Neuron News and Research

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Microscopic imaging technique reveals rapid formation of Alzheimer's-associated plaques

The amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients may form much more rapidly than previously expected.

7 Feb 2008

Brain disturbances in chronic pain

People with unrelenting pain don't only suffer from the non-stop sensation of throbbing pain.

7 Feb 2008

Brain circuitry that drives drug-seeking compulsion identified

In experiments with rats, researchers have identified the change in brain circuitry that drives development of a compulsion to seek drugs, even when that compulsion is self-destructive.

7 Feb 2008

Brain study suggests way to measure, treat autism

Researchers have pinpointed subtle deficits in the brains of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that they say could aid more precise diagnoses and perhaps improve treatment of ASD.

7 Feb 2008

Structure of important neurotransmitter regulator solved

Researchers from Virginia Tech and the Brookhaven National Laboratory have solved the structure of an enzyme that is critical in the regulation of the neurotransmitter system in the human brain.

4 Feb 2008

Targeting astrocytes slows progression of Lou Gehrig's disease

In what the researchers say could be promising news in the quest to find a therapy to slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have shown that targeting neuronal support cells called astrocytes sharply slows disease progression in mice.

4 Feb 2008

New Parkinson's disease research points to serotonin

For most people with Parkinson's disease, the only relief from the tremors, rigidity and impaired movement associated with the progressive loss of their motor skills is a drug called L-DOPA. But as the disease progresses, L-DOPA can cause prominent side effects that counteract its effectiveness.

4 Feb 2008

Fruit for Alzheimer's

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4 Feb 2008

Neurogenesis plays an important role in the acquisition and storage of spatial memory

Boosted by physical and mental exercise, neural stem cells continue to sprout new neurons throughout life, but the exact function of these newcomers has been the topic of much debate.

4 Feb 2008

Stem cell therapy studies for stroke, cerebral palsy prepare for clinical trials

Finding answers about optimal dosage and timing for stem cell therapy in adults with strokes and newborns with ischemic injuries is a goal of two new federally funded studies.

31 Jan 2008

New understanding of sound representations in the auditory cortex

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have reported new findings about how the mammalian brain interprets and fashions representations of sound that may help explain how we are able to focus on one particular sound among many in noisy environments such as offices or cocktail parties.

30 Jan 2008

Unexpected protein-protein interaction suggests new ALS drug target

Discovery of an unexpected protein-protein interaction has led University of Iowa scientists and colleagues to identify a drug that slows the progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in mice and nearly doubles the animals' lifespan.

25 Jan 2008

New MIT tool probes brain circuits

Researchers at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT report in the Jan. 24 online edition of Science that they have created a way to see, for the first time, the effect of blocking and unblocking a single neural circuit in a living animal.

25 Jan 2008