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Cannabis abuse affects long-term memory, finds new Northwestern Medicine study

Teens who were heavy marijuana users - smoking it daily for about three years -- had an abnormally shaped hippocampus and performed poorly on long-term memory tasks, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

12 Mar 2015

Neuralstem reports top line data from NSI-566 Phase II trial for treatment of ALS

Neuralstem, Inc. announced top line data from the Phase II trial of NSI-566 spinal cord-derived neural stem cells under development for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The study met primary safety endpoints. The maximum tolerated dose of 16 million transplanted cells and the surgery was well tolerated.

12 Mar 2015

European scientists identify gene linked with certain types of early-onset epilepsy

Certain types of early-onset epilepsy are caused by previously unknown mutations of a potassium channel gene, KCNA2. The mutations disrupt the electrical balance in the brain in two ways. In some patients, the flow of potassium is greatly reduced; while in others, it is raised enormously. Both states can lead to hard-to-treat epileptic seizures. Mental and motor development can come to a stop, or even to regress.

12 Mar 2015

NYU researchers devise computer model to explain how neural circuit learns to categorize

New York University researchers have devised a computer model to explain how a neural circuit learns to classify sensory stimuli into discrete categories, such as "car vs. motorcycle." Their findings, which appear in the journal Nature Communications, shed new light on the brain processes underpinning judgments we make on a daily basis.

12 Mar 2015

Researchers take important step in repairing the cerebral cortex of adult mouse

A team led by Afsaneh Gaillard (Inserm Unit 1084, Experimental and Clinical Neurosciences Laboratory, University of Poitiers), in collaboration with the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research in Human and Molecular Biology (IRIBHM) in Brussels, has just taken an important step in the area of cell therapy: repairing the cerebral cortex of the adult mouse using a graft of cortical neurons derived from embryonic stem cells.

12 Mar 2015

New study shows how presenilin gene mutations may lead to familial Alzheimer's disease

Mutations in the presenilin-1 gene are the most common cause of inherited, early-onset forms of Alzheimer's disease. In a new study, published in Neuron, scientists replaced the normal mouse presenilin-1 gene with Alzheimer's-causing forms of the human gene to discover how these genetic changes may lead to the disorder.

12 Mar 2015

Glucocorticoid therapies promote functional recovery of blood-brain barrier after blast injury

Barclay Morrison III, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia Engineering, has led the first study to determine underlying biological mechanisms that promote functional recovery of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) after blast injury. The research demonstrates that treatment with the glucocorticoid, dexamethasone, after primary blast injury promotes rapid recovery of an in vitro model of the BBB, a highly restrictive semi-permeable barrier whose primary function is to maintain the brain's microenvironment and protect it from potentially toxic substances.

12 Mar 2015

Excess dietary sodium can adversely affect organs

You may think you're one of the lucky ones who can eat all the salty snacks and convenience foods you want and still register low numbers on the blood pressure cuff. But, new research suggests you may not be so lucky after all.

11 Mar 2015

Brain tumor experts launch revolutionary fast-track approach to cancer research

Brain tumor experts at Barrow Neurological Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center have launched a revolutionary fast-track approach to cancer research, giving new hope to brain cancer patients.

10 Mar 2015

Neuroscientists reveal how olfaction is encoded in the brain

In a study that helps to deconstruct how olfaction is encoded in the brain, neuroscientists at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a type of neuron that appears to help tune, amplify and dampen neuronal responses to chemosensory inputs from the nasal cavity.

10 Mar 2015

Narcolepsy bears trademarks of classic autoimmune disorder

Narcoleptics suffer from bouts of sleepiness and sleep attacks, which impair their ability to function in daily life. But the precise cause of narcolepsy has long eluded scientists, and the cure for the devastating neurological disorder afflicting an estimated three million people worldwide -- and one in 3,000 Americans -- remains at bay.

