Neurons News and Research

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UIC researcher finds potential new way to treat chronic migraine

By discovering a potential new cellular mechanism for migraines, researchers may have also found a new way to treat chronic migraine.

5 May 2021

Four-part small-molecule cocktail can prevent cellular stress

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have devised a four-part small-molecule cocktail that can protect stem cells called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from stress and maintain normal stem cell structure and function.

4 May 2021

IBEC researchers discover the neural mechanism of autonomous learning

Thanks to the so-called deep learning, a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms inspired by the brain, machines can match human performance in perception and language recognition and even outperform humans in certain tasks. But do these synthetic biologically inspired systems learn in the same way that we do?

3 May 2021

Tiny 3D brain models could accelerate drug research for multiple sclerosis

Tiny 3-D models that mimic vital aspects of the human nervous system have been developed in a step that could accelerate drug research for neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

3 May 2021

Too much salt affects the functioning of phagocytes

For many of us, adding salt to a meal is a perfectly normal thing to do. We don't really think about it. But actually, we should. As well as raising our blood pressure, too much salt can severely disrupt the energy balance in immune cells and stop them from working properly.

30 Apr 2021

Researchers create new, open-access tool for assessing infant brain health

Researchers have created a new, open-access tool that allows doctors and scientists to evaluate infant brain health by assessing the concentration of various chemical markers, called metabolites, in the brain. The tool compiled data from 140 infants to determine normal ranges for these metabolites.

29 Apr 2021

New genetically encoded sensor helps detect drugs of abuse

A genetically encoded sensor to detect hallucinogenic compounds has been developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis. Named psychLight, the sensor could be used in discovering new treatments for mental illness, in neuroscience research and to detect drugs of abuse. The work is published April 28 in the journal Cell.

29 Apr 2021

Single protein could be a new target for delaying onset of aging symptoms in the brain

It is not every day that scientists come across a phenomenon so fundamental that it is observed across fruit flies, rodents and humans.

29 Apr 2021

Researchers investigate how the brain's circadian rhythm control center regulates behavior

Our bodies and behaviors often seem to have rhythms of their own. Why do we go to the bathroom at the same time every day? Why do we feel off if we can't go to sleep at the right time? Circadian rhythms are a behind-the-scenes force that shape many of our behaviors and our health.

28 Apr 2021

New model may explain the perplexing asymmetrical motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by slowness of movement and tremors, which often appear asymmetrically in patients.

28 Apr 2021

New compound could alleviate neurological symptoms of CHARGE syndrome

CHARGE syndrome is a rare genetic disorder affecting about 1 in 10,000 newborns. It can lead to neurological and behavioural disorders for which no treatment is currently available.

28 Apr 2021

Research provides deep and detailed look at how common anesthetic causes unconsciousness

In a uniquely deep and detailed look at how the commonly used anesthetic propofol causes unconsciousness, a collaboration of labs at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT shows that as the drug takes hold in the brain, a wide swath of regions become coordinated by very slow rhythms that maintain a commensurately languid pace of neural activity.

27 Apr 2021

Neural implant can help monitor activity in multiple brain regions at the same time

How do different parts of the brain communicate with each other during learning and memory formation? A new study by researchers at the University of California San Diego takes a first step at answering this fundamental neuroscience question.

27 Apr 2021

Scientists identify many genes that are important in fruit flies' neuron development

Neurons result from a highly complex and unique series of cell divisions. For example, in fruit flies, the process starts with stem cells that divide into mother cells (progenitor cells), that then divide into precursor cells that eventually become neurons.

27 Apr 2021