Neuroscience News and Research

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Lack of UBE3A gene causes Angelman syndrome

The gene UBE3A plays a critical role in early neurological development. If UBE3A is overexpressed - or if the enzymatic function of UBE3A protein is hyperactive - autism ensues. A lack of functional UBE3A causes Angelman syndrome (AS), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe developmental delay, motor deficits, absence of speech, and, in most cases, epilepsy.

25 Mar 2016

Researchers explore role of social media in promoting mental health, wellbeing in children

University of Leicester researchers to identify the benefits and challenges of promoting mental health through social media

24 Mar 2016

Defective PTCHD1 gene in brain creates symptoms associated with autism and ADHD

Evidence is mounting that a gene called PTCHD1 helps the brain sort between important sights and sounds — and distractions. This gene is active in a brain region that attaches more attention to a conversation with your boss, for instance, than to an air conditioner buzzing in the background.

24 Mar 2016

Researchers develop metastasis-on-a-chip system to advance cancer investigation, drug discovery

Advances in personalized medicine allow doctors to select the most promising drugs for certain types of malignant tumors.

24 Mar 2016

Wide-field imaging approach can help study underlying mechanisms of brain function

University of Oregon scientists have looked into the brains of living mice to see in real time the processing of sensory information and generation of behavioral responses.

24 Mar 2016

Exercise slows down cognitive decline in older adults

Exercise in older people is associated with a slower rate of decline in thinking skills that occurs with aging. People who reported light to no exercise experienced a decline equal to 10 more years of aging as compared to people who reported moderate to intense exercise, according to a population-based observational study published in the March 23, 2016, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Mar 2016

Deleting microRNA-155 prevents diet-induced obesity in female mice

Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center seeking a way to combat the growing epidemic of obesity have found that deleting microRNA-155 in female mice prevents diet-induced obesity.

23 Mar 2016

Study examines depressed mother's oxytocin levels and mother-child emotional bonding

Widely referred to as the "love" hormone, oxytocin is an indispensable part of childbirth and emotional mother-child bonding. Psychologists at Florida Atlantic University are conducting a novel study to determine how a mother's levels of oxytocin might be different in women with depression.

23 Mar 2016

Researchers link AFD activity to sensory responses and behavior

When the surrounding environment makes us uncomfortable, we are inclined to move to a more agreeable one. Studies have shown that animals do the same. They organize sequences of movements to migrate to preferred environments. Understanding how environmental information is converted to sensory information in the brain is vital for a deeper understanding of animal behavior and human perception.

23 Mar 2016

Sleep suppresses homeostatic rebalancing of brain activity

Why humans and other animals sleep is one of the remaining deep mysteries of physiology. One prominent theory in neuroscience is that sleep is when the brain replays memories "offline" to better encode them ("memory consolidation").

22 Mar 2016

Specialized gene editing system paves way to eventual cure for HIV patients

A specialized gene editing system designed by scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University is paving the way to an eventual cure for patients infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

22 Mar 2016

KORs could be potential drug target for treatment of addiction, anxiety disorders

University of North Carolina researchers uncovered a cellular mechanism by which kappa opioid receptors (KOR) drive anxiety. These proteins inhibit the release of the neurotransmitter glutamate in a part of the brain that regulates emotion.

21 Mar 2016

Study points to potential way to make people behave in less selfish, more altruistic ways

It's an age-old quandary: Are we born "noble savages" whose best intentions are corrupted by civilization, as the 18th century Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau contended? Or are we fundamentally selfish brutes who need civilization to rein in our base impulses, as the 17th century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes argued? After exploring the areas of the brain that fuel our empathetic impulses -- and temporarily disabling other regions that oppose those impulses -- two UCLA neuroscientists are coming down on the optimistic side of human nature.

21 Mar 2016

New type of nerve cells appears to control feeding behaviors in mice

While researching the brain's learning and memory system, scientists at Johns Hopkins say they stumbled upon a new type of nerve cell that seems to control feeding behaviors in mice. The finding, they report, adds significant detail to the way brains tell animals when to stop eating and, if confirmed in humans, could lead to new tools for fighting obesity. Details of the study will be published by the journal Science on March 18.

20 Mar 2016

New scaffold technology could someday help treat Parkinson's disease, other brain-related conditions

Scientists at Rutgers and Stanford universities have created a new technology that could someday help treat Parkinson's disease and other devastating brain-related conditions that affect millions of people.

18 Mar 2016

UW-Madison neuroscientist discover genetic machinery that causes maturation in young nerve cells

In one of the first studies to 'read' the genetic activity inside individual brain cells, University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientist Xinyu Zhao has identified the genetic machinery that causes maturation in a young nerve cell. The cells under study came from the hippocampus, a memory-related structure that is the only place in a mammal's brain where new neurons can form throughout life.

18 Mar 2016

CIRM approves $6.3 million grant to support research on novel stem cell-based therapy for ALS

The Independent Citizens Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine approved yesterday a $6.3 million grant to a research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and University of California, Davis to pursue a novel human embryonic stem cell-based therapy to rescue and restore neurons devastated by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS.

18 Mar 2016

Neuroscience News and Research

Lack of UBE3A gene causes Angelman syndrome

Researchers explore role of social media in promoting mental health, wellbeing in children

Defective PTCHD1 gene in brain creates symptoms associated with autism and ADHD

Researchers develop metastasis-on-a-chip system to advance cancer investigation, drug discovery

Wide-field imaging approach can help study underlying mechanisms of brain function

Exercise slows down cognitive decline in older adults

Deleting microRNA-155 prevents diet-induced obesity in female mice

Study examines depressed mother's oxytocin levels and mother-child emotional bonding

Researchers link AFD activity to sensory responses and behavior

Sleep suppresses homeostatic rebalancing of brain activity

Specialized gene editing system paves way to eventual cure for HIV patients

KORs could be potential drug target for treatment of addiction, anxiety disorders

Study points to potential way to make people behave in less selfish, more altruistic ways

New type of nerve cells appears to control feeding behaviors in mice

New scaffold technology could someday help treat Parkinson's disease, other brain-related conditions

UW-Madison neuroscientist discover genetic machinery that causes maturation in young nerve cells

CIRM approves $6.3 million grant to support research on novel stem cell-based therapy for ALS

New 3D micro-scaffold technology promotes reprogramming of stem cells into neurons

New study reports association between nightmares and suicidal behaviors

Incidence of cesarean delivery could be reduced by allowing women to labor longer

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

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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