10 Mar 2015

UC Irvine researchers discover inner mechanisms of jet lag

Long the stuff of science fiction, the disembodied "brain in a jar" is providing science fact for UC Irvine researchers, who by studying the whole brains of fruit flies are discovering the inner mechanisms of jet lag.

10 Mar 2015

The Brain Prize awarded to four scientists for development of two-photon microscopy

The world's most valuable (€1m) neuroscience prize, The Brain Prize has been awarded, to four scientists, Winfried Denk and Arthur Konnerth (Germany), and Karel Svoboda and David Tank (USA), for the invention and development of two-photon microscopy, a transformative tool in brain research.

9 Mar 2015

IUPUI researchers awarded grant to study how brain's reward system is hijacked by alcohol

With the support of a $545,000 three-year grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, researchers from the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis are conducting research on how the brain's reward system -- the circuitry that helps regulate the body's ability to feel pleasure -- is hijacked by alcohol.

9 Mar 2015

Appetite-controlling neurons initiate repetitive behaviors seen in OCD, anorexia nervosa

In the absence of food, neurons that normally control appetite initiate complex, repetitive behaviors seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and anorexia nervosa, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

9 Mar 2015

ULB researchers test therapeutic potential of cortical neurons developed in laboratory

Researchers at the ULB - IRIBHM and ULB Neuroscience Institute - have tested the therapeutic potential of cortical neurons generated at the laboratory, by transplantation in the brains of adult mice.

6 Mar 2015

Possible therapies to address cognitive symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia

By studying specially bred mice with specific developmental and cognitive traits resembling those seen in schizophrenia, UC San Francisco researchers have provided new evidence that abnormal rhythmic activity in particular brain cells contributes to problems with learning, attention, and decision-making in individuals with that disorder.

6 Mar 2015

UIC researchers identify genetic variation that increases MS risk in women

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have identified a genetic variation that in women significantly increases their risk of developing multiple sclerosis.

5 Mar 2015

Northwestern scientists map brain circuit that processes temperature information

Innately, we pull our hand away when we touch a hot pan on the stove, but little is known about how our brain processes temperature information. Northwestern University scientists now have discovered how a fruit fly's brain represents temperature, mapping it neuron by neuron, which has implications for understanding the much more complex human brain and how it responds to sensory stimuli.

5 Mar 2015

Study shows how mutations that cause Alzheimer's disease lead to neurodegeneration, dementia

A study from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital reveals for the first time exactly how mutations associated with the most common form of inherited Alzheimer's disease produce the disorder's devastating effects.

5 Mar 2015

Neurons News and Research

Cannabis abuse affects long-term memory, finds new Northwestern Medicine study

Neuralstem reports top line data from NSI-566 Phase II trial for treatment of ALS

European scientists identify gene linked with certain types of early-onset epilepsy

NYU researchers devise computer model to explain how neural circuit learns to categorize

Researchers take important step in repairing the cerebral cortex of adult mouse

New study shows how presenilin gene mutations may lead to familial Alzheimer's disease

Glucocorticoid therapies promote functional recovery of blood-brain barrier after blast injury

Excess dietary sodium can adversely affect organs

Brain tumor experts launch revolutionary fast-track approach to cancer research

Neuroscientists reveal how olfaction is encoded in the brain

Narcolepsy bears trademarks of classic autoimmune disorder

UC Irvine researchers discover inner mechanisms of jet lag

The Brain Prize awarded to four scientists for development of two-photon microscopy

IUPUI researchers awarded grant to study how brain's reward system is hijacked by alcohol

Appetite-controlling neurons initiate repetitive behaviors seen in OCD, anorexia nervosa

ULB researchers test therapeutic potential of cortical neurons developed in laboratory

Possible therapies to address cognitive symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia

UIC researchers identify genetic variation that increases MS risk in women

Northwestern scientists map brain circuit that processes temperature information

Study shows how mutations that cause Alzheimer's disease lead to neurodegeneration, dementia

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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