Optogenetics News and Research

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New study uncovers a mechanism of sleep in zebrafish

Why do humans spend a third of their lives sleeping? Why do animals sleep? Throughout evolution sleep has remained universal and essential to all organisms with a nervous system, including invertebrates such as flies, worms, and even jellyfish.

21 Nov 2021

Using deep brain stimulation to treat Parkinson’s Disease

News-Medical spoke to Dr. Aryn Gittis about her latest research into Parkinson's disease and how deep brain stimulation could be used to help treat it.

27 Oct 2021

New technology streamlines the development of gene therapy for genetic blinding disorders

A novel computational platform developed by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine identifies top-performing viral vectors that could deliver gene therapies to the retina with maximum efficiency and precision.

19 Oct 2021

Researchers explore how opioids may have become so widely abused

Researchers may have uncovered new answers on how to create safer opioids. Design a new opioid to bypass the part of brain that feels pleasure, but retain the analgesic properties, which make opioids one of the most effective pain relievers.

15 Oct 2021

Novel optogenetic implant controls activity of neurons in the spinal cord

Grégoire Courtine doesn't hesitate to use the word "revolutionary" when describing the emerging field of optogenetics – a technology that uses pulses of light to control individual neural activity – and what it could mean for neuroscience. Courtine, director of the NeuroRestore research center (with neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch), is currently developing an optogenetic implant together with Stéphanie Lacour, who holds the Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Neuroprosthetic Technology.

28 Sep 2021

Neuroscientists discover how associative memories are formed

Has the scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies ever taken you back to afternoons at your grandmother's house? Has an old song ever brought back memories of a first date? The ability to remember relationships between unrelated items (an odor and a location, a song and an event) is known as associative memory.

23 Sep 2021

Research analyzes the role of RNA tags in Alzheimer’s disease

Understanding the role of tau protein in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has led to new ways to diagnose it as well as the creation of medicines now in clinical trials to treat it.

28 Aug 2021

Brain memory signals may influence blood sugar levels, rat study finds

A set of brain signals known to help memories form may also influence blood sugar levels, finds a new study in rats.

11 Aug 2021

Brain’s locus coeruleus may be a sophisticated regulator of learning and behavior

Small and seemingly specialized, the brain's locus coeruleus (LC) region has been stereotyped for its outsized export of the arousal-stimulating neuromodulator norepinephrine.

26 Jul 2021

Central amygdala micro-circuits play active role in regulation of fear responses

The brain mechanisms underlying the suppression of fear responses have attracted a lot of attention as they are relevant for therapy of human anxiety disorders.

16 Jul 2021

Research sheds light on a new mechanism for inhibitory synapse specificity in the cortex

Researchers at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience have discovered that the cell adhesion protein IgSF11 determines the layer-specific synaptic connectivity of a distinct class of cortical interneurons.

15 Jul 2021

Modular network organization critical for persistent neural activity and brain communication

Recall a phone number or directions just recited and your brain will be actively communicating across many regions. It is thought that working memory relies on interactions between these regions, but how these brain areas interact and properly represent memory has remained a mystery.

12 Jul 2021

Controlling brain state transitions using a molecule responsive to light

A study led by researchers from IBEC and IDIBAPS achieves, for the first time, the control of brain state transitions using a molecule responsive to light, named PAI.

18 Jun 2021

New brain stimulation technique precisely controls motor activity without surgical device implantation

Neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy have had some treatment success with deep brain stimulation, but those require surgical device implantation.

29 May 2021

Researchers discover new brain circuit that may help fight obesity

Like a good story, feeding has a beginning, a middle and an end. It begins with appetite prompting the search for food, continues with eating the food and it ends when satiation hits and the consumption of food is stopped.

27 May 2021

New implantable tool images brain activity in 3D

Tools that allow neuroscientists to record and quantify functional activity within the living brain are in great demand. Traditionally, researchers have used techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, but this method cannot record neural activity with high spatial resolution or in moving subjects.

20 Apr 2021

Optogenetics News and Research

New study uncovers a mechanism of sleep in zebrafish

Using deep brain stimulation to treat Parkinson’s Disease

New technology streamlines the development of gene therapy for genetic blinding disorders

Researchers explore how opioids may have become so widely abused

Novel optogenetic implant controls activity of neurons in the spinal cord

Neuroscientists discover how associative memories are formed

Research analyzes the role of RNA tags in Alzheimer’s disease

Brain memory signals may influence blood sugar levels, rat study finds

Brain’s locus coeruleus may be a sophisticated regulator of learning and behavior

Central amygdala micro-circuits play active role in regulation of fear responses

Research sheds light on a new mechanism for inhibitory synapse specificity in the cortex

Modular network organization critical for persistent neural activity and brain communication

Controlling brain state transitions using a molecule responsive to light

New brain stimulation technique precisely controls motor activity without surgical device implantation

Researchers discover new brain circuit that may help fight obesity

New implantable tool images brain activity in 3D

Non-invasive neuromodulation approaches can prevent invasive surgery in Parkinson's patients

New technique can make X-rays more efficient at diagnosing bone and other injuries

Researchers identify nonelectrical cells that transition the brain from plasticity to stability

Study shows how leptin suppresses appetite

Genetics & Genomics - Second Edition eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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