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Researchers identify neural circuitry responsible for rousing the brain during sleep apnea

A common and potentially serious sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnea affects at least one-quarter of U.S. adults and is linked to increased risk of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. In a paper published today in the journal Neuron, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center identified specific neural circuitry responsible for rousing the brain of mice in simulated apnea conditions.

2 Nov 2017

Targeting blood-clotting protein may help treat multiple sclerosis and other diseases

Picture a bare wire, without its regular plastic coating. It's exposed to the elements and risks being degraded. And, without insulation, it may not conduct electricity as well as a coated wire. Now, imagine this wire is inside your brain.

2 Nov 2017

Humans not as exceptional in using brain power as we like to think

For years, scientists assumed that humans devote a larger share of their daily calories to their brains than other animals. Although the human brain makes up only 2 percent of body weight, it consumes more than 25 percent of our baseline energy budget.

1 Nov 2017

Bioengineers develop brain sensor technique to understand cocaine addiction in adolescent mind

Several studies have provided strong evidence that adolescents--people in their teens to early twenties--have a higher vulnerability than adults to addictive substances like cocaine.

1 Nov 2017

Biogen and Ionis awarded 2017 Prix Galien USA Award for SPINRAZA

Biogen and Ionis have been awarded the prestigious 2017 Prix Galien USA Award for Best Biotechnology Product for SPINRAZA (nusinersen). The Prix Galien USA Award recognizes extraordinary achievement in scientific innovation that improves the state of human health. The award was presented at a ceremony in New York City on October 26, 2017.

30 Oct 2017

Sonic Hedgehog helps solve mysteries of Parkinson's disease

You may know Sonic Hedgehog as a Sega videogame character who saves us all from world domination. But within the realm of science, Sonic Hedgehog is also helping to solve the mysteries of Parkinson's Disease.

28 Oct 2017

Researchers provide new insight into how nematode's brain controls movement

The human brain is a mysterious supercomputer. Billions of neurons buzz within an intricate network that controls our every thought, feeling, and movement. And we've only just begun to understand how it all works.

26 Oct 2017

UC San Diego scientists unravel how ‘resting-state connectivity’ occurs in the brain

Scientists have known that areas of the brain with similar functions--even those in different brain hemispheres--connect to share signals when the body rests, but they haven't known how this "resting-state connectivity" occurs.

26 Oct 2017

New study sheds light on normal function of Parkinson's gene

A new study published in the journal Neuron sheds light on the normal function of LRRK2, the most common genetic cause for late-onset Parkinson's disease. The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health.

26 Oct 2017

UCLA researchers precisely stimulate the brain to enhance recollection of distinct memories

Neuroscientists at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have discovered precisely where and how to electrically stimulate the human brain to enhance people's recollection of distinct memories. People with epilepsy who received low-current electrical pulses showed a significant improvement in their ability to recognize specific faces and ignore similar ones.

25 Oct 2017

NIH launches major effort to discover, catalog the brain's ‘parts list’

The National Institutes of Health has launched a major effort to discover and catalog the brain's "parts list." The NIH's Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® Initiative Cell Census Network aims to provide researchers with a comprehensive reference of the diverse cell types in human, monkey, and mouse brain.

24 Oct 2017

Research findings reveal which brain region stimulates divergent behavior

Have you ever been stuck in a rut, going through the same motions day in and day out? How do you motivate to change your behavior?

24 Oct 2017

Penn researchers functionally dissect gene variant linked to FTLD

Seven years ago, Penn Medicine researchers showed that mutations in the TMEM106B gene significantly increased a person's risk of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), the second most common cause of dementia in those under 65.

19 Oct 2017

Researchers use powerful X-ray beams for ‘navigational map view’ of mouse brain

If brain imaging could be compared to Google Earth, neuroscientists would already have a pretty good "satellite view" of the brain, and a great "street view" of neuron details.

17 Oct 2017

Columbia scientists receive grant from CZI to construct atlas of cells in human spinal cord

Scientists at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute today received a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative donor advised fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, to construct an atlas of gene activity of all cells in the human spinal cord.

17 Oct 2017

Report: Global burden of neurological disorders in today’s world

Globally, the burden of neurological disorders (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, epilepsy etc) has increased substantially over the past 25 years.

13 Oct 2017

Specific regions of silenced DNA help define cell's identity, study suggests

The fundamental mechanisms governing how cells form an identity such as becoming a muscle cell or a nerve cell are not fully understood. Multiple diseases, including cancer, have been linked to cells going down the wrong developmental path during maturation.

13 Oct 2017

Researchers find how tDCS could increase performance of associative learning

HRL Laboratories, LLC, researchers have determined how non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could increase performance of associative learning.

13 Oct 2017

Scientists identify brain-wave patterns of explicit and implicit learning

Figuring out how to pedal a bike and memorizing the rules of chess require two different types of learning, and now for the first time, researchers have been able to distinguish each type of learning by the brain-wave patterns it produces.

12 Oct 2017

Researchers find potential approach to prevent peripheral neuropathy

In discovering how certain chemotherapy drugs cause the nerve damage known as peripheral neuropathy, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have found a potential approach to preventing this common and troublesome side effect of cancer treatment.

11 Oct 2017