Scientists studying a rare genetic disorder have identified a molecular pathway that may play a role in schizophrenia, according to new research. The findings may one day guide researchers to new treatment options for people with schizophrenia - a devastating disease that affects approximately 1 percent of the world's population.
Researchers discovered a new group of nerve cells that regulate processes of learning and memory. These cells act as gatekeepers and carry a receptor for nicotine, which can help explain our ability to remember and sort information. The newly discovered gatekeeper nerve cells, also called OLM-alpha2 cells, provide an explanation to how the flow of information is controlled in the hippocampus.
UCLA researchers have for the first time measured the activity of a brain region known to be involved in learning, memory and Alzheimer's disease during sleep. They discovered that the entorhinal cortex behaves as if it's remembering something, even under anesthesia, a finding that counters conventional theories about memory consolidation during sleep.
A new information-theoretical model of human sensory perception and memory sheds light on some peculiarities of the nervous system. Ask adults from the industrialized world what number is halfway between 1 and 9, and most will say 5. But pose the same question to small children, or people living in some traditional societies, and they're likely to answer 3.
Newborn mice use mom's unique odor, not a pheromone, to begin breastfeeding.
An international research team revealed the atomic‐level structure of the human peptidase enzyme meprin β (beta).
Researchers create a map of vision in the brain based upon an individual's brain structure, even for people who cannot see. Their result can, among other things, guide efforts to restore vision using a neural prosthesis that stimulates the surface of the brain.
in a mouse model of Rett syndrome, researchers were able to reverse abnormalities in brain activity and improve neurological function by treating animals with an FDA-approved anesthesia drug, ketamine.
Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified dozens of new spontaneous genetic mutations that play a significant role in the development of schizophrenia, adding to the growing list of genetic variants that can contribute to the disease. The schizophrenia study was the largest and most comprehensive of its kind.
Efforts to treat disorders like Lou Gehrig’s disease, Paget’s disease, inclusion body myopathy and dementia will receive a considerable boost from a new research model created by UC Irvine scientists.
A new study reveals that most of the specific genes long thought to be linked to intelligence probably have no bearing on one’s IQ. And it may be some time before researchers can identify intelligence’s specific genetic roots.
Research seeks the 'master knob' to turn on nerve repair. Modulating immune response to injury could accelerate the regeneration of severed peripheral nerves, a new study in an animal model has found. By altering activity of the macrophage cells that respond to injuries, researchers dramatically increased the rate at which nerve processes regrew.