Brain Cell News and Research

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Scientists believe that new links between brain cells help encode new memories and skills

In adults, some brain regions retain a "childlike" ability to establish new connections, potentially contributing to our ability to learn new skills and form new memories as we age, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle.

8 Jan 2014

Researchers find inhibition of basic cellular process that contributes to schizophrenia

Surprisingly little is known about schizophrenia. It was only recognized as a medical condition in the past few decades, and its exact causes remain unclear. Since there is no objective test for schizophrenia, its diagnosis is based on an assortment of reported symptoms.

30 Dec 2013

Manipulating epigenetic mechanism may promote cell death in pediatric brain cancer

Researchers at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, the university hospital (Hospital de Cl-nicas de Porto Alegre, HCPA) and the Children's Cancer Institute (Instituto do C-ncer Infantil do Rio Grande do Sul, ICI-RS) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, have shown that manipulating an epigenetic mechanism, which regulates gene expression, may promote cell death and favor maturation towards less malignant-prone phenotypes in pediatric brain cancer cell lines.

22 Dec 2013

Study reports new links between brain cell activity and choices where two options have equal appeal

Life presents us with choices all the time: salad or pizza for lunch? Tea or coffee afterward? How we make these everyday decisions has been a topic of great interest to economists, who have devised theories about how we assign values to our options and use those values to make decisions.

6 Dec 2013

Biologists discover how nerve cells recycle tiny vesicles

University of Utah and German biologists discovered how nerve cells recycle tiny bubbles or "vesicles" that send chemical nerve signals from one cell to the next. The process is much faster and different than two previously proposed mechanisms for recycling the bubbles.

5 Dec 2013

Research: Motor proteins transport mRNA to get where it is needed, prevent diseases

Scientists have found that mRNA may travel one way down a cell, then board another, aptly named motor protein, and head in the opposite direction to get where it ultimately needs to be.

27 Nov 2013

Risk factors for Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease has joined cancer at the top of the list of feared diagnoses, and although Alzheimer's does have the potential to devastate millions of patients and families, there are reasons for hope - and possibly opportunities to reduce risk or alter the course of disease progression, according to Keith Black, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai.

26 Nov 2013

Study investigates connections between sleep problems and neurodegenerative conditions

A new discovery may help explain the surprisingly strong connections between sleep problems and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

26 Nov 2013

Neuroscientists discover new role played by common but mysterious class of brain cells

Stanford University School of Medicine neuroscientists have discovered a new role played by a common but mysterious class of brain cells.

26 Nov 2013

Research could refine next generation of drugs to help treat dementia

A £1.1 million grant to understand how one of the brain's key neurotransmitters called 'acetylcholine' influences brain activity has been awarded to University of Bristol researchers. The Wellcome Trust award will help scientists understand more precisely how the release of acetylcholine is changing brain cell activity to influence memory and cognition.

15 Nov 2013

Identifying 'sensome' of microglia could improve treatments for neurodegenerative disorders

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators have used a new sequencing method to identify a group of genes used by the brain's immune cells - called microglia - to sense pathogenic organisms, toxins or damaged cells that require their response.

15 Nov 2013

Life events influence genes important for memory and drug use

New human and animal research released today demonstrates how experiences impact genes that influence behavior and health. Today's studies, presented at Neuroscience 2013, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health, provide new insights into how experience might produce long-term brain changes in behaviors like drug addiction and memory formation.

13 Nov 2013

Researchers identify critical mechanism to improve survival and behavior of new brain cells

A specialized type of brain cell that tamps down stem cell activity ironically, perhaps, encourages the survival of the stem cells' progeny, Johns Hopkins researchers report.

11 Nov 2013

Generic drug gabapentin appears to be safe, effective in treating alcohol dependence

The generic drug gabapentin, which is already widely prescribed for epilepsy and some kinds of pain, appears to be safe and effective in the treatment of alcohol dependence. The finding comes from a 150-patient randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind clinical trial conducted by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute.

4 Nov 2013

International researchers identify 11 new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease

An international group of researchers has identified 11 new genes that offer important new insights into the disease pathways involved in Alzheimer's disease. The highly collaborative effort involved scanning the DNA of over 74,000 volunteers-the largest genetic analysis yet conducted in Alzheimer's research-to discover new genetic risk factors linked to late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of the disorder.

28 Oct 2013

LCSB researchers publish current knowledge about the genetic, molecular causes of PD

Parkinson's disease continues to puzzle physicians and biologists alike - even though it is well-established that symptoms like muscle tremors, rigidity, and, during the final stages, immobility can all be traced back to the death of a certain type of brain cell called a dopaminergic neuron. The underlying cause of this cellular death is a complex web of interrelated genetic molecular processes as well as external factors, most of the details of which are well-known. But how the various factors correlate and influence each other continues to elude the scientific community.

24 Oct 2013

Diverse Neurological Disorders Appear To Share Tangled Metabolic Roots

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10 Oct 2013

Gene mutation offers clues to development of diverse neurological disorders

A research team, headed by Theodore Friedmann, MD, professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, says a gene mutation that causes a rare but devastating neurological disorder known as Lesch-Nyhan syndrome appears to offer clues to the developmental and neuronal defects found in other, diverse neurological disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

10 Oct 2013

Researchers study link between newborn infections and later behavior problems

Researchers exploring the link between newborn infections and later behavior and movement problems have found that inflammation in the brain keeps cells from accessing iron that they need to perform a critical role in brain development.

9 Oct 2013

Research findings show how flawed transport gene contributes to autism

Researchers say it's clear that some cases of autism are hereditary, but have struggled to draw direct links between the condition and particular genes. Now a team at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has devised a process for connecting a suspect gene to its function in autism.

1 Oct 2013

Brain Cell News and Research

Scientists believe that new links between brain cells help encode new memories and skills

Researchers find inhibition of basic cellular process that contributes to schizophrenia

Manipulating epigenetic mechanism may promote cell death in pediatric brain cancer

Study reports new links between brain cell activity and choices where two options have equal appeal

Biologists discover how nerve cells recycle tiny vesicles

Research: Motor proteins transport mRNA to get where it is needed, prevent diseases

Risk factors for Alzheimer's disease

Study investigates connections between sleep problems and neurodegenerative conditions

Neuroscientists discover new role played by common but mysterious class of brain cells

Research could refine next generation of drugs to help treat dementia

Identifying 'sensome' of microglia could improve treatments for neurodegenerative disorders

Life events influence genes important for memory and drug use

Researchers identify critical mechanism to improve survival and behavior of new brain cells

Generic drug gabapentin appears to be safe, effective in treating alcohol dependence

International researchers identify 11 new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease

LCSB researchers publish current knowledge about the genetic, molecular causes of PD

Diverse Neurological Disorders Appear To Share Tangled Metabolic Roots

Gene mutation offers clues to development of diverse neurological disorders

Researchers study link between newborn infections and later behavior problems

Research findings show how flawed transport gene contributes to autism

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