Synapse News and Research

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New research describes genetic switches that ignite axon formation

While the neural architecture responsible for the transmission of electrical impulses has been known for more than a century, the basic biology behind how a neuron acquires its one and only axon -- a fundamental component of how neurons communicate -- remains a mystery.

5 Feb 2019

Researchers identify treatable mechanism in patients with schizophrenia

For reasons that are unclear, schizophrenia patients have fewer connections between the neurons in the brain. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and Massachusetts General Hospital, USA, have now succeeded in creating human cell models that show that there is an excessive degradation of connections in the brain of these patients, and they have been able to link this to a genetic risk variant for the disease.

4 Feb 2019

Mouse studies challenge 'inhibition' theory of autism

A detailed study of four mouse models of autism challenges the most common assumption about what goes wrong in brain circuits to cause disease symptoms.

21 Jan 2019

Exercise hormone can prevent Alzheimer's finds study

According to a large worldwide study, the hormone that is produced in the body during exercise called irisin, can prevent and delay the onset of mental faculty decline and Alzheimer’s disease. The results of the study were published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

8 Jan 2019

UI study leads to better understanding of signaling capacity between neurons

The fundamental process of information transfer from neuron to neuron occurs through a relay of electrical and chemical signaling at the synapse, the junction between neurons. Electrical signals, called action potentials, cause voltage-gated calcium channels on the presynaptic neuron to open.

18 Dec 2018

Getting the Most Out of the CLARITY Technique

An interview with Dr. Tim Steppe, discussing the latest advances in the CLARITY technique and his top tips for scientists using this method in their research.

From Logos Biosystems 17 Dec 2018

CTF along with NTAP and Sage announce first-ever open data portal for neurofibromatosis

The Children's Tumor Foundation, together with the Neurofibromatosis Therapeutic Acceleration Program and Sage Bionetworks, has announced the first-ever open data portal for scientific research results in the field of neurofibromatosis.

17 Dec 2018

Study reveals why mitochondria are often strangely shaped inside the brain

Columbia neuroscientists have discovered why mitochondria, tiny power generators that keep our cells healthy, are often strangely shaped inside the brain.

28 Nov 2018

International study of ADHD at genomic scale

An international study, focused on the analysis of the genome of more than 50,000 people worldwide, has identified twelve specific fragments of DNA related to the vulnerability of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

26 Nov 2018

Abnormalities in development of the brain could be involved in onset of autism, finds new study

Autism spectrum disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by communication disorders, altered social interactions and sensory and behavioral abnormalities. Research in genetics and brain imaging suggests that abnormalities in the development of the brain concerning, in particular, the formation of neural networks and the functioning of synapses could be involved in the onset of ASD.

15 Nov 2018

Study reveals unknown mechanism that protects tumor cells from NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity

Cancer cells have evolved multiple escape strategies to circumvent the body's immune defenses such as the attack by Natural Killer (NK) cells which normally swiftly kill abnormal cells by releasing cytotoxic products.

24 Oct 2018

Findings offer new insight into early changes that occur during AD pathology

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, involving memory loss and a reduction in cognitive abilities.

12 Oct 2018

Neuroscientists unravel how two different types of brain plasticity work on synapses

The brain's crucial function is to allow organisms to learn and adapt to their surroundings. It does this by literally changing the connections, or synapses, between neurons, strengthening meaningful patterns of neural activity in order to store information. The existence of this process - brain plasticity - has been known for some time.

12 Oct 2018

Study shows role of protein in tuning synaptic transmission critical for cognition

Our cognitive abilities come down to how well the connections, or synapses, between our brain cells transmit signals.

10 Oct 2018

New molecular interaction governs formation of specific connections between neurons

Researchers at VIB and KU Leuven have uncovered a new molecular interaction that governs the formation of specific functional connections between two types of neurons.

3 Oct 2018

Researchers discover how nerve cells control movement

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered a new way in which nerve cells can control movement. In a study on zebrafish published in the journal PNAS they show that the contact between neurons and muscles is more dynamic than previously thought.

3 Oct 2018

Researchers propose mechanism by which ASTN2 protein defects lead to brain disorders

In the brain, as in business, connections are everything. To maintain cellular associates, the outer surface of a neuron, its membrane, must express particular proteins--proverbial hands that reach out and greet nearby cells. And, like a creepily long handshake, surface molecules can overstay their welcome: A protein that lingers too long on the membrane may compromise the connections, or synapses, between cells.

24 Sep 2018

Scientists report conserved role for serotonin in mediating social behavior in octopus, humans

The mood-altering drug MDMA - which promotes positive, friendly social interactions in humans by inhibiting serotonin uptake in nerve cells - has a similar behavioral effect in an octopus species, scientists report today.

21 Sep 2018

Obesity contributes to cognitive deficits by activating microglial cells, mice study shows

Obesity leads to cognitive impairment by activating microglial cells, which consume otherwise functional synapses in the hippocampus, according to a study of male mice published in JNeurosci.

From Society for Neuroscience 11 Sep 2018

Researchers discover materials which form new presynapses for release of transmitters

Synapses are the interfaces for information exchange between neurons. Teams of scientists working with Professor Dr. Volker Haucke, Director at the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie and Professor at the Freie Universitaet Berlin, and Professor Dr. Stephan Sigrist at the Freie Universität Berlin discovered the materials, which form new presynapses for the release of transmitters. The findings may help to design better nerve-regenerating therapies in the future.

31 Aug 2018