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neurobiology

·August 2, 2012·3 min read

Planarians Offer A Better View of Eye Development

Planarian flatworms have come under intense study for their renowned ability to regenerate any missing body part, even as adults. But now they may take on a starring role as a model system for studying eye development and eye diseases in vertebrates, including humans.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 1, 2012·4 min read

Brain Imaging Can Predict How Intelligent You Are, Study Finds

Research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests that another 10 percent of individual differences in intelligence can be explained by the strength of neural pathways connecting the left lateral prefrontal cortex to the rest of the brain.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 30, 2012·3 min read

Brains Are Different in People with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory

UC Irvine scientists have discovered intriguing differences in the brains and mental processes of an extraordinary group of people who can effortlessly recall every moment of their lives since about age 10. Research offers the first scientific findings about nearly a dozen people with this highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM).

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·July 26, 2012·2 min read

Ion Selectivity in Neuronal Signaling Channels Evolved Twice in Animals

Scientists have now revealed that voltage-gated sodium channels, which are responsible for neuronal signaling in the nerves of animals, evolved twice in higher and lower animals.

Electrophysiology Featured

·July 25, 2012·2 min read

Cylindrical Cell Structure Parts May Aid in Targeting Diseases Such as Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s

The model of microtubule assembly that most people accept shows the individual subunits, dimers of the protein tubulin, just adding to the grow cylinder. But another model indicates that tubulin dimmers first form an open sheet structure that later closes into the cylinder. Xing and his team concluded that their computational study of the models indicate that the second model should be seriously considered for further testing.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·July 19, 2012·6 min read

Scientists Read Monkeys’ Inner Thoughts

By decoding brain activity, scientists were able to 'see' that 2 monkeys were planning to approach the same reaching task differently - even before they moved a muscle.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 18, 2012·3 min read

Dopamine: A Substance with Many Messages

Researchers recently localised and identified the most important types of nerve cells involved in forming positive and negative memories of a fruit fly. All four nerve cell types they discovered use dopamine to communicate with other nerve cells. Three of the nerve cell types assume various functions in mediating negative stimuli, while the fourth enables the fly to form positive memories.

Featured Neuroethics Neurology

·July 17, 2012·2 min read

Poisoning from Industrial Compounds Can Cause Similar Effects to ALS

Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute at the University of Barcelona have coordinated research into how the IDPN nitrile causes neurological syndromes similar to those of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a severe neuromuscular degenerative disease.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·July 16, 2012·3 min read

Neurons Derived from Cord Blood Cells May Represent New Therapeutic Option

The researchers demonstrated that cord blood cells, which come from the mesoderm, the middle layer of embryonic germ cells, can be switched to ectodermal cells, outer layer cells from which brain, spinal and nerve cells arise. "This study shows for the first time the direct conversion of a pure population of human cord blood cells into cells of neuronal lineage by the forced expression of a single transcription factor," says Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·July 12, 2012·10 min read

Large, Medically Important Class of Proteins Starts to Yield Its Secrets

Five recent research papers shed light on elusive G protein-coupled receptors. New techniques and insights used to solve the GPCR structures are discussed.

Featured Neuroethics Neurology

·July 10, 2012·2 min read

H1N1 Vaccine Associated With Small but Significant Risk of Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Analysis of recent H1N1 vaccination data indicated a small but significant risk of Guillain-Barre Syndrome following influenza A(H1N1) vaccinations.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Business

·July 10, 2012·4 min read

Nutrient Mixture Improves Memory in Patients with Early Alzheimer’s

A clinical trial of an Alzheimer’s disease treatment developed found that the nutrient cocktail can improve memory in patients with early Alzheimer’s. The mixture appears to increase the number of dendritic spines and therefore some synapses.