Neurons News and Research

RSS

Anti-epilepsy drug phenobarbital stunts neuronal growth

A brain study in infant rats demonstrates that the anti-epilepsy drug phenobarbital stunts neuronal growth, which could prompt new questions about using the first-line drug to treat epilepsy in human newborns.

11 May 2012

PET imaging for sudden cardiac arrest can identify candidates for ICDs

New research from the University at Buffalo suggests that cardiologists may have a new way to identify patients who are at the highest risk of sudden cardiac arrest, and the most likely to benefit from receiving an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD).

11 May 2012

Researchers identify over 2500 mRNA along dendrites and axons

How do we build a memory in the brain? It is well known that for animals (and humans) new proteins are needed to establish long-term memories. During learning information is stored at the synapses, the junctions connecting nerve cells.

11 May 2012

Administering vitamin K2 could possibly help patients with Parkinson's

Neuroscientist Patrik Verstreken, associated with VIB and KU Leuven, succeeded in undoing the effect of one of the genetic defects that leads to Parkinson's using vitamin K2. His discovery gives hope to Parkinson's patients.

11 May 2012

DYNC1H1 genetic mutation contributes to SMA-LED

Scientists have confirmed that mutations of a gene are responsible for some cases of a rare, inherited disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness: spinal muscular atrophy with lower extremity predominance, also known as SMA-LED.

11 May 2012

Glial cells pass on metabolites to neurons

Around 100 billion neurons in the human brain enable us to think, feel and act. They transmit electrical impulses to remote parts of the brain and body via long nerve fibres known as axons. This communication requires enormous amounts of energy, which the neurons are thought to generate from sugar. Axons are closely associated with glial cells which, on the one hand, surround them with an electrically insulating myelin sheath and, on the other hand support their long-term function.

11 May 2012

Researchers identify cellular mechanism associated with tinnitus

Researchers in the University of Leicester's Department of Cell Physiology and Pharmacology have identified a cellular mechanism that could underlie the development of tinnitus following exposure to loud noises. The discovery could lead to novel tinnitus treatments, and investigations into potential drugs to prevent tinnitus are currently underway.

10 May 2012

New technique measures brain activity in large populations of nerve cells

Researchers have developed a new technique which allows them to measure brain activity in large populations of nerve cells at the resolution of individual cells. The technique, reported today in the journal Nature, has been developed in zebrafish to represent a simplified model of how brain regions work together to flexibly control behaviour.

10 May 2012

Study describes new family of six genes that control mitochondrial transport in neurons

A team headed by Eduardo Soriano at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) has published a study in Nature Communications describing a new family of six genes whose function regulates the movement and position of mitochondria in neurons.

10 May 2012

Scientists pinpoint mechanism essential for memory formation

Now, in a study that appears in the May 10, 2012 issue of the journal Neuron, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have pinpointed a mechanism that is essential for forming memories in the first place and, as it turns out, is equally essential for eliminating them after memories have formed.

10 May 2012

Chronic exposure to cocaine drives structural changes in the brain

Chronic exposure to cocaine reduces the expression of a protein known to regulate brain plasticity, according to new, in vivo research on the molecular basis of cocaine addiction. That reduction drives structural changes in the brain, which produce greater sensitivity to the rewarding effects of cocaine.

10 May 2012

Researchers find talking about ourselves triggers sensation of pleasure

According to researchers, talking about ourselves - whether in a personal conversation or through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter - can trigger the same sensation of pleasure in the brain as food, money or sex.

8 May 2012

Soon a single therapy for range of brain diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s

In a study, published in Nature, researchers prevented brain cells dying in mice with prion disease. It is hoped the same method for preventing brain cell death could apply in other diseases. The findings are at an early stage, but have been heralded as “fascinating”.

8 May 2012

Researchers discover how diabetes affects specific brain area leading to memory loss

Badly controlled diabetes are known to affect the brain causing memory and learning problems and even an increased incidence of dementia, although how this occurs is not clear.

7 May 2012

Automated way to record electrical activity inside neurons in the living brain

Gaining access to the inner workings of a neuron in the living brain offers a wealth of useful information: its patterns of electrical activity, its shape, even a profile of which genes are turned on at a given moment. However, achieving this entry is such a painstaking task that it is considered an art form; it is so difficult to learn that only a small number of labs in the world practice it.

7 May 2012

New system measures strength of communication between muscle cells and motor neurons

In an effort to identify the underlying causes of neurological disorders that impair motor functions such as walking and breathing, UCLA researchers have developed a novel system to measure the communication between stem cell-derived motor neurons and muscle cells in a Petri dish.

5 May 2012

Awake mental replay essential for making informed choices

Awake mental replay of past experiences is essential for making informed choices, suggests a study in rats. Without it, the animals- memory-based decision-making faltered, say scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers blocked learning from, and acting on, past experience by selectively suppressing replay - encoded as split-second bursts of neuronal activity in the memory hubs of rats performing a maze task.

4 May 2012

Therapy to halt symptoms in Parkinson's patients

Parkinson's disease, a disorder which affects movement and cognition, affects over a million Americans, including actor Michael J. Fox, who first brought it to the attention of many TV-watching Americans. It's characterized by a gradual loss of neurons that produce dopamine. Mutations in the gene known as DJ-1 lead to accelerated loss of dopaminergic neurons and result in the onset of Parkinson's symptoms at a young age.

3 May 2012

Paper explores links between neuronal avalanches and spike time-dependent plasticity

The brain's neurons are coupled together into vast and complex networks called circuits. Yet despite their complexity, these circuits are capable of displaying striking examples of collective behavior such as the phenomenon known as "neuronal avalanches," brief bursts of activity in a group of interconnected neurons that set off a cascade of increasing excitation.

3 May 2012

Study reveals evidence about harmful effects of glycogen accumulation in neurons

Collaborative research by groups headed by scientists Joan J. Guinovart and Marco Mil-n at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) has revealed conclusive evidence about the harmful effects of the accumulation of glucose chains (glycogen) in fly and mouse neurons.

3 May 2012