Undergrad’s Work Details Protein’s Role in Neurological Disorders
Student and prof. study suspected link to hyper-excitability factors in epilepsy, autism and more. A UT Dallas undergraduate’s research is revealing new information about a key protein’s role in the development of epilepsy, autism and other neurological disorders. This work could one day lead to new treatments for the conditions. Senior neuroscience student Francisco Garcia [...]
People Forage for Memories in the Same Way Birds Forage for Berries
Humans move between ‘patches’ in their memory using the same strategy as bees flitting between flowers for pollen or birds searching among bushes for berries. Researchers at the University of Warwick and Indiana University have identified parallels between animals looking for food in the wild and humans searching for items within their memory – suggesting [...]
Complex Wiring of the Nervous System May Rely on Handful of Genes and Proteins
Discovery provides clues to development of neurological diseases and cancer. Researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered a startling feature of early brain development that helps to explain how complex neuron wiring patterns are programmed using just a handful of critical genes. The findings, published in Cell, may help scientists develop new therapies for neurological [...]
Researchers Develop Gene Therapy to Boost Brain Repair for Demyelinating Diseases
Our bodies are full of tiny superheroes—antibodies that fight foreign invaders, cells that regenerate, and structures that ensure our systems run smoothly. One such structure is myelin—a material that forms a protective, insulating cape around the axons of our nerve cells so that they can send signals quickly and efficiently. But myelin, and the specialized [...]
Flipping a Light Switch in the Cell: Quantum Dots Used for Targeted Neural Activation
New technique holds promise for better understanding of brain disorders. By harnessing quantum dots, tiny light-emitting semiconductor particles a few billionths of a meter across, researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have developed a new and vastly more targeted way to stimulate neurons in the brain. Being able to switch neurons on and off [...]
Scientists Identify Most Lethal Known Species of Prion Protein
Findings suggest new view of “mad cow” and other neurodegenerative diseases. Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a single prion protein that causes neuronal death similar to that seen in “mad cow” disease, but is at least 10 times more lethal than larger prion species. This toxic single molecule [...]
Drug Quickly Reverses Alzheimer’s Symptoms in Mice
Case Western Reserve researchers discover FDA-approved drug rapidly clears amyloid from the brain and reverses cognitive defects. Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers’ findings, published in the journal Science, show that use of a drug [...]
Scientists Boost Memory by Stimulating Key Site in Brain
Mechanism holds potential for improving recall in dementia patients. Have you ever gone to the movies and forgotten where you parked the car? New UCLA research may one day help you improve your memory. UCLA neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in human patients by stimulating a critical junction in the brain. Published [...]
Explorers Use Uncertainty and Specific Area of Brain
As they try to find the best reward among options, some people explore based on how uncertain they are about the outcome of the options. Those who employ that thought process, unlike people who use other strategies, uniquely harness the computational power of the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex, a new study finds. Life shrouds most choices [...]
Gene Therapy for Inherited Blindness Succeeds in Patients’ Other Eye
In three adults, repeat dose safely improves vision. Gene therapy for congenital blindness has taken another step forward, as researchers further improved vision in three adult patients previously treated in one eye. After receiving the same treatment in their other eye, the patients became better able to see in dim light, and two were able [...]
