Neurons News and Research

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Researchers shed light on basis of Parkinson’s disease and other ‘synucleinopathies’

Parkinson's disease (PD) and other "synucleinopathies" are known to be linked to the misfolding of alpha-synuclein protein in neurons.

27 Jan 2017

Researchers uncover how brain circuit elicits hunger responses during starvation

The human body responds to starving conditions, such as famine, to promote the chance of survival. It reduces energy expenditure by stopping heat production and promotes feeding behavior.

27 Jan 2017

Fixations control responses of face cells, research suggests

When we are walking down a crowded street, our brains are constantly active, processing a myriad of visual stimuli. Faces are particularly important social stimuli, and, indeed, the human brain has networks of neurons dedicated to processing faces.

27 Jan 2017

Old tuberculosis drug improves impaired social behavior in autism mouse model

Reducing the function of the autism-associated gene Pcdh10 leads to impairments in social behavior, according to a study published in Biological Psychiatry.

26 Jan 2017

Synthetic molecule appears to reverse Alzheimer's-related neurological damage

Under ordinary circumstances, the protein tau contributes to the normal, healthy functioning of brain neurons. In some people, though, it collects into toxic tangles that damage brain cells.

25 Jan 2017

Faults in natural waste disposal system may play key role in neurodegenerative diseases

A fault with the natural waste disposal system that helps to keep our brain cell 'batteries' healthy may contribute to neurodegenerative disease, a new study has found.

25 Jan 2017

Study provides insights into molecular mechanisms of ZIKV infection

Zika virus (ZIKV) interferes with the cellular machinery controlling cell division and alters the expression of hundreds of genes guiding the formation and development of neurons and astrocytes, according to findings released on January 23rd 2017 at Scientific Reports.

24 Jan 2017

UAB researchers discover novel underlying mechanism involved in anxiety disorders, PTSD

University of Alabama at Birmingham neurobiologist Lynn Dobrunz, Ph.D., has discovered a novel mechanism for how stress-induced anxiety — the type of experience that can produce post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD — affects circuit function in the hippocampus, the area of the brain where aversive memories are formed.

24 Jan 2017

Switching off brain regions helps better understand link between neural circuits and behaviour

Switching off specific brain regions in a laboratory animal is an important type of experiment used to better understand how the brain works.

24 Jan 2017

Stroke-injured rat brain forms functioning connections with transplanted neurons, study shows

Today, a stroke usually leads to permanent disability - but in the future, the stroke-injured brain could be reparable by replacing dead cells with new, healthy neurons, using transplantation.

24 Jan 2017

Researchers find new way to quantify olfactory sensory neurons using PET radiotracer

Olfactory health - how well we are able to smell - is a reliable marker of the health of the brain, but the "smell identification tests" commonly used in studies of olfactory health do not offer a complete picture of what is happening.

24 Jan 2017

Characterizing the Brain - Cell by Cell

My group develops approaches to study cell-to-cell signaling in the brain – how the cells of the brain talk to each other. The brain is heterogeneous, probably more so than any other organ in our body, and many of its functions depend on the unique characteristics of these cells.

From Pittcon 23 Jan 2017

Study reveals mechanism for illness-induced sleepiness in humans and animals

It's well known that humans and other animals are fatigued and sleepy when sick, but it's a microscopic roundworm that's providing an explanation of how that occurs, according to a study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

19 Jan 2017

Mutations in gene that enables memories, sense of direction can contribute to schizophrenia symptoms

Mutations in a gene that should enable memories and a sense of direction instead can result in imprecise communication between neurons that contributes to symptoms of schizophrenia, scientists report.

19 Jan 2017

Scientists harness rabies viruses for assessing connectivity of nerve cell transplants

Scientists under the leadership of the University of Bonn have harnessed rabies viruses for assessing the connectivity of nerve cell transplants: coupled with a green fluorescent protein, the viruses show where replacement cells engrafted into mouse brains have connected to the host neural network.

19 Jan 2017

Study identifies molecular signals that maintain nerve cell structures in the adult brain

Humans and other vertebrates depend on a portion of the brain called the hippocampus for learning, memory and their sense of location. Nerve cell structures in the adult hippocampus are sustained by factors whose identities have remained largely mysterious so far.

19 Jan 2017

Researchers show how adult learning is impaired in females using mouse models of Rett syndrome

Neurodevelopmental disorders like autism very likely have their origin at the dawn of life, with the emergence of inappropriate connectivity between nerve cells in the brain.

19 Jan 2017

Scientists discover new molecular information on how the brain regulates depression and anxiety

Researchers have made a ground-breaking discovery revealing new molecular information on how the brain regulates depression and anxiety.

18 Jan 2017

Researchers identify brain cell types from cell culture of adult human neurons

Studying brain disorders in people and developing drugs to treat them has been slowed by the inability to investigate single living cells from adult patients

18 Jan 2017

Blocking molecular signaling pathway could prevent or reverse peripheral neuropathy

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the University of Manitoba and St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre in Canada, have identified a molecular signaling pathway that, when blocked, promotes sensory neuron growth and prevents or reverses peripheral neuropathy in cell and rodent models of type 1 and 2 diabetes, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy and HIV.

18 Jan 2017

Neurons News and Research

Researchers shed light on basis of Parkinson’s disease and other ‘synucleinopathies’

Researchers uncover how brain circuit elicits hunger responses during starvation

Fixations control responses of face cells, research suggests

Old tuberculosis drug improves impaired social behavior in autism mouse model

Synthetic molecule appears to reverse Alzheimer's-related neurological damage

Faults in natural waste disposal system may play key role in neurodegenerative diseases

Study provides insights into molecular mechanisms of ZIKV infection

UAB researchers discover novel underlying mechanism involved in anxiety disorders, PTSD

Switching off brain regions helps better understand link between neural circuits and behaviour

Stroke-injured rat brain forms functioning connections with transplanted neurons, study shows

Researchers find new way to quantify olfactory sensory neurons using PET radiotracer

Characterizing the Brain - Cell by Cell

Study reveals mechanism for illness-induced sleepiness in humans and animals

Mutations in gene that enables memories, sense of direction can contribute to schizophrenia symptoms

Scientists harness rabies viruses for assessing connectivity of nerve cell transplants

Study identifies molecular signals that maintain nerve cell structures in the adult brain

Researchers show how adult learning is impaired in females using mouse models of Rett syndrome

Scientists discover new molecular information on how the brain regulates depression and anxiety

Researchers identify brain cell types from cell culture of adult human neurons

Blocking molecular signaling pathway could prevent or reverse peripheral neuropathy

eBook: Advancing neurodegenerative research with iPSC-derived microglia models eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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