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Regular drug use may hamper moral decision making

Regular cocaine and methamphetamine users can have difficulty choosing between right and wrong, perhaps because the specific parts of their brains used for moral processing and evaluating emotions are damaged by their prolonged drug habits.

13 Jul 2016

Researchers discover new biological pathway involved in Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have identified a new biological pathway involved in Alzheimer's disease. In experiments using fruit flies, blocking the pathway reduced the death of brain cells, suggesting that interfering with the pathway could represent a promising new strategy to treat the disease in human patients.

13 Jul 2016

Scientists identify timing of major metabolic shift in developing neurons

Our brains can survive only for a few minutes without oxygen. Salk Institute researchers have now identified the timing of a dramatic metabolic shift in developing neurons, which makes them become dependent on oxygen as a source of energy.

13 Jul 2016

17beta-Estradiol patch may help reduce Alzheimer's disease risk in newly postmenopausal women

Can estrogen preserve brain function and decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease when given early in menopause? Newly postmenopausal women who received estrogen via a skin patch had reduced beta-amyloid deposits, the sticky plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease, a Mayo Clinic study published this month in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found.

13 Jul 2016

Scientists reveal how manipulating novel target in the brain could lead to new therapies for depression

Northwestern Medicine scientists have shown how manipulating a novel target in the brain using gene therapy could lead to new treatments for depression.

12 Jul 2016

Obese individuals may be more sensitive to overeating when presented with food cues

Obese mice are much more likely than lean mice to overeat in the presence of environmental cues, a behavior that could be related to changes in the brain, finds a new study by a Michigan State University neuroscientist.

12 Jul 2016

Neuroscientists identify two distinct populations of dopamine neurons involved in movement, reward

Two Northwestern University neuroscientists have identified the neurochemical signal likely missing in Parkinson's disease by being the first to discover two distinctly different kinds of neurons that deliver dopamine to an important brain region responsible for both movement and learning/reward behavior.

12 Jul 2016

Leukemia drug increases brain dopamine, lowers toxic proteins linked to Parkinson's or dementia

A small phase I study provides molecular evidence that an FDA-approved drug for leukemia significantly increased brain dopamine and reduced toxic proteins linked to disease progression in patients with Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies.

12 Jul 2016

Study shows miR-19 helps new neurons in the adult brain stay on track

A small stretch of ribonucleic acid called microRNA could make the difference between a healthy adult brain and one that's prone to disorders including schizophrenia.

8 Jul 2016

Extra-coding RNA modulates neuronal DNA methylation patterns

The creation of memories in the brain involves addition or removal of methyl groups at precise spots on chromosomal DNA. But what controls the careful targeting of these neuronal DNA methylation dynamics?

8 Jul 2016

Scientists use stem cell techniques to unravel biology of autism

The brains of some people with autism spectrum disorder grow faster than usual early on in life, often before diagnosis.

8 Jul 2016

Study proves cells can send ephrins and Ephs out to transmit signals

Eph receptors and their partner proteins, the ephrins, are vital for intercellular communication.

8 Jul 2016

Activation of D2 neurons may help decrease alcohol consumption, research shows

By activating particular neurons, we may be able to influence alcohol drinking behavior, according to new findings published by researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

7 Jul 2016

Scientists discover key cellular mechanism behind side-effects of antipsychotics

Since their development in the 1950s, antipsychotic drugs have been widely used to treat psychoses and neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia. A debilitating side-effect of these drugs called parkinsonism limits their efficacy.

7 Jul 2016

AMPK protein activated during fasting regulates hunger neurons in the brain

Neurons in the brain that control hunger are regulated by AMPK, a protein activated during fasting, report researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Neuron on July 6, 2016.

6 Jul 2016

Tiny micro-vesicle structures may help predict probability of developing Alzheimer's dementia

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine say tiny micro-vesicle structures used by neurons and other cells to transport materials internally or dispose of them externally carry tell-tale proteins that may help to predict the likelihood of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) developing into full-blown Alzheimer's disease (AD).

6 Jul 2016

Researchers identify potential biomarker for Parkinson's disease in biobanked urine samples

For more than five years, urine and cerebral-spinal fluid samples from patients with Parkinson's disease have been locked in freezers in the NINDS National Repository, stored with the expectation they might someday help unravel the still-hidden course of this slow-acting neurodegenerative disease.

6 Jul 2016

MIT engineers develop new way to visualize RNA molecules in higher resolution

Cells contain thousands of messenger RNA molecules, which carry copies of DNA's genetic instructions to the rest of the cell. MIT engineers have now developed a way to visualize these molecules in higher resolution than previously possible in intact tissues, allowing researchers to precisely map the location of RNA throughout cells.

4 Jul 2016

Neuroscientists map neural connections over long distances in the brain

A team of neuroscientists at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, in Lisbon, has been able to map single neural connections over long distances in the brain.

4 Jul 2016

Scientists reveal how new adult-born neurons evolve in olfactory bulb of mice

Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS were able to make real-time observations over a period of several months that reveal how new adult-born neurons are formed and evolve in the olfactory bulb of mice.

4 Jul 2016

Neurons News and Research

Regular drug use may hamper moral decision making

Researchers discover new biological pathway involved in Alzheimer's disease

Scientists identify timing of major metabolic shift in developing neurons

17beta-Estradiol patch may help reduce Alzheimer's disease risk in newly postmenopausal women

Scientists reveal how manipulating novel target in the brain could lead to new therapies for depression

Obese individuals may be more sensitive to overeating when presented with food cues

Neuroscientists identify two distinct populations of dopamine neurons involved in movement, reward

Leukemia drug increases brain dopamine, lowers toxic proteins linked to Parkinson's or dementia

Study shows miR-19 helps new neurons in the adult brain stay on track

Extra-coding RNA modulates neuronal DNA methylation patterns

Scientists use stem cell techniques to unravel biology of autism

Study proves cells can send ephrins and Ephs out to transmit signals

Activation of D2 neurons may help decrease alcohol consumption, research shows

Scientists discover key cellular mechanism behind side-effects of antipsychotics

AMPK protein activated during fasting regulates hunger neurons in the brain

Tiny micro-vesicle structures may help predict probability of developing Alzheimer's dementia

Researchers identify potential biomarker for Parkinson's disease in biobanked urine samples

MIT engineers develop new way to visualize RNA molecules in higher resolution

Neuroscientists map neural connections over long distances in the brain

Scientists reveal how new adult-born neurons evolve in olfactory bulb of mice

Neuroscience - Third Edition 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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