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Study Identifies Protein Key to Preserving Neuronal Identity

Epigenetic processes allow different cell types to emerge from a single genome. Throughout development, cells differentiate and acquire distinct characteristics by expressing the same genome in different ways.

13 Mar 2024

Scientists Pinpoint Gene Linked to Neuronal Susceptibility in Alzheimer’s Disease

Protein buildup and cell degeneration in specific populations of brain cells are hallmarks of the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases.

12 Mar 2024

Researchers Unveil a Key Gene with a Central Role in Learning and Memory Across Mammalian Brain Cells

Discoveries in mice could guide the quest for treatments aimed at addressing brain developmental disorders in children with SYNGAP1 gene mutations.

1 Mar 2024

Astrocyte-Rich Brain Organoid Model Unveils Insights into Neuroinflammation

The brain is typically depicted as a complex web of neurons sending and receiving messages. But neurons only make up half of the human brain.

1 Mar 2024

Neuroscientists Uncover Significance of Glial Cells in Brain Communication

Neuroscientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center have found that an often-overlooked type of brain cell called glia has more of a role in brain function than previously thought.

29 Feb 2024

Genetic Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Revealed in Colombian Kindred

UC Santa Barbara researchers and collaborators in Colombia, Brazil and Germany are progressing toward an understanding of mechanisms that underlie Alzheimer's disease, in particular an early-onset, genetic form that has afflicted generations of an extended family in Colombia.

28 Feb 2024

Study Uncovers How Oxytocin Boosts Memory in Animals

Researchers have discovered particular oxytocin neurons in the mouse brain that influence memory for object recognition.

14 Feb 2024

The Intricate Network of Stick Insects’ Leg Muscles

Researchers at the University of Cologne have discovered new details on the process underlying the stick insect’s leg muscles’ rhythmic activation of nerve cells, or neurons. Unlike the neurons in the other leg muscles, the researchers demonstrated that the neurons in the leg depressor muscle are activated rhythmically.

12 Feb 2024

Prefrontal Neurons’ Cascade of Phonetic Representations

A new study led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) uses sophisticated brain recording techniques to show how neurons in the human brain cooperate to enable people to plan words for speech and then produce them verbally.

5 Feb 2024

Scientists Harness Cellular Scaffolding for New Bio-Inspired Technologies

Princeton researchers have learned to harness the gossamer scaffolding that maintains the structure of living cells and used it to develop a nanotechnology platform.

27 Jan 2024

A New Tool for Monitoring Neuronal Inhibition

By tracking when distinct subsets of brain cells activate, researchers have understood the complex activity patterns found in both human and animal brains for many years. Knowing how long those neurons stay active and when they turn off again is crucial to understanding the brain and its associated disorders.

24 Jan 2024

New Technology Enables Minimally-Invasive, High-Resolution Recording of Brain Activity

Sensors built with a new manufacturing approach are capable of recording activity deep within the brain from large populations of individual neurons–with a resolution of as few as one or two neurons–in humans as well as a range of animal models, according to a study published in the Jan. 17, 2024 issue of the journal Nature Communications.

18 Jan 2024

Exploring the Dual Role of Phosphorylated α-Synuclein in Healthy Neural Function

It has been found by researchers that phosphorylated α-synuclein, a protein linked to a number of neurodegenerative illnesses, including Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, is also engaged in the regular processes of neuronal communication in a healthy brain.

10 Jan 2024

The Foundation of Gene Expression in Brain Development

Researchers from Osaka University and Shenzhen Bay Laboratory have uncovered the actions of proteins connected to memory and learning in human brain cells in a study that was just published in Cell Reports.

29 Dec 2023

The Evolving Landscape of Consciousness Studies

In this interview, we speak to Umberto Olcese, an Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam, to delve into the complex and fascinating world of consciousness from a neuroscientific perspective.

12 Dec 2023

AI Helps Scientists See Neurons in Moving Animals

A collaborative team from EPFL and Harvard has introduced an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technique to track neurons within animals in motion.

5 Dec 2023

Artificial System Develops Key Characteristics Similar to Human Brains Under Physical Constraints

Cambridge scientists have shown that placing physical constraints on an artificially-intelligent system – in much the same way that the human brain has to develop and operate within physical and biological constraints – allows it to develop features of the brains of complex organisms in order to solve tasks.

21 Nov 2023

Novel Gene Therapy Targets Core Motor Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

A team of researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and their collaborators have devised a gene therapy approach aimed at selectively manipulating the affected circuitry in Parkinson’s disease.

6 Nov 2023

Scientists Unlock the Structure of Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2

Neurons talk to each other using chemical signals called neurotransmitters. Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have drawn on structural biology expertise to determine structures of vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), a key component of neuronal communication.

2 Nov 2023

Developing Regenerative Therapies to Treat Neurological Conditions

The primary cells that make up our brain and spinal cord, called neurons, are among the slowest to heal after injury, and many neurons never fully recover. Although research into neural regeneration has advanced, it is still unclear why certain neurons recover while others do not.

17 Oct 2023