Synapse News and Research

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New research project on systems biology of synapse proteins and ageing launched

The AgedBrainSYSBIO project on systems biology of synapse proteins & ageing was officially launched March18th in Paris, France.

20 Mar 2013

Scientists pinpoint neural basis for stress-related relapse in rat models

All too often, stress turns addiction recovery into relapse, but years of basic brain research have provided scientists with insight that might allow them develop a medicine to help. A new study in the journal Neuron pinpoints the neural basis for stress-related relapse in rat models to an unprecedented degree.

7 Mar 2013

Insight into how NMDA receptors function

In a pair of new papers, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences upend a long-held view about the basic functioning of a key receptor molecule involved in signaling between neurons, and describe how a compound linked to Alzheimer's disease impacts that receptor and weakens synaptic connections between brain cells.

20 Feb 2013

Depression reduces efficacy of shingles vaccine

Research suggests that the varicella zoster, or shingles, vaccine is less effective in older people with untreated depression.

15 Feb 2013

Traumatic brain injury investigational treatment from BHR Pharma receives EMA orphan medicinal product designation

BHR Pharma, LLC announced today the European Medicines Agency (EMA), responsible for evaluating medicines developed for use in the European Union, granted an orphan medicinal product designation for treating moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) to its proprietary intravenous progesterone infusion agent, BHR-100. The agent currently is being evaluated as a neuroprotective treatment for severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the global, Phase III SyNAPSe® clinical trial.

14 Feb 2013

Study demonstrates how CN2097 works to restore neural functions impaired by Angelman syndrome

In a new study in mice, a scientific collaboration centered at Brown University lays out in unprecedented detail a neurological signaling breakdown in Angelman syndrome, a disorder that affects thousands of children each year, characterized by developmental delay, seizures, and other problems.

14 Feb 2013

DCC receptor plays key role in regulating brain plasticity

Our ability to learn and form new memories is fully dependent on the brain's ability to be plastic - that is to change and adapt according to new experiences and environments. A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute - The Neuro, McGill University, reveals that DCC, the receptor for a crucial protein in the nervous system known as netrin, plays a key role in regulating the plasticity of nerve cell connections in the brain.

5 Feb 2013

Presentation examines role of genes behind autism disorders

Autism spectrum disorders affect nearly 1 in 88 children, with symptoms ranging from mild personality traits to severe intellectual disability and seizures. Understanding the altered genetic pathways is critical for diagnosis and treatment.

4 Feb 2013

MiR-182 deeply involved in memory formation within the amygdala brain structure

It takes a lot to make a memory. New proteins have to be synthesized, neuron structures altered. While some of these memory-building mechanisms are known, many are not. Some recent studies have indicated that a unique group of molecules called microRNAs, known to control production of proteins in cells, may play a far more important role in memory formation than previously thought.

30 Jan 2013

MDGA proteins associated with autism suppress inhibitory synapse formation

Synapse development is promoted by a variety of cell adhesion molecules that connect neurons and organize synaptic proteins. Many of these adhesion molecules are linked to neurodevelopmental disorders; mutations in neuroligin and neurexin proteins, for example, are associated with autism and schizophrenia.

30 Jan 2013

SyNAPSe® Trial by BHR Pharma deemed to have no safety issues according to DSMB

BHR Pharma, LLC announced today that the SyNAPSe® Trial's independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) evaluated safety data from 803 randomized patients and determined that no issues exist; therefore, the trial may continue towards its intended completion.

17 Jan 2013

Fifteen established scientists to receive NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression) announced the latest recipients of its highly competitive NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants.

16 Jan 2013

PKM-zeta-less adult mice still able to form long-term memories

A study by Johns Hopkins researchers has shown that a widely accepted model of long-term memory formation - that it hinges on a single enzyme in the brain - is flawed. The new study, published in the Jan. 2 issue of Nature, found that mice lacking the enzyme that purportedly builds memory were in fact still able to form long-term memories as well as normal mice could.

4 Jan 2013

Harvard scientists shed new light on olfactory feedback mechanism

More than a century after it was first identified, Harvard scientists are shedding new light on a little-understood neural feedback mechanism that may play a key role in how the olfactory system works in the brain.

19 Dec 2012

Dendritic spines respond to and process synaptic inputs both chemically and electrically

It's the least understood organ in the human body: the brain, a massive network of electrically excitable neurons, all communicating with one another via receptors on their tree-like dendrites. Somehow these cells work together to enable great feats of human learning and memory. But how?

6 Dec 2012

New pathway appears to play a major role in information processing in the brain

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a new pathway that appears to play a major role in information processing in the brain. Their research also offers insight into how imbalances in this pathway could contribute to cognitive abnormalities in humans.

16 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