Neuron News and Research

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Braking mechanism in olfactory neurons helps generate amazing diversity of sensors in the nose

The human nose has millions of olfactory neurons grouped into hundreds of different neuron types. Each of these neuron types expresses only one odorant receptor, and all neurons expressing the same odorant receptor plug into one region in the brain, an organization that allows for specific odors to be sensed.

15 Nov 2012

Irregular sleep patterns may trigger schizophrenia symptoms

Neuroscientists studying the link between poor sleep and schizophrenia have found that irregular sleep patterns and desynchronised brain activity during sleep could trigger some of the disease's symptoms. The findings, published in the journal Neuron, suggest that these prolonged disturbances might be a cause and not just a consequence of the disorder's debilitating effects.

15 Nov 2012

Brevetoxin-2 stimulates nerve cell growth and plasticity in cultured mouse neurons

A new study using brevetoxin-2, a compound produced naturally by marine algae, stimulated nerve cell growth and plasticity in cultured mouse neurons. This research advances a potentially new pharmacological treatment to aid recovery of brain function following a stroke or other traumatic brain injury.

14 Nov 2012

Study reveals how interneurons navigate during cerebral cortex development

As the brain develops, each neuron must find its way to precisely the right spot to weave the intricate network of links the brain needs to function. Like the wiring in a computer, a few misplaced connections can throw off functioning for an entire segment of the brain.

14 Nov 2012

Sensory substitution devices provide visual information to the blind via existing senses

Common wisdom has it that if the visual cortex in the brain is deprived of visual information in early infanthood, it may never develop properly its functional specialization, making sight restoration later in life almost impossible.

8 Nov 2012

Nanofiber technique to build new nerves from stem cells

Every week in his clinic at the University of Michigan, neurologist Joseph Corey, M.D., Ph.D., treats patients whose nerves are dying or shrinking due to disease or injury.

8 Nov 2012

Brain switches into special mode when pushed to make rapid decisions

Why do our brains make more mistakes when we act quickly? A new study demonstrates how the brain follows Ben Franklin's famous dictum, "Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste."

8 Nov 2012

Blind people’s brain can learn to process visual input with sounds

Areas of the brain in blind people can learn to process visual input through the use of sound, even after years or perhaps even lifelong blindness, according to new research reported in the November issue of the Cell Press journal Neuron. The findings challenge the common belief that if the visual cortex of the brain is deprived of information in early life, it may never develop functional specialization.

7 Nov 2012

Alpha-herpesvirus axon-to-cell spread involves limited virion transmission

New research suggests that just one or two individual herpes virus particles attack a skin cell in the first stage of an outbreak, resulting in a bottleneck in which the infection may be vulnerable to medical treatment.

7 Nov 2012

Degeneration of serotonergic neurons linked to spasticity in ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with an occurrence rate in France similar to multiple sclerosis (two to three new cases per year for every 100,000 residents). It has a specific affect on neurons responsible for motor control, in particular motor neurones and central motor neurones. The former, located in the spinal cord, are directly linked to muscles and are used for muscle contraction and stretching.

7 Nov 2012

Oskar gene emerged far earlier in insect evolution than previously believed

Harvard scientists have solved the long-standing mystery of how some insects form the germ cells - the cellular precursors to the eggs and sperm necessary for sexual reproduction - and the answer is shedding new light on the evolutionary origins of a gene that had long been thought to be critical to the process.

2 Nov 2012

Scientists discover first selective inhibitors of DAGL enzymes

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered the first selective inhibitors of an important set of enzymes. The new inhibitors, and chemical probes based on them, now can be used to study the functions of enzymes known as diacylglycerol lipases (DAGL), their products, and the pathways they regulate.

1 Nov 2012

Unique bond between SAP102 and GluN2B enables learning and memory

Two proteins have a unique bond that enables brain receptors essential to learning and memory to not only get and stay where they're needed, but to be hauled off when they aren't, researchers say.

31 Oct 2012

STAT3 transcription factor remains in the axon of nerve cells to help prevent neurodegeneration

A study in The Journal of Cell Biology shows how a transcription factor called STAT3 remains in the axon of nerve cells to help prevent neurodegeneration. The findings could pave the way for future drug therapies to slow nerve damage in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

30 Oct 2012

Dementia: A National Crisis – a review of the Manchester 2012 conference

It was clear from the title – Dementia: A National Crisis – that the conference would focus on the important challenges facing many people living with dementia in the country today.

24 Oct 2012

Novel approach to assemble the 'connectome' via genetic barcoding

A team of neuroscientists has proposed a new and potentially revolutionary way of obtaining a neuronal connectivity map (the "connectome") of the whole brain of the mouse. The details are set forth in an essay published October 23 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

24 Oct 2012

Max Planck scientists aim to analyze the whole mouse brain under electron microscope

What happens in the brain when we see, hear, think and remember? To be able to answer questions like this, neuroscientists need information about how the millions of neurons in the brain are connected to each other.

24 Oct 2012

Study reveals key chemical process that corrects potential visual errors in low-light conditions

On the road at night or on a tennis court at dusk, the eye can be deceived. Vision is not as sharp as in the light of day, and detecting a bicyclist on the road or a careening tennis ball can be tough.

20 Oct 2012

New way to image how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors

A team led by MIT neuroscientists has developed a way to monitor how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors, such as initiating movement or detecting an odor.

19 Oct 2012

Two opposing mechanisms support voluntary forgetting of unwanted memories

If only there were a way to forget that humiliating faux pas at last night's dinner party. It turns out there's not one, but two opposite ways in which the brain allows us to voluntarily forget unwanted memories, according to a study published by Cell Press October 17 in the journal Neuron.

19 Oct 2012

Neuron News and Research

Braking mechanism in olfactory neurons helps generate amazing diversity of sensors in the nose

Irregular sleep patterns may trigger schizophrenia symptoms

Brevetoxin-2 stimulates nerve cell growth and plasticity in cultured mouse neurons

Study reveals how interneurons navigate during cerebral cortex development

Sensory substitution devices provide visual information to the blind via existing senses

Nanofiber technique to build new nerves from stem cells

Brain switches into special mode when pushed to make rapid decisions

Blind people’s brain can learn to process visual input with sounds

Alpha-herpesvirus axon-to-cell spread involves limited virion transmission

Degeneration of serotonergic neurons linked to spasticity in ALS

Oskar gene emerged far earlier in insect evolution than previously believed

Scientists discover first selective inhibitors of DAGL enzymes

Unique bond between SAP102 and GluN2B enables learning and memory

STAT3 transcription factor remains in the axon of nerve cells to help prevent neurodegeneration

Dementia: A National Crisis – a review of the Manchester 2012 conference

Novel approach to assemble the 'connectome' via genetic barcoding

Max Planck scientists aim to analyze the whole mouse brain under electron microscope

Study reveals key chemical process that corrects potential visual errors in low-light conditions

New way to image how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors

Two opposing mechanisms support voluntary forgetting of unwanted memories

eBook: Advancing neurodegenerative research with iPSC-derived microglia models eBook

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

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