Predicting Alzheimer’s disease-like memory loss before it strikes
Sharp-wave ripple activity in the brain may be an early biomarker for Alzheimer's disease before cognitive impairment begins.... Read More...
hippocampus
New cell therapy improves memory and stops seizures following TBI
Transplanting embryonic progenitor interneurons into the hippocampus of mouse models of TBI, researchers noticed the neurons migrated to the injury site and made new connections. Following treatment, memory improved and seizures were reduced.... Read More...
Bacteria in the gut may alter aging process
Transplanting gut microbiota from older mice to younger germ-free mice increased hippocampal neurogenesis and intestinal growth.... Read More...
Specific neurons that map memories now identified in the human brain
Neural activity in the entorhinal cortex is correlated with place-based memories. The findings shed new light on how the brain processes spatial memory.... Read More...
Enjoyment of pop music classics linked to combination of uncertainty and surprise
Combining neuroimaging data with machine learning, researchers report musical pleasure depends on a dynamic interplay between prospective and retrospective states of expectation.... Read More...
Circuit responsible for building memories during sleep identified
The nucleus reuniens is responsible for coordinating synchronous slow waves between the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus during sleep. The findings suggest the nucleus reuniens plays a critical role in sleep-dependant memory consolidation.... Read More...
Patients with mood, anxiety disorders share abnormalities in brain’s control circuit
Patients with mood and anxiety disorders have abnormally low activation in brain areas associated with cognitive and emotional control. Brain scans also revealed hyperactivity in brain areas linked to the processing of emotional thoughts.... Read More...
How our brains remember things depends upon how we learn them
Neural pathways for learning differ depending on how each person has learned a new skill.... Read More...
Study identifies brain injury as a cause of dementia in some older adults
MRI neuroimaging can distinguish between memory loss caused by Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury. Using new image analysis software, researchers discovered TBI causes the most amount of damage to the ventral diencephalon, a brain area associated with memory and learning, and the least amount of atrophy to the hippocampus, a brain region most impacted by Alzheimer's.... Read More...
How stress and mother’s abuse affects infant brain
Early life stress alone impairs hippocampal development. Stress, in addition to maternal mistreatment within the first few weeks of life, also hinders amygdala development.... Read More...
How our memories stabilize while we sleep
Delta waves isolate assemblies of cortical neurons that play an essential role in long-term memory formation and consolidation.... Read More...
Fundamental insight into how memory changes with age
New memories are laid down via different mechanisms in older mice compared to younger mice. Additionally, synaptic changes linked to new memory formation were harder to modify in older mice.... Read More...