Neurons News and Research

RSS

Medulloblastomas that arise from different cell types might require personalized treatments

Cancers arise when a normal cell acquires a mutation in a gene that regulates cellular growth or survival. But the particular cell this mutation happens in-the cell of origin-can have an enormous impact on the behavior of the tumor, and on the strategies used to treat it.

14 Nov 2012

Brevetoxin-2 stimulates nerve cell growth and plasticity in cultured mouse neurons

A new study using brevetoxin-2, a compound produced naturally by marine algae, stimulated nerve cell growth and plasticity in cultured mouse neurons. This research advances a potentially new pharmacological treatment to aid recovery of brain function following a stroke or other traumatic brain injury.

14 Nov 2012

Study reveals how interneurons navigate during cerebral cortex development

As the brain develops, each neuron must find its way to precisely the right spot to weave the intricate network of links the brain needs to function. Like the wiring in a computer, a few misplaced connections can throw off functioning for an entire segment of the brain.

14 Nov 2012

Dopamine improves long-term memory

The feel-good hormone dopamine improves long-term memory. This is the finding of a team lead by Emrah D-zel, neuroscientist at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the University of Magdeburg.

9 Nov 2012

Communications down in anesthetized brain

Two studies indicate that inhaled anesthetics disrupt communication between distant cortical areas before directly activating sleep-inducing neuronal circuitry.

8 Nov 2012

Early clues regarding progression of Alzheimer's disease found in brain's metabolism

When it comes to Alzheimer's disease, scientists usually - and understandably - look to the brain as their first center of attention. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University say that early clues regarding the progression of the disease can be found in the brain's metabolism.

8 Nov 2012

Researchers simulate activity of cultured neural networks

After a short period of growth, cultured networks of neurons regularly exhibit major activity in the absence of external stimulation. These "bursts" are entirely related to growth. At this stage, they have little to do with learning behaviour, as the network is still too young to sustain a process of memory formation. This has now for the first time been simulated for networks ranging in size from 10,000 to 50,000 neurons. The simulations provide insight into the role of the growth process in initial activity.

8 Nov 2012

Nanofiber technique to build new nerves from stem cells

Every week in his clinic at the University of Michigan, neurologist Joseph Corey, M.D., Ph.D., treats patients whose nerves are dying or shrinking due to disease or injury.

8 Nov 2012

Brain switches into special mode when pushed to make rapid decisions

Why do our brains make more mistakes when we act quickly? A new study demonstrates how the brain follows Ben Franklin's famous dictum, "Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste."

8 Nov 2012

Alpha-herpesvirus axon-to-cell spread involves limited virion transmission

New research suggests that just one or two individual herpes virus particles attack a skin cell in the first stage of an outbreak, resulting in a bottleneck in which the infection may be vulnerable to medical treatment.

7 Nov 2012

Degeneration of serotonergic neurons linked to spasticity in ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with an occurrence rate in France similar to multiple sclerosis (two to three new cases per year for every 100,000 residents). It has a specific affect on neurons responsible for motor control, in particular motor neurones and central motor neurones. The former, located in the spinal cord, are directly linked to muscles and are used for muscle contraction and stretching.

7 Nov 2012

Researchers analyse hydrogen bonds in tiny fibrils of amyloid-beta peptide

Using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, researchers at Luleå University of Technology in collaboration with Warwick University in the UK for the first time in the world managed to analyse hydrogen bonds in tiny fibrils of Amyloid-beta peptide , which probably causes Alzheimer's disease.

5 Nov 2012

Caltech-led team discovers enzyme responsible for neural crest cell development

During the early developmental stages of vertebrates-animals that have a backbone and spinal column, including humans-cells undergo extensive rearrangements, and some cells migrate over large distances to populate particular areas and assume novel roles as differentiated cell types.

3 Nov 2012

Scientists decipher the brain's code for visual working memory in monkeys

The brain holds in mind what has just been seen by synchronizing brain waves in a working memory circuit, an animal study supported by the National Institutes of Health suggests. The more in-sync such electrical signals of neurons were in two key hubs of the circuit, the more those cells held the short-term memory of a just-seen object.

3 Nov 2012

UC Santa Barbara reports key discovery in interdisciplinary study of split-brain research

UC Santa Barbara has reported an important discovery in the interdisciplinary study of split-brain research. The findings uncover dynamic changes in brain coordination patterns between left and right hemispheres.

3 Nov 2012

XJB-5-131 compound suppresses symptoms of Huntington's in mice

There's new hope in the fight against Huntington's disease. A group of researchers that includes scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have designed a compound that suppresses symptoms of the devastating disease in mice.

2 Nov 2012

Researchers unlock complex cellular mechanics that instruct glial progenitor cells to divide

In a new study appearing this month in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers have unlocked the complex cellular mechanics that instruct specific brain cells to continue to divide. This discovery overcomes a significant technical hurdle to potential human stem cell therapies; ensuring that an abundant supply of cells is available to study and ultimately treat people with diseases.

2 Nov 2012

Empathetic and analytic thinking mutually exclusive in the brain

New research shows a simple reason why even the most intelligent, complex brains can be taken by a swindler's story - one that upon a second look offers clues it was false.

31 Oct 2012

Lateral intraparietal area in the brain activates internal sensors to help keep time

Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) have found a small population of neurons that is involved in measuring time, which is a process that has traditionally been difficult to study in the lab.

31 Oct 2012

STAT3 transcription factor remains in the axon of nerve cells to help prevent neurodegeneration

A study in The Journal of Cell Biology shows how a transcription factor called STAT3 remains in the axon of nerve cells to help prevent neurodegeneration. The findings could pave the way for future drug therapies to slow nerve damage in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

30 Oct 2012