Using flashes of light, scientists can spark seizures, tweak cell junctions and motivate mice from afar.

By coaching mice to position themselves under a microscope, researchers can regularly peer into their brains without disrupting the rodents’ social life.

A new method uses flashes of light to stimulate specific sets of neurons in monkey brains.

Repeatedly activating a group of neurons causes them to fire as a unit on their own. Once the ensemble has formed, stimulating a single neuron triggers activity in the rest of the group.

Mice with mutations in SHANK3, a leading autism candidate, may lack the neural wiring that would compel them to seek social contact.

A magnetically sensitive protein allows researchers to switch on neurons in freely moving mice and zebrafish.

A new brain imaging system lets researchers eavesdrop on mouse neurons as the animals move around and interact with each other.

A brain circuit that wires lone mice to seek out social contact may offer clues about autism.

A new technique can stimulate and record activity across broad swaths of the monkey brain.

Super-resolution microscopy can set off a series of biological processes that lead to cell death, compromising imaging experiments.