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New analysis method shows how the brain regulates its signals using glutamate

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology and Gothenburg University in Sweden have achieved something long thought almost impossible - counting the molecules of the neurotransmitter glutamate released when a signal is transferred between two brain cells. With a new analysis method, they showed that the brain regulates its signals using glutamate in more ways than previously realised.

21 Jan 2020

Protein SV2A levels could explain poor neuronal connections in schizophrenia

A team of researchers have found that persons with schizophrenia may have lower levels of certain specific proteins that show up on their brain scans. This could help as diagnostic tools, say experts. The new study titled, “Synaptic density marker SV2A is reduced in schizophrenia patients and unaffected by antipsychotics in rats”, is published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications.

14 Jan 2020

Researchers develop 'flash and freeze' method for studying nerve connections

Uniting structure and function of synapses is challenging: Function is studied in living tissue, measuring electrical signals at millisecond precision with electrophysiology, while the observation of fine structure at nanometer scale requires tissue to be fixed for electron microscopy.

9 Jan 2020

Researchers fabricate neuromorphic network composed of metallic nanowires

An international joint research team led by NIMS succeeded in fabricating a neuromorphic network composed of numerous metallic nanowires.

26 Dec 2019

Radiation-induced brain damage: new study reveals the mechanism

Following radiation therapy to the head for brain tumors, more than 80% of patients who live six months at least after the treatment report a loss of some cognitive functions such as memory, thinking and related tasks. Now a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports shows why this happens, which in turn could pave the way to correct this damage and protect the brain in future patients.

17 Dec 2019

DePuy Synthes launches the SYMPHONY Occipito-Cervico-Thoracic System

The Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies today announced that DePuy Synthes has launched the SYMPHONY Occipito-Cervico-Thoracic System, expanding its offering for the surgical treatment of conditions in the neck and upper back.

From DePuy Synthes 6 Dec 2019

Scientists discover how specific genetic mutation causes intellectual disability, autism

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered why a specific genetic mutation causes intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder in children.

5 Dec 2019

Common drug for nerve pain could help restore upper limb function after spinal cord injury

Long-term treatment with gabapentin, a commonly prescribed drug for nerve pain, could help restore upper limb function after a spinal cord injury, new research in mice suggests.

3 Dec 2019

Extra virgin olive oil boosts brain power

Researchers from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University have found that extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) could help boost brain power and help halt the progression of the effects of aging on the brain. The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Aging Cell, and it was titled, “Extra virgin olive oil improves synaptic activity, short‐term plasticity, memory, and neuropathology in a tauopathy model.”

26 Nov 2019

Neuroscientists decode how visual cues can reorganize the activity of compass neurons

If you've ever woken up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and stumbled around in the dark, banging into walls or dressers in a room you've walked through countless times, you've experienced the effects of inadequately calibrated neurons.

21 Nov 2019

Exploring the links between chronic stress, inflammation and depression

Chronic stress can inflame our brain, destroy the connections between our neurons and result in depression, scientists say.

21 Nov 2019

Rapamycin prevents age-related brain vascular deterioration, study shows

A just-released study by UT Health San Antonio and collaborating institutions shows age-related decreases in blood flow to the brain and memory loss can be modified with the drug rapamycin.

6 Nov 2019

Researchers use 3D electron microscopy to unravel dense networks in the cerebral cortex

Unlike any other organ, our brains contain extremely densely packed networks of membranous cables that are used by our about 86 billion nerve cells for communication amongst each other.

24 Oct 2019

Unhealthy gut microbiome reduces brain synaptic pruning, impairs learning

A new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University has come up with more explanations of how gut microbes communicate with the brain neurons. The study, published in the journal Nature on October 23, 2019, examined the brains of mouse models and found that when the gut microbiome is significantly reduced, there are changes in gene expression in the brain’s microglial cells.

24 Oct 2019

Link between pregnancy stress, immune activation, and postpartum depression

A new study presented at the Society for Neuroscience meeting on October 19, 2019, at Chicago, shows for the first time how postpartum depression could actually be due to abnormal immune system activation within the brain, which in turn is set off by chronic pregnancy stress. This is the earliest study to show this link in animals.

22 Oct 2019

Scientists decipher assembly line of glutamate receptors

Rapid communication of neurons in the brain, as well as the ability to learn, fundamentally rely on neurotransmitter receptors located in the contact sites of neurons, the synapses. The most important receptors in the mammalian brain are glutamate receptors of the AMPA-type that generate the electrical signal required for fast communication between neurons.

16 Oct 2019

‘Sticky’ gene may boost the nerve calming effects of Valium

Between 1999 and 2017, the United States experienced a 10-fold increase in the number of people who died from overdoses of Valium and other benzodiazepines.

10 Oct 2019

New insight into presynaptic distribution and profile of mitochondria in calyx of Held

The ability to hear relies on neurons to constantly transmit information at very rapid timescales. This rapid rate of information transmission results in intense energetic demands. Within our cells, microscopic power plants called mitochondria provide the main source of energy keeping our bodies moving.

9 Oct 2019

How tau protein causes brain damage in Alzheimer’s disease

Researches have described a new technique to find out how Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects nerve cells.

27 Sep 2019

New technique can rapidly image synaptic proteins at high resolution

Our brains contain millions of synapses -- the connections that transmit messages from neuron to neuron. Within these synapses are hundreds of different proteins, and dysfunction of these proteins can lead to conditions such as schizophrenia and autism.

26 Sep 2019