Neuron News and Research

RSS

Researchers use new approach to parse roles of key mutated protein that causes familial AD

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have used genetic engineering of human induced pluripotent stem cells to specifically and precisely parse the roles of a key mutated protein in causing familial Alzheimer's disease, discovering that simple loss-of-function does not contribute to the inherited form of the neurodegenerative disorder.

15 Nov 2013

Decision-making process may occur in localized region of the prefrontal cortex

While eating lunch you notice an insect buzzing around your plate. Its color and motion could both influence how you respond. If the insect was yellow and black you might decide it was a bee and move away. Conversely, you might simply be annoyed at the buzzing motion and shoo the insect away. You perceive both color and motion, and decide based on the circumstances. Our brains make such contextual decisions in a heartbeat.

7 Nov 2013

Study in mice may help in the development of more effective treatments for anxiety disorders

Excessive fear can develop after a traumatic experience, leading to anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. During exposure therapy, an effective and common treatment for anxiety disorders, the patient confronts a fear or memory of a traumatic event in a safe environment, which leads to a gradual loss of fear.

4 Nov 2013

Scientists find surprising degree of variation among genomes of individual neurons

It was once thought that each cell in a person's body possesses the same DNA code and that the particular way the genome is read imparts cell function and defines the individual. For many cell types in our bodies, however, that is an oversimplification.

4 Nov 2013

Prana's PBT2 effective in reversing memory, learning losses associated with aging process

Prana Biotechnology, a leading global developer of first-in-class treatments for neurodegenerative disease, has today announced the publication of an article in the peer reviewed Aging Cell showing the effects of PBT2 on neurogenesis and in reversing the memory and learning losses associated with the aging process, in normal (ie non transgenic) old mice.

31 Oct 2013

Scientists identify new toxic entity associated with dementia and motor neuron disease

A new toxic entity associated with genetically inherited forms of dementia and motor neuron disease has been identified by scientists at the UCL Institute of Neurology. The toxin is the result of a genetic mutation that leads to the production of RNA molecules which could be responsible for the diseases. The findings are published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica.

31 Oct 2013

Dendrites multiply the brain's computing power

Dendrites, the branch-like projections of neurons, were once thought to be passive wiring in the brain. But now researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that these dendrites do more than relay information from one neuron to the next.

31 Oct 2013

UMMS professor receives EUREKA grant to develop light activated nanoparticles for imaging brain tissue

University of Massachusetts Medical School Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Gang Han, PhD, has received a $1.3 million EUREKA (Exceptional Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration) grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop light activated nanoparticles that can be used to image live brain tissue.

25 Oct 2013

LCSB researchers publish current knowledge about the genetic, molecular causes of PD

Parkinson's disease continues to puzzle physicians and biologists alike - even though it is well-established that symptoms like muscle tremors, rigidity, and, during the final stages, immobility can all be traced back to the death of a certain type of brain cell called a dopaminergic neuron. The underlying cause of this cellular death is a complex web of interrelated genetic molecular processes as well as external factors, most of the details of which are well-known. But how the various factors correlate and influence each other continues to elude the scientific community.

24 Oct 2013

Study reveals that glial cells are integral to brain function

New research by scientists at UC San Francisco shows that one of the brain's fundamental self-protection mechanisms depends on coordinated, finely calibrated teamwork among neurons and non-neural cells knows as glial cells, which until fairly recently were thought to be mere support cells for neurons.

23 Oct 2013

CSHL researchers explore how the brain integrates multiple signals to identify one unique smell

Think of the smell of an orange, a lemon, and a grapefruit. Each has strong acidic notes mixed with sweetness. And yet each fresh, bright scent is distinguishable from its relatives. These fruits smell similar because they share many chemical compounds. How, then does the brain tell them apart? How does the brain remember a complex and often overlapping chemical signature as a particular scent?

21 Oct 2013

Genetic mutation found to restore translational balance in mice

In a biological quirk that promises to provide researchers with a new approach for studying and potentially treating Fragile X syndrome, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have shown that knocking out a gene important for messenger RNA (mRNA) translation in neurons restores memory deficits and reduces behavioral symptoms in a mouse model of a prevalent human neurological disease.

