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Drug that stimulates neuron pruning promotes goal-directed behavior in mice

A drug that stimulates neuron pruning can nudge mice away from habit-driven behaviors when combined with retraining, neuroscientists have found.

30 Nov 2017

Nerve cell findings provide unique insights into neuromuscular conditions

The findings relate to a type of cell connection that allows electrical and chemical messages to flow from nerve to muscle cells, enabling motion.

29 Nov 2017

New microscope optimized to perform studies using optogenetic techniques

A newly developed microscope is providing scientists with a greatly enhanced tool to study how neurological disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease affect neuron communication.

29 Nov 2017

Researchers solve 3D structure of primary optogenetic tool

An international team of researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the Institut de Biologie Structurale, and the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics has determined the 3-D structure of channelrhodopsin 2, a membrane protein widely used in optogenetics to control nerve cells with light.

28 Nov 2017

Researchers reveal impact of RNA-binding protein on memory formation process

Learning requires the chemical adaptation of individual synapses. Researchers have now revealed the impact of an RNA-binding protein that is intimately involved in this process on learning and memory formation and learning processes.

28 Nov 2017

Study: Women may be more susceptible to concussions due to more breakable nerve fibers

Women have smaller, more breakable nerve fibers in the brain compared to men that may make them more susceptible to concussions, suggests a new study from Penn Medicine neuroscientists published online today in the journal Experimental Neurology.

27 Nov 2017

Saving and erasure of memories depends on subtle brain signals, TSRI scientists find

The fragrance of hot pumpkin pie can bring back pleasant memories of holidays past, while the scent of an antiseptic hospital room may cause a shudder. The power of odors to activate memories both pleasing and aversive exists in many animals, from humans to the humble fruit fly.

23 Nov 2017

Alzheimer's Tau protein interacts with cell membranes and forms toxic complexes

The brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease contain characteristic tangles inside neurons. These tangles are formed when a protein called Tau aggregates into twisted fibrils. As a result, the neurons' transport systems disintegrate, essential nutrients can't move through, and the cells begin to die, affecting the brain's functions and giving rise to the disease's symptoms.

22 Nov 2017

Specially tailored, ultrafast light pulses can trigger neurons to fire in different patterns

Specially tailored, ultrafast pulses of light can trigger neurons to fire and could one day help patients with light-sensitive circadian or mood problems, according to a new study in mice at the University of Illinois.

17 Nov 2017

Brain astrocytes could play key role in pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease

Astrocytes, the supporting cells of the brain, could play a significant role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. This is the first time researchers discovered a direct association between astrocytes and AD. Published in Stem Cell Reports, the study investigated the brain cell function of familial AD patients by using stem cell technologies.

17 Nov 2017

New dye could be used to observe electrical activity of neurons in the brain

Keele University researchers have designed a new dye that can be used to observe the electrical activity of neurons in the brain and could lead to finding a new and more efficient way of treating neurological diseases.

17 Nov 2017

Scientists identify critical player in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have shown that a protein called membralin is critical for keeping Alzheimer's disease pathology in check.

14 Nov 2017

Scientists devise new way to control single neurons using optogenetics

Researchers at MIT and Paris Descartes University have developed a new optogenetic technique that sculpts light to target individual cells bearing engineered light-sensitive molecules, so that individual neurons can be precisely stimulated.

13 Nov 2017

Brain research in desperate need of cutting-edge statistics, says Carnegie Mellon University's Rob Kass

Brain-related disorders impact almost everyone, either directly or through family or friends. For many of the disorders, whether they're psychiatric or neurological, there are basic scientific descriptions and valuable treatment options, but none has a satisfactory cure because the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood.

9 Nov 2017

Individual neurons slow down when we are sleep deprived, study finds

It has been established that sleep deprivation slows down our reaction time, but it has been unclear exactly how the lack of sleep affects brain activity and subsequent behavior.

8 Nov 2017

UNIGE neuroscientists succeed in correcting activity of late neurons

During the fetal stage, millions of neurons are born in the walls of the ventricles of the brain before migrating to their final location in the cerebral cortex.

8 Nov 2017

Scientists one step closer to solving puzzle of how nerves can self-heal

Monash University scientists are one step closer to solving the riddle of how nerves can self-heal. The scientists from the Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) have found signals in the tiny transparent roundworm that control the mechanism by which severed nerves self-heal.

7 Nov 2017

Study shows promise and potential risk in reversing hearing loss using inner ear stem cells

Want to restore hearing by injecting stem cells into the inner ear? Well, that can be a double-edged sword.

7 Nov 2017

UMD study provides important insights into early sensory development

Some expectant parents play classical music for their unborn babies, hoping to boost their children's cognitive capacity later in life.

7 Nov 2017

Drug can safely and effectively help infants with SMA gain muscle function, study shows

More than half of the babies with infantile-onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who were treated with nusinersen (Spinraza) gained motor milestones, compared to none of the babies in the control group. Infants treated with the drug also had 63 percent lower risk of death.

6 Nov 2017

Neuron News and Research

Drug that stimulates neuron pruning promotes goal-directed behavior in mice

Nerve cell findings provide unique insights into neuromuscular conditions

New microscope optimized to perform studies using optogenetic techniques

Researchers solve 3D structure of primary optogenetic tool

Researchers reveal impact of RNA-binding protein on memory formation process

Study: Women may be more susceptible to concussions due to more breakable nerve fibers

Saving and erasure of memories depends on subtle brain signals, TSRI scientists find

Alzheimer's Tau protein interacts with cell membranes and forms toxic complexes

Specially tailored, ultrafast light pulses can trigger neurons to fire in different patterns

Brain astrocytes could play key role in pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease

New dye could be used to observe electrical activity of neurons in the brain

Scientists identify critical player in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis

Scientists devise new way to control single neurons using optogenetics

Brain research in desperate need of cutting-edge statistics, says Carnegie Mellon University's Rob Kass

Individual neurons slow down when we are sleep deprived, study finds

UNIGE neuroscientists succeed in correcting activity of late neurons

Scientists one step closer to solving puzzle of how nerves can self-heal

Study shows promise and potential risk in reversing hearing loss using inner ear stem cells

UMD study provides important insights into early sensory development

Drug can safely and effectively help infants with SMA gain muscle function, study shows

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