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UW study offers visual proof of how brain synapses shrink during sleep

Striking electron microscope pictures from inside the brains of mice suggest what happens in our own brain every day: Our synapses - the junctions between nerve cells - grow strong and large during the stimulation of daytime, then shrink by nearly 20 percent while we sleep, creating room for more growth and learning the next day.

3 Feb 2017

Mount Sinai study characterizes genetically modified rat model of autism and intellectual disability

Researchers at The Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai have generated and characterized a genetically modified rat model of autism and intellectual disability, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published January 31 in the journal eLife.

31 Jan 2017

Penn researchers unravel missing steps involved in movement of cellular cargo

Every time a hormone is released from a cell, every time a neurotransmitter leaps across a synapse to relay a message from one neuron to another, the cell must undergo exocytosis.

24 Jan 2017

Hormonal fluctuations make women more sensitive to addictive properties of cocaine, study reveals

Hormonal fluctuations women undergo make them particularly sensitive, compared to men, to the addictive properties of cocaine, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published January 10 in the journal Nature Communications.

11 Jan 2017

Alcohol strengthens emotional memories linked to fearful experiences, study shows

Experiments in mice by researchers at Johns Hopkins suggest that if the goal is to ease or extinguish fearful emotional memories like those associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol may make things worse, not better.

10 Jan 2017

Study shows new role of zinc in optic nerve injury

For more than two decades, researchers have tried to regenerate the injured optic nerve using different growth factors and/or agents that overcome natural growth inhibition.

3 Jan 2017

Researchers identify mechanism that generates synchronous oscillation in the brain

Every time we learn something new, the memory does not only need to be acquired, it also needs to be stabilized in a process called memory consolidation.

30 Dec 2016

Research provides new insight into how diseases that disconnect brain and body occur

A huge colony of receptors must be optimally positioned and functioning on our muscle cells for our brains to talk with our bodies so we can walk and breathe.

29 Nov 2016

Neurons appear to retain partial communication despite serious structural aberrations, study finds

Neuroscientists have long known that brain cells communicate with each other through the release of tiny bubbles packed with neurotransmitters—a fleet of vessels docked along neuronal ends ready to launch when a trigger arrives.

24 Nov 2016

FUJIFILM to introduce next generation Dynamic Visualization II Image Processing at RSNA 2016

FUJIFILM Medical Systems U.S.A., Inc., a leading provider of diagnostic imaging products and medical informatics solutions, will present the next generation of its cutting edge image processing technology, Dynamic Visualization II at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, from November 27 - December 2, 2016 at McCormick Center in Chicago, Illinois.

23 Nov 2016

FUJIFILM to display evolving Enterprise Imaging portfolio of Synapse integrated solutions at RSNA 2016

FUJIFILM Medical Systems U.S.A., Inc., a leading provider of diagnostic imaging products and medical informatics solutions, will showcase its evolving Enterprise Imaging portfolio of Synapse integrated solutions and spotlight enhanced features and next generation upgrades at the Radiological Society of North America 2016 conference and exhibition held November 27 - December 2, 2016 at McCormick Center in Chicago, Illinois.

22 Nov 2016

Scientists identify naturally occurring molecule that plays protective role in ALS

Researchers at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have identified a naturally occurring molecule that has the potential for preserving sites of communication between nerves and muscles in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and over the course of aging -- as well as a molecule that interferes with this helpful process.

18 Nov 2016

TSRI scientists discover precise signaling mechanisms that regulate brain’s motor function

In new findings that could have an impact the development of therapies for a number of currently untreatable brain disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found, for the first time, that a specific signaling circuit in the brain is deeply involved in motor activity.

17 Nov 2016

Crowdsourcing new prediction tool for better prognosis of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

Knowing the likely course of cancer can influence treatment decisions. Now a new prediction model published today in Lancet Oncology offers a more accurate prognosis for a patient's metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

16 Nov 2016

Researchers discover genetic alterations in autism gene that reduces brain activity

Scientists at McMaster University's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute in collaboration with Sick Children's Hospital have discovered genetic alterations in the gene DIXDC1 in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

8 Nov 2016

Research findings provide clues to possible genetic causes and potential treatments for autism

As a researcher at Harvard Medical School, Christopher W. Cowan, Ph.D., used to watch autistic kids come onto campus to attend a special school.

26 Oct 2016

DZNE scientists find new mechanism that allows damaged neurons to regenerate

Injuries to the spinal cord can cause paralysis and other permanent disabilities because severed nerve fibers do not regrow. Now, scientists of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases have succeeded in releasing a molecular brake that prevents the regeneration of nerve connections.

7 Oct 2016

Mathematical model helps explain how the brain forms new memories without wiping out old ones

Columbia scientists have developed a new mathematical model that helps to explain how the human brain's biological complexity allows it to lay down new memories without wiping out old ones -- illustrating how the brain maintains the fidelity of memories for years, decades or even a lifetime.

4 Oct 2016

Researchers identify process in the brains of mice that may explain repetitive actions in Rett patients

Three-year-old Naomi slaps her forehead a few times, bites her fingers and toddles across the doctor's office in her white and pink pajamas before turning her head into a door with a dull thud.

27 Sep 2016

Six NIH-funded projects aim to identify biological factors that affect neural regeneration

The National Institutes of Health will fund six projects to identify biological factors that affect neural regeneration in the retina.

2 Sep 2016