21 Oct 2013

Neurons strengthen their synapses to remain active after loss of input

The brain is an extremely adaptable organ - but it is also quite conservative. That's in short, what scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried and their colleagues from the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel and the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum were now able to show.

17 Oct 2013

Scientists identify recessive gene mutation that reduces certain protein affecting brain development

Though worlds apart, four unrelated families have been united in a medical mystery over the source of a rare inherited disorder that results in their children being born with abnormal brain growth and severe functional impairments.

17 Oct 2013

Scientists uncover faulty brain mechanism that may underlie schizophrenia in humans

Working with mice genetically engineered to display symptoms of schizophrenia, neuroscientists at the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT have uncovered a faulty brain mechanism that may underlie schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders in humans.

17 Oct 2013

Research in mouse whiskers reveals signal pathway from touch neuron to brain

Human fingertips have several types of sensory neurons that are responsible for relaying touch signals to the central nervous system. Scientists have long believed these neurons followed a linear path to the brain with a "labeled-lines" structure.

17 Oct 2013

Discovery of neural firing-rate set point opens door to possible treatment for devastating disorders

As we learn and develop, our neurons change. They make new pathways and connections as our brain processes new information. In order to do this, individual neurons use an internal gauge to maintain a delicate balance that keeps our brains from becoming too excitable.

17 Oct 2013

Elsevier journals currently offers 3D visualization services to authors and readers

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, and Kitware, a worldwide leader in developing advanced visualization technologies, today announced that Elsevier journals offer the opportunity to upload 3D datasets when submitting a paper for publication. This way, once published, readers can interactively explore 3D datasets next to the online article on ScienceDirect.

15 Oct 2013

Gene mutation offers clues to development of diverse neurological disorders

A research team, headed by Theodore Friedmann, MD, professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, says a gene mutation that causes a rare but devastating neurological disorder known as Lesch-Nyhan syndrome appears to offer clues to the developmental and neuronal defects found in other, diverse neurological disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

10 Oct 2013

Neuroscientist receives CAREER grant to research on auditory processing and sound localization

Twenty years ago Khaleel A. Razak was an electronics engineering student focused on creating a telephone for hearing-impaired children in Chennai, India. Today he is a neuroscientist at the University of California, Riverside whose research on how the brain processes everyday sounds may lead to therapies for age-related hearing problems and Fragile X Syndrome.

10 Oct 2013

Neuron News and Research

Researchers use new approach to parse roles of key mutated protein that causes familial AD

Decision-making process may occur in localized region of the prefrontal cortex

Study in mice may help in the development of more effective treatments for anxiety disorders

Scientists find surprising degree of variation among genomes of individual neurons

Prana's PBT2 effective in reversing memory, learning losses associated with aging process

Scientists identify new toxic entity associated with dementia and motor neuron disease

Dendrites multiply the brain's computing power

UMMS professor receives EUREKA grant to develop light activated nanoparticles for imaging brain tissue

LCSB researchers publish current knowledge about the genetic, molecular causes of PD

Study reveals that glial cells are integral to brain function

CSHL researchers explore how the brain integrates multiple signals to identify one unique smell

Genetic mutation found to restore translational balance in mice

Neurons strengthen their synapses to remain active after loss of input

Scientists identify recessive gene mutation that reduces certain protein affecting brain development

Scientists uncover faulty brain mechanism that may underlie schizophrenia in humans

Research in mouse whiskers reveals signal pathway from touch neuron to brain

Discovery of neural firing-rate set point opens door to possible treatment for devastating disorders

Elsevier journals currently offers 3D visualization services to authors and readers

Gene mutation offers clues to development of diverse neurological disorders

Neuroscientist receives CAREER grant to research on auditory processing and sound localization

Human iPSCs: A Full Guide to Advanced in Vitro Models and Applications eBook

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

Latest News