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Understanding how juvenile social isolation might shape long term behavioral outcomes

Mount Sinai Researchers find social isolation during key developmental windows drives long term changes to activity patterns of neurons involved in initiating social approach in an animal model.

22 Feb 2020

Using 'mini-brains' to detect harmful neurodevelopmental effects of antidepressant

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have demonstrated the use of stem-cell-derived "mini-brains" to detect harmful side effects of a common drug on the developing brain.

21 Feb 2020

Researchers discover new mechanism involved in the expression of Down syndrome

Researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine and Université de Montréal have discovered a new mechanism involved in the expression of Down syndrome, one of the main causes of intellectual disability and congenital heart defects in children.

21 Feb 2020

Researchers decode the science behind good lighting

Researchers at UW Medicine have decoded what makes good lighting - lighting capable of stimulating the cone photoreceptor inputs to specific neurons in the eye that regulate circadian rhythms.

20 Feb 2020

Using a simple model to study how serotonin modulates behavior

In popular experience the story of how serotonin modulates the brain might seem simple: pop an antidepressant, serotonin levels go up, mood improves. But neuroscientists acknowledge how little they know about how the neurotransmitter affects circuits and behavior in the incredibly complex human brain.

20 Feb 2020

MD Anderson collaborates with Denali Therapeutics to advance novel therapies for neurodegenerative diseases

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today announced a strategic research collaboration with Denali Therapeutics Inc. to develop novel therapies for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

20 Feb 2020

New breakthrough offers hope for potential treatment of rare childhood epilepsy

Seizure disorders in babies are frightening and heartbreaking. A new basic science breakthrough offers hope for a potential treatment for rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathies resulting from a single genetic mutation.

20 Feb 2020

New C. elegans model will accelerate study of a rare disease

The model will permit to accelerate and reduce the price of the research, which is studying the mechanisms and the possible pharmacological targets for the neuronal alterations of this disease.

20 Feb 2020

New understanding of neurovascular coupling

A new study published in the journal Nature in February 2020 reports the discovery of a control mechanism in mouse brains, which makes it possible to sensitively regulate the flow of blood to different areas of the brain, to supply enough to more active areas.

19 Feb 2020

Altered potassium levels in neurons linked to mood swings in bipolar patients

People with bipolar disorder experience dramatic shifts in mood, oscillating between often debilitating periods of mania and depression.

19 Feb 2020

Study reveals how cells remove misfolded proteins from tissues

Researchers in Japan have identified a new quality control system that allows cells to remove damaged and potentially toxic proteins from their surroundings.

18 Feb 2020

Researchers uncover genetic mechanisms that govern brain plasticity

Genetic mechanisms that govern brain plasticity - the brain's ability to change and adapt - have been uncovered by researchers at the University of Birmingham.

18 Feb 2020

Study uses MRI to probe non-invasively inside a living brain

The wiring network of the brain is made up of billions of nerve fibers called axons. The thickness of axons - together with other properties - significantly impacts the way in which they conduct neural signals, and therefore the overall processing speed of connected neurons and brain areas.

18 Feb 2020

Scientists use toxin from rattlesnake venom for chronic pain

Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) is the largest venomous snake in North America, reaching 8 feet and weighing up to 10 pounds. In the past, medical experts believe that the toxin in rattlesnake venom, crotoxin, is a promising compound for the treatment of chronic pain.

18 Feb 2020

Research suggests new approach to block tau pathology in FTLD, Alzheimer's

The protein β-arrestin-2 increases the accumulation of neurotoxic tau tangles, a cause several forms of dementia, by interfering with removal of excess tau from the brain, a new study by the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine found.

17 Feb 2020

Immune system may target other remote areas of the brain to improve stroke recovery

New University of Kentucky research shows that the immune system may target other remote areas of the brain to improve recovery after a stroke.

17 Feb 2020

Fragile X syndrome-causing repeats help human neurons function, study finds

Over half of our genomes are made of repeating elements within DNA. In rare cases, these repeats can become unstable and grow in size. These repeat "expansions" cause neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and dementia as well as learning disorders and autism in Fragile X syndrome.

17 Feb 2020

Combination therapy for pediatric low-grade gliomas shows promise in mice

In experiments with human cells and mice, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center report evidence that combining the experimental cancer medication TAK228 (also called sapanisertib) with an existing anti-cancer drug called trametinib may be more effective than either drug alone in decreasing the growth of pediatric low-grade gliomas.

17 Feb 2020

Oxidative stress induces sleep in fruit flies, research shows

Sleep-deprived fruit flies helped reveal what induces sleep. University of Oxford researchers Anissa Kempf, Gero Miesenböck, and colleagues reveal that fruit fly sleep is driven by oxidative stress, the imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body. Kempf

16 Feb 2020

Breakthrough in artificial biomimetic sight

In a new study published in February 2020 in the journal Science Advances, researchers report the development of a nanoscale device that acts like the brain's visual cortex to directly see things in its path. The scientists created a new superstructure through the use of two nanomaterials in tandem that could help to make a machine that uses AI to simulate a human mind's function.

16 Feb 2020