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Alzheimer's disease linked to mitochondrial damage

Investigators at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have demonstrated that attacks on the mitochondrial protein Drp1 by the free radical nitric oxide-which causes a chemical reaction called S-nitrosylation-mediates neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease.

5 Apr 2009

What drives brain changes in macular degeneration?

In macular degeneration, the most common form of adult blindness, patients progressively lose vision in the center of their visual field, thereby depriving the corresponding part of the visual cortex of input.

2 Apr 2009

A new theory on autism put forward

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have proposed a sweeping new theory of autism that suggests that the brains of people with autism are structurally normal but dysregulated, meaning symptoms of the disorder might be reversible.

1 Apr 2009

Basic guides to PCR, labeling neurons featured in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols

Along with new cutting-edge methods, Cold Spring Harbor Protocols is home to an in-depth library of basic laboratory methods.

1 Apr 2009

Activation of the prefrontal cortex improves working memory

Psychologists and neurologists invest considerable effort in the study of working memory.

1 Apr 2009

Experimental brain tools developed by Hebrew University scientists

An interdisciplinary team of scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed a new analytical tool to answer the question of how our brain cells record outside stimuli and react to them.

1 Apr 2009

How microglia diagnose damaged circuits in an in vivo brain

Microglia, immune cells in the brain, is suggested to be involved in the repair of damaged brain, like a medical doctor.

1 Apr 2009

CSHL neuroscientists propose project to comprehensively map mammalian brain circuits

Thirty-seven scientists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and 20 other major research institutions in the U.S. and Europe have issued a major challenge to the neuroscience community.

1 Apr 2009

Model brain explains limitations of working memory

Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet (KI) have constructed a mathematical activity model of the brain's anterior and superior parts, to increase the understanding of the capacity of the working memory and of how the billions of neurons in the brain interact.

31 Mar 2009

Blood test that predicts seriousness of a head injury gains momentum

A blood test that can help predict the seriousness of a head injury and detect the status of the blood-brain barrier is a step closer to reality, according to two recently published studies involving University of Rochester Medical Center researchers.

31 Mar 2009

Moonlighting immune molecules found in the brain

Molecules assumed to be in the exclusive employ of the immune system have been caught moonlighting in the brain - with a job description apparently quite distinct from their role in immunity.

30 Mar 2009

How your brain grows might come down to how your cells divide

In the April 6 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB), Lake and Sokol report that mouse protein Vangl2 controls the asymmetrical cell division and developmental fate of progenitor neurons.

30 Mar 2009

Discovery of protein that reactivates latent herpes simplex virus

Research in Public Library of Science (PLoS) Pathogens appears to solve a long standing medical mystery by identifying a viral protein, VP16, as the molecular key that prompts herpes simplex virus (HSV) to exit latency and cause recurrent disease.

29 Mar 2009

Discovery of mechanism of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease

Tiny, toxic protein particles severely disrupt neurotransmission and inhibit delivery of key proteins in Alzheimer's disease, two separate studies by Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) researchers have found.

29 Mar 2009

Non-invasive brain scanning technique may trace development of Parkinson's disease

While finding a biomarker for Parkinson's disease that would let physicians screen for or track its progression remains an elusive goal, a team led by a University of Illinois at Chicago neuroscientist has shown that a non-invasive brain scanning technique offers promise.

24 Mar 2009

Experimental Parkinson's therapy may have robust weight-loss effect

A growth factor used in clinical experiments to rescue dying brain cells in Parkinson patients may cause unwanted weight loss if delivered to specific areas of the brain, according to University of Florida researchers in the March online edition of Molecular Therapy.

24 Mar 2009

Social isolation makes strokes more deadly in mice

New research in mice suggests that social isolation may promote more damaging inflammation in the brain during a stroke.

23 Mar 2009

Stem cell therapy may lead to treatment for deafness

Deafness affects more than 250 million people worldwide. It typically involves the loss of sensory receptors, called hair cells, for their "tufts" of hair-like protrusions, and their associated neurons.

23 Mar 2009

Human adult testes cells can become embryonic-like

Using what they say is a relatively simple method, scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have extracted stem/progenitor cells from testes and have converted them back into pluripotent embryonic-like stem cells.

23 Mar 2009

Thinning of right hemisphere in brain a marker for familial form of depression

Findings from one of the largest-ever imaging studies of depression indicate that a structural difference in the brain - a thinning of the right hemisphere - appears to be linked to a higher risk for depression, according to new research at Columbia University Medical Center and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

23 Mar 2009