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Researchers uncover reasons for decreasing sleep quality as we age

Researchers from the United States have shed light on why people experience more fragmented sleep as they grow older.

21 Aug 2014

Researchers uncover role of epigenetic changes in Alzheimer's disease

A team led by researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School and King's College London has uncovered some of the strongest evidence yet that epigenetic changes in the brain play a role in Alzheimer's disease.

19 Aug 2014

New therapeutic strategy to combat common genetic risk factor for ALS, FTD

A team of researchers at Mayo Clinic and The Scripps Research Institute in Florida have developed a new therapeutic strategy to combat the most common genetic risk factor for the neurodegenerative disorders amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

15 Aug 2014

Huntingtin protein plays critical role in long-term memory development

It has been more than 20 years since scientists discovered that mutations in the gene huntingtin cause the devastating progressive neurological condition Huntington's disease, which involves involuntary movements, emotional disturbance and cognitive impairment.

13 Aug 2014

Bioengineers create 3D brain-like tissue to study chemical and electrical changes

Bioengineers have created three-dimensional brain-like tissue that functions like and has structural features similar to tissue in the rat brain and that can be kept alive in the lab for more than two months.

12 Aug 2014

Schizophrenia-linked genetic variations and the developing brain: an interview with Prof. Guo-li Ming

How much is currently known about what happens in the developing brain that puts people at risk of schizophrenia?

11 Aug 2014

Neurons derived from human iPSC and grafted into rats after spinal cord injury produce cells

Building upon previous research, scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Veteran's Affairs San Diego Healthcare System report that neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and grafted into rats after a spinal cord injury produced cells with tens of thousands of axons extending virtually the entire length of the animals' central nervous system.

8 Aug 2014

Molecule Notch involved in fear memory formation

Nature is thrifty. The same signals that embryonic cells use to decide whether to become nerves, skin or bone come into play again when adult animals are learning whether to become afraid.

7 Aug 2014

Researchers take major step forward in developing real ALS treatments

A series of studies begun by Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists eight years ago has lead to a report published today that may be a major step forward in the quest to develop real treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

7 Aug 2014

Researchers at NIH-FEI Living Lab for Structural Biology achieve breakthrough biological results

FEI is pleased to announce that researchers at the NIH-FEI Living Lab for Structural Biology have achieved breakthrough biological results, using FEI’s Titan Krios™ transmission electron microscope (TEM), to elucidate the structural mechanism by which glutamate receptors participate in the transmission of signals between neurons in the brain. Their work is described in Nature, “Structural Mechanism of Glutamate Receptor Activation and Desensitization,” by Meyerson, et al., (DOI: 10.1038/nature13603), http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature13603.html .

From Thermo Fisher Scientific – Electron Microscopy Solutions 4 Aug 2014

Findings shed light on why PPARγ activators have side effect of promoting weight gain

The brain plays a central role in regulating appetite and whole-body metabolism. A protein known as PPARγ is important in the brain's control of food intake and body weight, but the identity of the neurons regulating this process has been unclear.

4 Aug 2014

Researchers uncover 3D structure of neuroreceptor

Neurons are the cells of our brain, spinal cord, and overall nervous system. They form complex networks to communicate with each other through electrical signals that are carried by chemicals.

4 Aug 2014

Scientists unravel neural circuit that could play important role in autism

The insular cortex is an integral "hub", combining sensory, emotional and cognitive content. Not surprisingly, alterations in insular structure and function have been reported in many psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorders, depression, addiction and autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

1 Aug 2014

Study provides platform for detailed study of nerve injury and repair during Wallerian degeneration

Wallerian degeneration is a subject of major interest in neuroscience. A large number of genes are differentially regulated during the distinct stages of Wallerian degeneration: transcription factor activation, immune response, myelin cell differentiation and dedifferentiation.

31 Jul 2014

Neuroscientists shed new light on how the brain works

Neuroscientists in Bonn and Heidelberg have succeeded in providing new insights into how the brain works. Researchers at the DZNE and the German Cancer Research Center analyzed tissue samples from mice to identify how two specific proteins, ‘CKAMP44’ and ‘TARP Gamma-8’, act upon the brain’s memory center.

26 Jul 2014

XPro1595 drug can protect vulnerable neurons, reduce motor deficits in Parkinson's model

An experimental anti-inflammatory drug can protect vulnerable neurons and reduce motor deficits in a rat model of Parkinson's disease, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have shown.

26 Jul 2014

BU researchers find possible way to prevent Alzheimer's disease

Boston University School of Medicine researchers may have found a way to delay or even prevent Alzheimer's disease (AD). They discovered that pre-treatment of neurons with the anti-aging protein Klotho can prevent neuron death in the presence of the toxic amyloid protein and glutamate.

25 Jul 2014

Protein once seen as promising anti-cancer compound helps to stabilize neural circuits

Researchers at UC San Francisco (UCSF) have discovered that endostatin, a protein that once aroused intense interest as a possible cancer treatment, plays a key role in the stable functioning of the nervous system.

25 Jul 2014

Astrocytes may be behind mental disorders, new research reveals

Astrocytes, the cells that make the background of the brain and support neurons, might be behind mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, according to new research by a Portuguese team from the ICVS at the University of Minho.

23 Jul 2014

Study reveals novel epilepsy pathway linked to neurodegenerative diseases

A recent scientific discovery showed that mutations in prickle genes cause epilepsy, which in humans is a brain disorder characterized by repeated seizures over time. However, the mechanism responsible for generating prickle-associated seizures was unknown.