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The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size.

Scientists solve first structure of human cotransporter protein KCC1

In work that could someday improve treatments for epilepsy, UT Southwestern scientists have published the first three-dimensional structure of a member of a large family of human proteins that carry charged particles – ions – across the cell membrane.

29 Oct 2019

NSU study points to another potential connection between sleep and overall good health

As if you didn't already have enough to worry about to keep you up at night, a new study indicates that poor sleep can negatively affect your gut microbiome, which can, in turn, lead to additional health issues.

29 Oct 2019

The McLean Hospital Brain Bank receives new NIH contract

The Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center at McLean Hospital, known as the Brain Bank, has received a new contract from the National Institutes of Health for a total of $12,796,394.

29 Oct 2019

Researchers reconstruct the evolutionary history of metabolism

By analyzing how metabolic enzymes are built and organized, researchers have reconstructed the evolutionary history of metabolism. Their study shows how metabolic networks - which drive every cellular process from protein building to DNA repair - became less random, more modular and more hierarchical over time, the researchers say.

29 Oct 2019

NEOMED professor receives DOD grant to explore if exercise proves to be neuroprotective

Sheila Fleming, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Northeast Ohio Medical University, was recently awarded a three-year, $954,566 grant by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity for the project titled, "Exercise Effects on Synuclein Aggregation, Neuroinflammation, and Neurodegeneration."

29 Oct 2019

Pro-inflammatory protein could play key role in protecting against herpes virus

Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix have discovered a function in a pro-inflammatory protein that could play an important part in improving current and future therapeutics for the herpes virus.

29 Oct 2019

Discovery of causal link between hydrogen sulfide and schizophrenia

Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have found certain chemical markers that are associated with schizophrenia. They worked with lab mice with models of schizophrenia as well as post mortem brain specimens of persons with schizophrenia. The study titled, “Excess hydrogen sulfide and polysulfides production underlies a schizophrenia pathophysiology,” was published in the latest issue of the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.

28 Oct 2019

Gait disorders can help predict future cognitive decline

The way people walk is an indicator of how much their brains, as well as their bodies, are aging. Scientists reporting in a special supplement to the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease say that gait disorders, particularly slowing gait, should be considered a marker of future cognitive decline.

28 Oct 2019

MPST enzyme levels in hair could be a good biomarker for schizophrenia

Working with model mice, post-mortem human brains, and people with schizophrenia, researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have discovered that a subtype of schizophrenia is related to abnormally high levels hydrogen sulfide in the brain.

28 Oct 2019

How the SETD1A gene produces schizophrenia in mice

A new study published in the journal Neuron on October 9, 2019 reports that scientists have unlocked part of the secrets of the SETD1A gene – how mutations in the gene put the individual at risk for the condition.

26 Oct 2019

Some plant foods causing paralysis, death, in malnourished populations

There are a lot of plants eaten for food that may also contain toxins that harm the brain and the nervous system, when present in amounts that cross the limit of individual tolerance. This happens when such toxin-containing foods are the chief or only source of nutrition.

26 Oct 2019

Coaxial electrospinning could lead to new medical innovations

When you visit Andrew Steckl's lab at the University of Cincinnati, you see a nondescript glass box that weaves together different fibers.

25 Oct 2019

Nerve cell protection without side effects on erythropoiesis

The hormone erythropoietin (Epo) is a well-known doping substance that has a long history of abuse in endurance sports, such as cycling. In addition to promoting red blood cell production (erythropoiesis), which improves the oxygen supply in the organism, Epo also protects nerve cells from cell death.

25 Oct 2019

White and brown fat cells send very different signals to rest of the body

Many people might not realize that they have different types of body fat. Most of it is white fat that sits on your stomach, hips and thighs, for example. White fat is an energy storage that our body can use when food is scarce.

25 Oct 2019

Neuroscientists identify how people can have a 'crash in visual processing'

Georgetown neuroscientists say they have identified how people can have a "crash in visual processing" - a bottleneck of feedforward and feedback signals that can cause us not to be consciously aware of stimuli that our brain recognized.

25 Oct 2019

Scientists uncover how brain cells respond to and recover from lack of nutrition

We all know that food is essential to healthy development of the brain and body, especially in the earliest stages of life. But exactly how early brain growth is affected by nutrition is not as well understood, especially on a cellular level.

25 Oct 2019

Socially housed and isolated mice may be poor research models for humans

Animal models can serve as gateways for understanding many human communication disorders. Insights into the genetic paths possibly responsible for conditions such as autism and schizophrenia often begin by studying acoustic behavior in mice.

25 Oct 2019

UK’s first AI coaching tool to help people with chronic conditions

In an unprecedented partnership, a digital social enterprise and four UK health charities are coming together to harness the power of artificial intelligence for good– creating the UK’s first AI coaching tool of its kind to support long term health conditions.

25 Oct 2019

NYU Langone Health launches new molecular assay to identify patients with brain tumors

NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center have launched clinical whole genome DNA methylation profiling for patients with brain tumors.

24 Oct 2019

Flavors attract both youth and adults to use e-cigarettes

As more and more youth use electronic cigarettes, combined with research showing the health consequences of vaping - including nicotine addiction - researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill found that non-menthol flavors attract youth and adults to use e-cigarettes and that the use of flavored e-cigarettes contributes to multiple pathways linked to higher e-cigarette use among youth.

24 Oct 2019