Neuron News and Research

RSS

Neurons in the Human Brain Can Store Concepts Regardless of Context

A study led by Dr. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, group leader of the Neural Mechanisms of Perception and Memory Research Group at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, has allowed scientists to observe for the first time how neurons in the human brain store memories independent of context in which they are acquired.

8 Mar 2025

New Tool to Map the Origins and Journeys of Cells in Development and Disease

A new computational tool allows researchers to understand how the diverse cell types of the human body are made during development, and how diseases progress over time at the cellular level.

4 Mar 2025

How the Brain Uses Reinforcement Learning Beyond Just Mean Rewards

This study uncovers a specialized circuit in the striatum that encodes reward variance, offering new perspectives on learning and neurological disorders.

3 Mar 2025

Study Reveals Complex Neural Modules Behind Motor Control

For nearly a century, scientists have known that different parts of the human brain's cortex control different body movements.

28 Feb 2025

Targeting NMDA Receptor Subunit Shows Promise for Fragile X Syndrome

Building on more than two decades of research, a study by MIT neuroscientists at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory reports a new way to treat pathology and symptoms of fragile X syndrome, the most common genetically-caused autism spectrum disorder.

21 Feb 2025

Blocking Cholesterol Metabolite May Prevent Parkinson's Disease Progression

Researchers led by Zhentao Zhang at Wuhan University, China have discovered a cholesterol metabolite that plays a critical role in the development of Parkinson's disease in mice.

19 Feb 2025

Unlocking the Genetic Secrets Behind Human Vocal Communication

The origins of human language remain mysterious. Are we the only animals truly capable of complex speech? Are Homo sapiens the only hominids who could give detailed directions to a far-off freshwater source or describe the nuanced purples and reds of a dramatic sunset?

19 Feb 2025

MARBLE Method Uncovers Shared Brain Dynamics Across Animals

In the parable of the blind men and the elephant, several blind men each describe a different part of an elephant they are touching – a sharp tusk, a flexible trunk, or a broad leg – and disagree about the animal's true nature.

18 Feb 2025

Research Reveals Key Mitochondrial Role in Social Recognition Memory

Virginia Tech neuroscientists have uncovered a mitochondrial process that supports the brain cells critical for learning, memory, and social recognition.

10 Feb 2025

New Brain Cells Could Hold the Key to Regulating Satiation

Columbia scientists have found specialized neurons in the brains of mice that order the animals to stop eating.

6 Feb 2025

Researchers Uncover How Fruit Flies Taste Food Texture

A study led by Nikita Komarov and Simon Sprecher at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, has discovered neurons in the fly larva mouth that allow the taste of food texture.

31 Jan 2025

Study Unveils Surprising Cause of Brain Cell Death in Huntington's Disease

Scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Harvard Medical School, and McLean Hospital have discovered a surprising mechanism by which the inherited genetic mutation known to cause Huntington's disease leads to the death of brain cells.

17 Jan 2025

Scientists Uncover Circuit Controlling Neuron Migration in Brain Development

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but for developing neurons, this first step relies on collaboration from multiple signaling pathways.

10 Jan 2025

Neuropilin2 Gene Disruption Impacts Brain Circuitry in Autism and Epilepsy

The gene neuropilin2 encodes a receptor involved in cell-cell interactions in the brain and plays a key role in regulating the development of neural circuits.

10 Jan 2025

Epigenetic Clocks Offer Insight into Biological Age at Cell-Type Resolution

A new priority research paper, featured as the cover of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 22, was published on December 29, 2024. The paper is titled "Cell-type specific epigenetic clocks to quantify biological age at cell-type resolution."

3 Jan 2025

Stress Pathway in Microglia Found to Contribute to Alzheimer's Neurodegeneration

Researchers with the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have unveiled a critical mechanism that links cellular stress in the brain to the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

26 Dec 2024

Researchers Create 3D Atlas of Brain-Spinal Cord Connections

Signals relayed to motor neurons from the brain enable muscle movement, but these signals typically pass through spinal interneurons before they reach their destination. How the brain and this highly diverse group of "switchboard operator" cells are connected is poorly understood.

24 Dec 2024

ALS Stem Cell Model Reveals Increased Susceptibility to Cell Death

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fast-progressing neurodegenerative disease with an average survival time of three years. In ALS, certain types of neurons called motor neurons that are required for muscle contractions die off, leading to progressive paralysis affecting most muscles of the body. The molecular causes of ALS are poorly understood, and effective treatments are missing.

20 Dec 2024

Chaperone Proteins Unveil Their Role in Neurotransmission

A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first to show how proteins called "chaperones" are vital in ensuring that neurons can transmit signals to one another. When this neurotransmission breaks down, devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's along with many others, can occur.

19 Dec 2024

Researchers Uncover Ketamine’s Effect on Astrocytes in Zebrafish

The decades-old anesthetic ketamine could be a game changer for treating severe depression, but there are still many questions about how the drug works, including exactly how it affects the brain's cells and circuits.

18 Dec 2024