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Unconventional wiring of the brain circuits that govern sleep and waking might explain the prevalence of insomnia

Unconventional wiring of the brain circuits that govern sleep and waking might explain the prevalence of insomnia and the condition's association with obesity, according to new work published in the April issue of Cell Metabolism. Characterized by a chronic inability to fall asleep or remain sleeping, insomnia is estimated to affect one in every eight Americans.

12 Apr 2005

Research suggests a central role for NMDA receptors in learning and memory

Learning and memory are processes that link experience with behavior and therefore play central roles in our daily experience. That there exists a physical basis for these processes seems at first hard to imagine--except for the fact that physical disruptions in the brain, such as stroke or disease, can make them go wrong.

11 Apr 2005

Researchers shed light on the brain cell damage caused by Alzheimer's disease

The researchers hope that by gaining a better understanding of the disease's cellular impacts, progress can be made towards developing a treatment. The research is reported in the current edition of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, published by IOS publishers.

7 Apr 2005

Why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute are reporting the results of a recent study that addresses why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases, which include Alzheimer's disease and a cluster of ailments called the familial amyloidoses.

7 Apr 2005

Study may lead to a better understanding of how antidepressants like Prozac work

According to results published in today's issue of the journal Neuron, a study in mice proposes that dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitter systems in the brain occasionally get their signals crossed, causing delays in stabilizing mood.

7 Apr 2005

Startling evidence that people can unconsciously learn complex motor behaviors by watching

It's widely accepted that people watching an expert golfer or carpenter can learn the procedural steps to a better golf swing or building a deck. However, researchers Andrew A.G. Mattar at McGill University and Paul L. Gribble of the University of Western Ontario have developed startling evidence that people can unconsciously learn complex motor behaviors by watching such performances.

6 Apr 2005

SSRI antidepressants "hijack" dopamine signaling as well launching serotonin signals

Researchers have discovered that antidepressant drugs such as Prozac not only affect levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain, but also "hijack" dopamine signaling as well--causing it to launch serotonin signals. Their findings offer new insight into how Prozac and other "selective serotonin uptake inhibitors" (SSRIs) work and how they might cause problems in patients taking them.

6 Apr 2005

Sensory deprivation reduces new cell size in the olfactory system

Sensory deprivation causes changes in new cell size and excitability in the olfactory system, which governs the ability to smell, according to a study in Neuron by a Yale School of Medicine researcher.

6 Apr 2005

Yeast discovery provides new insights into familial dysautonomia

A discovery in yeast that has important implications for finding a cure for a devastating disease of nerve cell failures -- called familial dysautonomia (FD) -- has been made by Cornell University researchers.

6 Apr 2005

Research offers promise for people with learning disabilities

Learning disabilities such as dyslexia are believed to affect nearly one in 10 children. To better study them, a Northwestern University research team has developed a data-driven conceptual framework that links two well-established scientific concepts. In doing so, they also have developed a non-invasive diagnostic tool called BioMAP that can quickly identify children with learning disabilities.

4 Apr 2005

Step toward a potential treatment for Huntington's disease

Researchers at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine have taken another step toward a potential treatment for Huntington's disease (HD). Using an approach called RNA interference (RNAi), the scientists reduced levels of the disease-causing HD protein in mice and significantly improved the movement and neurological abnormalities normally associated with the disease.

4 Apr 2005

Brain region recovery possible in former methamphetamine users

Adaptive changes in chemical activity in certain regions of the brain of former methamphetamine users who have not used the drug for a year or more suggest some recovery of neuronal structure and function, according to an article in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Apr 2005

Device may offer alternative for stroke patients

As the most common cause of adult disability in the United States, stroke leaves many survivors unable to perform tasks that were once part of their daily routine. Much of the time the disabilities are treatable, but the high cost of rehabilitation therapy leaves many patients to cope on their own.

30 Mar 2005

Clinical study of mirror neurons provides insights into autism and other disorders

Seeing is doing – at least it is when mirror neurons are working normally. But in autistic individuals, say researchers from the University of California, San Diego, the brain circuits that enable people to perceive and understand the actions of others do not behave in the usual way.

29 Mar 2005

Hair follicle stem cells may provide an accessible source of stem cells for therapeutic applications

Hair grows quickly and is continually replenished which makes it an attractive source to harvest the amount of stem cells needed for treatments, but this, along with controversy surrounding the ethics of harvesting cells from embryos, has been a major stumbling block of stem cell research.

28 Mar 2005

Adult stem cells could be used to treat deaf patients in the future

Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine are several steps closer to the day when a profoundly deaf patient's own bone marrow cells could be used to let him or her hear the world.

28 Mar 2005

Researchers have identified the proteins that allow specific brain cells to "change channels"

Johns Hopkins researchers have identified the proteins that allow specific brain cells to "change channels," a rare ability that tweaks what can come into the cell. The findings, described in the March 24 issue of Neuron, might let researchers harness the process, perhaps one day using it to protect cells that die in Lou Gehrig's disease.

28 Mar 2005

Vital molecular step in cell migration

A vital molecular step in cell migration, the movement of cells within the body during growth, tissue repair and the body's immune response to invading pathogens, has been demonstrated by researchers in the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.

28 Mar 2005

Fish is brain food

Researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) found that a diet high in docosahexenoic acid, or DHA--an omega-3 fatty acid found in relatively high concentrations in cold-water fish--dramatically slowed the progression of Alzheimer's disease in mice.

28 Mar 2005

Evidence of cross-activation in brain regions of people who see letters and numbers in colors

Synesthesia, a condition characterized by one sensory experience generating another – so that shapes have tastes, for instance – is estimated to affect between 1 in 200 to 1 in 2,000 people. The most common form involves seeing specific letters or numbers (graphemes) in specific colors.

23 Mar 2005

Neuron News and Research

Unconventional wiring of the brain circuits that govern sleep and waking might explain the prevalence of insomnia

Research suggests a central role for NMDA receptors in learning and memory

Researchers shed light on the brain cell damage caused by Alzheimer's disease

Why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases

Study may lead to a better understanding of how antidepressants like Prozac work

Startling evidence that people can unconsciously learn complex motor behaviors by watching

SSRI antidepressants "hijack" dopamine signaling as well launching serotonin signals

Sensory deprivation reduces new cell size in the olfactory system

Yeast discovery provides new insights into familial dysautonomia

Research offers promise for people with learning disabilities

Step toward a potential treatment for Huntington's disease

Brain region recovery possible in former methamphetamine users

Device may offer alternative for stroke patients

Clinical study of mirror neurons provides insights into autism and other disorders

Hair follicle stem cells may provide an accessible source of stem cells for therapeutic applications

Adult stem cells could be used to treat deaf patients in the future

Researchers have identified the proteins that allow specific brain cells to "change channels"

Vital molecular step in cell migration

Fish is brain food

Evidence of cross-activation in brain regions of people who see letters and numbers in colors

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