Neurons News and Research

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National Science Foundation awards UofL researcher $500,000 for nervous system study

Michal Hetman, MD, PhD, associate professor and endowed chair in molecular signaling in the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center and the UofL Department of Neurological Surgery, has received a three-year, $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to fund a project that will aim to explain how the nervous system grows and develops.

21 Sep 2010

Disabling RGS14 gene helps mice remember better

Deleting a certain gene in mice can make them smarter by unlocking a mysterious region of the brain considered to be relatively inflexible, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found.

18 Sep 2010

Researchers reveal Prozac reactions to increase serotonin level

The response time to antidepressants, such as Prozac, is around three weeks. The adaptation mechanisms of the neurons to antidepressants has, until now, remained enigmatic. In particular, the researchers have revealed, for the first time, a sequence of reactions caused by Prozac at the neuron level, which contributes to an increase in the amounts of serotonin, a chemical "messenger" essential to the brain, and deficient in depressive individuals.

17 Sep 2010

Scientists discover simple molecular test to block GOAT enzyme

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have designed a new molecular test that will allow researchers to look for potential drugs targeting a human metabolic enzyme believed to stimulate the appetite and play a role in diabetes.

17 Sep 2010

Research on BMP6 protein suggests potential therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease

Elevated levels of a growth protein in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients is linked to impaired neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons are generated, say researchers at the University of California, San Diego in today's edition of The Journal of Neuroscience.

17 Sep 2010

Researchers to contribute to brain circuit mapping in Human Connectome Project

Thirty-three researchers at nine institutions will contribute to the Human Connectome Project (http://www.humanconnectome.org/consortia). Using powerful, custom-built brain scanners, a supercomputer, new brain analysis techniques and other state-of-the-art resources, they will trace the anatomical 'wires' that interconnect thousands of different regions of the human brain's gray matter.

16 Sep 2010

Researchers find association between physical fitness and children’s brain development

Researchers have found an association between physical fitness and the brain in 9- and 10-year-old children: Those who are more fit tend to have a bigger hippocampus and perform better on a test of memory than their less-fit peers.

16 Sep 2010

NIH awards grants to map human brain's connections in high resolution

The National Institutes of Health today awarded grants totaling $40 million to map the human brain's connections in high resolution. Better understanding of such connectivity promises improved diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders.

16 Sep 2010

Study on spinal cord stem cells paves way for post stroke symptom treatment

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that its spinal cord stem cells survived in rat brains affected by stroke and differentiated predominantly into neurons. The transplanted animals showed significant improvement in some motor skill and strength measurements. The study entitled, "Intracerebral Implantation of Adherent Human Neural Stem Cells To Reverse Motor Deficits in Chronic Stroke Rats," was presented earlier today by senior study author, Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin, M.D., Ph.D., at the Stem Cells USA & Regenerative Medicine Conference

15 Sep 2010

UT Southwestern receives $8 million NIH grant to study influence of brain and liver on inflammation

An $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will enable UT Southwestern Medical Center to investigate how fat tissue "talks" to the brain and the liver to promote inflammation-related disorders such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

15 Sep 2010

Success of assisted reproduction procedures linked to season

The success of an assisted reproduction procedure may depend on the season. This is the finding of new work presented at the World Congress of Fertility and Sterility, in Munich, Germany.

14 Sep 2010

Structural component inside neurons dances when connections are strengthened

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have uncovered how a structural component inside neurons performs two coordinated dance moves when the connections between neurons are strengthened.

14 Sep 2010

Researchers identify novel molecular pathway of Parkinson’s disease

A new study led by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center has identified a novel molecular pathway underlying Parkinson's disease and points to existing drugs which may be able to slow progression of the disease.

14 Sep 2010

Neural inhibition critical in ability to make choices

A new University of Colorado at Boulder study sheds light on the brain mechanisms that allow us to make choices and ultimately could be helpful in improving treatments for the millions of people who suffer from the effects of anxiety disorders.

14 Sep 2010

Genetic misfolding of neuroligins protein may lead to autism spectrum disorders: Research

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, has identified misfolding and other molecular anomalies in a key brain protein associated with autism spectrum disorders.

13 Sep 2010

Scientists discover gene associated with myopia

Myopia (nearsightedness) is the most common eye disorder in the world and becoming more common, yet little is known about its genetic underpinnings.Scientists at Duke University Medical Center, in conjunction with several other groups, have uncovered a gene associated with myopia in Caucasian people from several different regions, including Dutch, British and Australian subjects.

13 Sep 2010

Researchers find amyloid precursor protein function in Alzheimer's disease

In people with Alzheimer's, the brain becomes riddled with clumps of protein, forming what are known as amyloid plaques. Now, a report appearing in the September 17th print issue of Cell appears to have found a function for the amyloid precursor protein that yields the prime ingredient in those plaques.

13 Sep 2010

New neurological deficit behind amblyopia

Researchers at New York University's Center for Neural Science have identified a new neurological deficit behind amblyopia, or "lazy eye." Their findings, which appear in the most recent issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, shed additional light on how amblyopia results from disrupted links between the brain and normal visual processing.

10 Sep 2010

Neurons add up pulses, and in decisive moments multiply

Using computer simulations of brain-like networks, researchers from Germany and Japan have discovered why nerve cells transmit information through small electrical pulses. Not only allows this the brain to process information much faster than previously thought: single neurons are already able to multiply, opening the door to more complex forms of computing.

10 Sep 2010

Researchers discover generation of pyramidal neurons by glial cell precursors

In an unanticipated finding, researchers at the UC Davis School of Medicine have discovered that, during early adulthood, the brain produces new excitatory neurons, and that these neurons arise from non-neuronal support cells in an area of the brain that processes smell.

10 Sep 2010