Neuroscience News and Research

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Nanoparticle carriers expand the effectiveness of gene therapies for human eye diseases

NIBIB-funded researchers have created nanoparticles for successful gene therapy of a mouse model of macular degeneration.

15 Aug 2020

Researchers study about the science behind staying motivated

There is no question that motivation is one of the hardest and yet important factors in life. It's the difference between success and failure, goal-setting and aimlessness, well-being and unhappiness. And yet, why is it so hard to get motivated - or even if we do, to keep it up?

13 Aug 2020

Reelin inhibition may be effective for treating multiple sclerosis

In an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), decreasing the amount of a protein made in the liver significantly protected against development of the disease's characteristic symptoms and promoted recovery in symptomatic animals, UTSW scientists report.

12 Aug 2020

Scientists win grant to study brain's role in tracking odors

Seeking to unravel the mystery of how animals follow scent, a team of scientists from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, the University of Colorado Boulder and Columbia University, have won a grant to peer deeply inside the brain as the process takes place.

12 Aug 2020

FDA approves new treatment option for patients with rare Duchenne muscular dystrophy mutation

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to Viltepso (viltolarsen) injection for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in patients who have a confirmed mutation of the DMD gene that is amenable to exon 53 skipping.

12 Aug 2020

Adaptive features of single neurons supply memory for language processing

To understand language, we have to remember the words that were uttered and combine them into an interpretation.

12 Aug 2020

Acupuncture can tame cytokine storm in mice with systemic inflammation

A team of researchers led by neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School has successfully used acupuncture to tame cytokine storm in mice with systemic inflammation.

12 Aug 2020

Study identifies neural connectivity patterns associated with autism in infants

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is rarely diagnosed until symptoms arise, often well into childhood. Evidence however, is mounting that developmental abnormalities likely emerge in the brain long before then: early identification of babies at risk for ASD could allow for interventions that would improve their developmental outcomes.

12 Aug 2020

New techniques help replace malfunctioning microglia associated with neurological disorders

Researchers at Fudan University in Shanghai, China have developed three different techniques that successfully replace almost all malfunctioning microglia - each technique with its own advantage in application

12 Aug 2020

Purdue University startup receives NIH grant to advance Alzheimer's research

A $2 million grant from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health to Neurodon, a Purdue University-affiliated startup, will help fast-track molecules that could improve memory and reduce Alzheimer's disease neurodegeneration.

12 Aug 2020

Brain activity in older adults is not necessarily quieter when it comes to memory

Everyone has heard it, and decades of research studies seem to confirm it: While it may not always be the first sign of aging, some faculties, including memory, do get worse as people age.

12 Aug 2020

Study to examine possible effects of COVID-19 on dementia risk in older adults

In addition to its clear impact on physical health, COVID-19 may also have adverse consequences for brain health. Therefore, researchers at Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute (RRI) are investigating the possible effects of COVID-19 and infection prevention measures on dementia risk in older adults.

11 Aug 2020

Signature brain activity in infants predicts ASD symptoms

11 Aug 2020

TRA-1 gene determines the sex of roundworms

Biological sex is typically understood in binary terms: male and female. However, there are many examples of animals that are able to modify sex-typical biological and behavioral features and even change sex.

11 Aug 2020

TAU researchers reduce colorectal cancer metastases after tumor removal surgery

A research group from Tel Aviv University successfully reduced metastatic spread following tumor removal surgery in colorectal cancer patients.

10 Aug 2020

Mathematical model shows how brain remains stable amid varying disturbances

Whether you are playing Go in a park amid chirping birds, a gentle breeze and kids playing catch nearby or you are playing in a den with a ticking clock on a bookcase and a purring cat on the sofa, if the game situation is identical and clear, your next move likely would be, too, regardless of those different conditions.

10 Aug 2020

FDA approves first oral drug for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Evrysdi (risdiplam) to treat patients two months of age and older with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare and often fatal genetic disease affecting muscle strength and movement.

7 Aug 2020

Method provides new insight into brain cells that maintain body's master circadian clock.

UT Southwestern scientists have developed a genetically engineered mouse and imaging system that lets them visualize fluctuations in the circadian clocks of cell types in mice.

7 Aug 2020

New approach improves SCA1 symptoms in animal models

Research has shown that a mutation in the ATAXIN-1 gene leads to accumulation of Ataxin-1 (ATXN1) protein in brain cells and is the root cause of a rare genetic neurodegenerative disease known as spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1).

7 Aug 2020

High concentrations of toxic pollutants were detected in stranded whales, dolphins

A study led by researchers at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute examined toxins in tissue concentrations and pathology data from 83 stranded dolphins and whales along the southeastern coast of the United States from 2012 to 2018.

7 Aug 2020