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New measurement technologies provide scientists more complete look at neurological activity

In 1991, Carl Lewis was both the fastest man on earth and a profound long jumper, perhaps the greatest track-and-field star of all time in the prime of his career. On June 14th of that year, however, Carl Lewis was human. Leroy Burrell blazed through the 100-meters, besting him by a razor-thin margin of three-hundredths of a second. In the time it takes the shutter to capture a single frame of video, Lewis's three-year-old world record was gone.

12 Aug 2011

SIGMAR1 gene mutation associated with development of juvenile ALS

Researchers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have identified a mutation on the SIGMAR1 gene associated with the development of juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

12 Aug 2011

Research: p38α MAPK protein plays a role in addiction, depression-like behavior

Researchers studying mice are getting closer to understanding how stress affects mood and motivation for drugs.

11 Aug 2011

Insight into how neural circuit forms motor plan

The voluntary movements we make must be "prepared" in our brain before they are executed. However, be it perfect timing, a false-start, or a delayed reaction, the neural circuitry underlying movement preparation is not well understood.

11 Aug 2011

New research uncovers role of p38alpha in mood disorders, addiction

Stressful experiences increase addictive drug consumption and can precipitate bouts of anxiety or depression in vulnerable people. Although the mechanisms linking stress and human behaviors are not well understood, animal models of some aspects of these behaviors have been developed and have been used to define some of the molecular events that may be responsible for stress vulnerability in people.

11 Aug 2011

Researchers helps explain how the adult brain cleans out dead brain cells and produces new ones

Adult brains generate thousands of new brain cells called neurons each day; however only a small fraction of them survive. The rest die and are consumed by scavenger cells called phagocytes. Until now, scientists have not fully understood how this process works, which phagocytes are unique in the brain, and how the removal of dead neurons influences the production of new neurons.

10 Aug 2011

Human brain cells created from skin cells: Potential for Alzheimer’s

This feat comes a year after researchers at Stanford University performed the same feat in mice, turning cells from the rodents' skin into neurons. The lab-created brain cells act the same as normal human brain cells, the researchers found. These cells have the same ability to send electric signals; they seem to express the same genes in the same ways; and they are able to communicate with other brain cells, as demonstrated in a lab dish and when implanted into mice.

5 Aug 2011

UH undergraduates seek solutions to many maladies like diabetes, Alzheimer's

Students from a variety of majors are devoting their summers to serious research at the University of Houston (UH), seeking eventual solutions to many serious maladies that include Alzheimer's, high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes, alcoholism and anxiety.

4 Aug 2011

Nacolepsy drugs may be effective in reversing illness-induced lethargy

A signaling system in the brain previously shown to regulate sleep is also responsible for inducing lethargy during illness, according to research conducted at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital.

4 Aug 2011

Scientists study how nervous system translates sensory information into coordinated motor output

Escape responses are some of the most studied behaviors by neurobiologists who want to understand how the brain processes sensory information. The ability to evade predators plays a vital role in the process of natural selection.

30 Jul 2011

New software tools for fast, accurate reconstruction of neural networks

The human brain is the most complex of all organs, containing billions of neurons with their corresponding projections, all woven together in a highly complex, three-dimensional web. To date, mapping this vast network posed a practically insurmountable challenge to scientists.

30 Jul 2011

Drug to prevent brain ageing: Study

A new study shows that some chemicals given to rhesus macaques blocked a brain molecule that slows the firing of the brain's nerve cells, or neurons, as they age—prompting those nerve cells to act young again.

28 Jul 2011

Arterial spin labeling shows areas of brain activity in chronic low back pain patients

Research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) uses a new imaging technique, arterial spin labeling, to show the areas of the brain that are activated when patients with low back pain have a worsening of their usual, chronic pain.

28 Jul 2011

fMRI scans can identify biological signs of autism in toddlers

The biological causes of autism are still not understood. A diagnosis of autism is only possible after ages three or four and the tests are subjective, based on behavioral symptoms. Now, in research that appeared in Neuron, scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of California, San Diego have found, for the first time, a method that can accurately identify a biological sign of autism in very young toddlers.

26 Jul 2011

Insight into Fragile X Syndrome and autism

Researchers now have a much clearer understanding of how mutations in a single gene can produce the complex cognitive deficits characteristic of Fragile X Syndrome, the most common inherited form of intellectual disability.

22 Jul 2011

Computer modeling to predict how peripheral nerve axon responds to electrical stimuli

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a computer modeling method to accurately predict how a peripheral nerve axon responds to electrical stimuli, slashing the complex work from an inhibitory weeks-long process to just a few seconds.

21 Jul 2011

Intense visual stimulation renders nerve cells more receptive to subsequent learning

Dr. Ed Ruthazer is a mapmaker but, his landscape is the developing brain - specifically the neuronal circuitry, which is the network of connections between nerve cells. His research at The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro at McGill University, reveals the brain as a dynamic landscape where connections between nerves are plastic, changing and adapting to the demands of the environment.

21 Jul 2011

Study: 'The wave of death' may not indicate onset of brain death

The wave-shaped signal, which was previously dubbed 'the wave of death', had already been measured by researchers in Nijmegen in the brains of rats that had just been decapitated. The rats had already had electrodes implanted in their brains before the experiment.

18 Jul 2011

Autism Speaks honors Scripps Research scientist with Weatherstone Fellowship

Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism science and advocacy group, has awarded a two-year Dennis Weatherstone Pre-Doctoral Fellowship to Kristopher Nazor of The Scripps Research Institute.

16 Jul 2011

New method to study neuronal activity in the deepest layers of the cortex

Visual and tactile objects in our surroundings are translated into a perception by complex interactions of neurons in the cortex. The principles underlying spatial and temporal organization of neuronal activity during decision-making and object perception are not all understood yet.

13 Jul 2011

Neuron News and Research

New measurement technologies provide scientists more complete look at neurological activity

SIGMAR1 gene mutation associated with development of juvenile ALS

Research: p38α MAPK protein plays a role in addiction, depression-like behavior

Insight into how neural circuit forms motor plan

New research uncovers role of p38alpha in mood disorders, addiction

Researchers helps explain how the adult brain cleans out dead brain cells and produces new ones

Human brain cells created from skin cells: Potential for Alzheimer’s

UH undergraduates seek solutions to many maladies like diabetes, Alzheimer's

Nacolepsy drugs may be effective in reversing illness-induced lethargy

Scientists study how nervous system translates sensory information into coordinated motor output

New software tools for fast, accurate reconstruction of neural networks

Drug to prevent brain ageing: Study

Arterial spin labeling shows areas of brain activity in chronic low back pain patients

fMRI scans can identify biological signs of autism in toddlers

Insight into Fragile X Syndrome and autism

Computer modeling to predict how peripheral nerve axon responds to electrical stimuli

Intense visual stimulation renders nerve cells more receptive to subsequent learning

Study: 'The wave of death' may not indicate onset of brain death

Autism Speaks honors Scripps Research scientist with Weatherstone Fellowship

New method to study neuronal activity in the deepest layers of the cortex

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

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

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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