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Discovery reveals possibility of using water for finer analysis of the brain's functioning

To observe the brain in action, scientists and physicians use imaging techniques, among which functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is the best known. These techniques are not based on direct observations of electric impulses from activated neurons, but on one of their consequences. Indeed, this stimulation triggers physiological modifications in the activated cerebral region, changes that become visible by imaging.

3 Jul 2015

Research shows how prion-like proteins critical for maintaining long-term memories

Research from Eric Kandel's lab at Columbia University Medical Center has uncovered further evidence of a system in the brain that persistently maintains memories for long periods of time. And paradoxically, it works in the same way as mechanisms that cause mad cow disease, kuru, and other degenerative brain diseases.

3 Jul 2015

New NEI study shows that microglia can accelerate damage wrought by blinding eye disorders

Spider-like cells inside the brain, spinal cord and eye hunt for invaders, capturing and then devouring them. These cells, called microglia, often play a beneficial role by helping to clear trash and protect the central nervous system against infection. But a new study by researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) shows that they also accelerate damage wrought by blinding eye disorders, such as retinitis pigmentosa.

2 Jul 2015

UTHealth researchers discover new light-activated proteins that work as 'off switches' for brain cells

Light switches for neurons have made enormous contributions to brain research by giving investigators access to "on switches" for brain cells. But, finding "off switches" has been much more challenging.

2 Jul 2015

Study sheds new light on how the brain forms memories

In the first study of its kind, UCLA and United Kingdom researchers found that neurons in a specific brain region play a key role in rapidly forming memories about every day events, a finding that may result in a better understanding of memory loss and new methods to fight it in Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases.

2 Jul 2015

Histones steadily replaced in brain cells throughout life, find Mount Sinai researchers

For decades, researchers in the genetics field have theorized that the protein spools around which DNA is wound, histones, remain constant in the brain, never changing after development in the womb.

2 Jul 2015

New technique that mines Twitter data can help identify potentially dangerous drug interactions

A team of scientists has invented a new technique for discovering potentially dangerous drug interactions and unknown side-effects — before they show up in medical databases, like PubMed, or even before doctors and researchers have heard of them at all.

30 Jun 2015

Retina contains microtubule "roadway" that provides energy required for visual processing

Researchers have discovered a thick band of microtubules in certain neurons in the retina that they believe acts as a transport road for mitochondria that help provide energy required for visual processing.

30 Jun 2015

Study on fruit flies, brewer's yeast may provide clues about cause of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Scientists at the University of Malta and the Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier (CNRS/Université de Montpellier) have shown that fruit flies and brewer's yeast can reveal clues about the cause of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), the most common genetic killer of infants.

30 Jun 2015

Researchers identify specific calcium channel that plays crucial role in healthy sleep

Sleep seems simple enough, a state of rest and restoration that almost every vertebrate creature must enter regularly in order to survive. But the brain responds differently to stimuli when asleep than when awake, and it is not clear what brain changes happen during sleep.

27 Jun 2015

Neuromodulator norepinephrine has direct action on auditory processing of complex signals

For neuroscientists studying the intricate mechanisms of hearing in the brain's auditory cortex, a major question has been how a listener can focus in a noisy environment, and how neurochemicals help neurons convey as much embedded information as possible for the rest of the brain to act on.

25 Jun 2015

Univercell-Biosolutions opens center of expertise with industrial, standardized approach to hiPSC production

Univercell-Biosolutions, a leading provider of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) and hiPS derived product cells for drug discovery, today announces the opening of a center of expertise with an industrial and standardized approach to hiPSC production.

25 Jun 2015

Scientists build fully functional neuron using organic bioelectronics

Scientists at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet have managed to build a fully functional neuron by using organic bioelectronics.

24 Jun 2015

Discovery may accelerate development of new drugs to treat Huntington's disease

By identifying in spinal fluid how the characteristic mutant proteins of Huntington's disease spread from cell to cell, UC Irvine scientists and colleagues have created a new method to quickly and accurately track the presence and proliferation of these neuron-damaging compounds -- a discovery that may accelerate the development of new drugs to treat this incurable disease.

24 Jun 2015

Isis Pharmaceuticals provides update on ISIS-SMN Rx Phase 2 study in children with SMA

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today provided an update on children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who have completed the open-label, Phase 2 multiple-dose study of ISIS-SMN Rx and are continuing to receive treatment in an open-label extension (OLE) study.

22 Jun 2015

Discovery provides clue to long-held mystery about how animals' internal compasses function

A team of scientists and engineers at The University of Texas at Austin has identified the first sensor of the Earth's magnetic field in an animal, finding in the brain of a tiny worm a big clue to a long-held mystery about how animals' internal compasses work.

18 Jun 2015

Findings could lead to treatments for chronic pain caused by nerve damage

Non-narcotic treatments for chronic pain that work well in people, not just mice, are sorely needed. Drawing from human pain genetics, an international team led by Boston Children's Hospital demonstrates a way to break the cycle of pain hypersensitivity without the development of addiction, tolerance or side effects.

18 Jun 2015

Ruhr-Universität Bochum scientists develop mouse model to investigate SCA6

Scientists at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum established a mouse model for the human disease SCA6. SCA6 is characterised by movement deficits and caused by similar genetic alterations as Chorea Huntington. The mouse model will be used to investigate the disease mechanisms.

17 Jun 2015

UIC study shows that brain cell density remains constant in normal aging

New, ultra-high-field magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the brain by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago provide the most detailed images to date to show that while the brain shrinks with age, brain cell density remains constant.

14 Jun 2015

New TSRI study integrates neuroscience and psychological research to understand sleep, memory

In Macbeth, Shakespeare describes sleep as "the death of each day's life," but he may have gotten it wrong. Sleep, as it turns out, may be the one thing that keeps our memories alive and intact.

12 Jun 2015

Neuron News and Research

Discovery reveals possibility of using water for finer analysis of the brain's functioning

Research shows how prion-like proteins critical for maintaining long-term memories

New NEI study shows that microglia can accelerate damage wrought by blinding eye disorders

UTHealth researchers discover new light-activated proteins that work as 'off switches' for brain cells

Study sheds new light on how the brain forms memories

Histones steadily replaced in brain cells throughout life, find Mount Sinai researchers

New technique that mines Twitter data can help identify potentially dangerous drug interactions

Retina contains microtubule "roadway" that provides energy required for visual processing

Study on fruit flies, brewer's yeast may provide clues about cause of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Researchers identify specific calcium channel that plays crucial role in healthy sleep

Neuromodulator norepinephrine has direct action on auditory processing of complex signals

Univercell-Biosolutions opens center of expertise with industrial, standardized approach to hiPSC production

Scientists build fully functional neuron using organic bioelectronics

Discovery may accelerate development of new drugs to treat Huntington's disease

Isis Pharmaceuticals provides update on ISIS-SMN Rx Phase 2 study in children with SMA

Discovery provides clue to long-held mystery about how animals' internal compasses function

Findings could lead to treatments for chronic pain caused by nerve damage

Ruhr-Universität Bochum scientists develop mouse model to investigate SCA6

UIC study shows that brain cell density remains constant in normal aging

New TSRI study integrates neuroscience and psychological research to understand sleep, memory

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