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High-Resolution, Stable Brain Stimulation by Ultraflexible Nanoelectrodes

Conventional implantable medical devices designed for brain stimulation are often too rigid and bulky for what is one of the body's softest and most delicate tissues.

31 May 2023

Study Reveals Mechanisms Behind Swallowing in Detail

Sensory cells in the vagus nerve can detect and locate food in the esophagus. Their signals help transport the food onward to the stomach. Signal failure leads to swallowing disorders, say a team led by Carmen Birchmeier at the Max Delbrück Center.

29 May 2023

Cytoelectric Coupling: Electrical Fields Influence Physical Configuration of Neurons' Sub-Cellular Components

To produce its many functions, including thought, the brain works at many scales. Information such as goals or images is represented by coordinated electrical activity among networks of neurons, while within and around each neuron a mix of proteins and other chemicals physically carries out the mechanics of participating in the network.

23 May 2023

Study Examines the Role of Neuronal Diversity in Cognitive Functions

Neurons in a key area of the brain have different functions based on their exact genetic identity, and understanding this diversity could lead to better understanding of the brain's computational flexibility and memory capacity, potentially informing disease treatment options, Cornell researchers report in a new study.

23 May 2023

Glycosylation Enzyme Regulates the Formation of Neurons and Astrocytes From Neural Stem Cells

The MGAT5 glycosylation enzyme plays a crucial role in brain development, according to a study by University of California, Irvine researchers, a discovery that may contribute to new therapeutic purposes for neural stem cells.

17 May 2023

Brain-Wide Mapping Reveals How Serotonin Affects Animal Behavior

Because serotonin is one of the primary chemicals the brain uses to influence mood and behavior, it is also the most common target of psychiatric drugs.

16 May 2023

Patients With Motor Neuron Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia Carry the Same Genetic Defects

New research has discovered that some patients with motor neuron disease (MND) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) carry the same rare genetic defects that cause other neurodegenerative diseases.

10 May 2023

Study Sheds Light on How Foxp2 Gene Controls the Ability to Produce Speech

Mutations of a gene called Foxp2 have been linked to a type of speech disorder called apraxia that makes it difficult to produce sequences of sound. A new study from MIT and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University sheds light on how this gene controls the ability to produce speech.

5 May 2023

Eliminating or Blocking the Tiam1 Gene Prevents, Reverses Chronic Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathy is a type of chronic pain triggered by nerve injury or certain diseases. It affects millions of people worldwide, significantly deteriorating their quality of life.

5 May 2023

How Exploratory Actions Enable Animals to Efficiently Learn Their Spatial Environment

Neuroscientists have uncovered how exploratory actions enable animals to learn their spatial environment more efficiently.

2 May 2023

Neuronal Activity Necessary and Sufficient to Drive Astrocyte Development

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have unraveled the processes that give astrocytes, the most abundant glial cell in the brain, their special bushy shape, which is fundamental for brain function.

27 Apr 2023

Computational Models can Help Determine the Identities and Roles of Individual Neurons

Investigators at Cedars-Sinai have created computer-generated models to bridge the gap between "test tube" data about neurons and the function of those cells in the living brain.

26 Apr 2023

Revealing an Unanticipated Mechanism for Chaperone-Mediated Ribosome Repair

Researchers have discovered that if oxidative stress destroys protein factories known as ribosomes, repair crews may go in to assist in repairing the damage so that production may restart rapidly.

26 Apr 2023

Engineered Sustainable, Patient-Specific NPCs Could Help Treat Neurodegenerative Diseases

Progressive loss of neurons is the underlying cause for a diverse spectrum of severe diseases called neurodegenerative diseases, which include Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and retinitis pigmentosa.

21 Apr 2023

Using Cellular Reprogramming to Make the Heart Function Like New Again

A recent study using mice has revealed a way to turn back the clock after heart attack. The researchers behind the work used RNAs to instruct cells in an injured heart to eliminate scar tissue and recreate cardiac muscle, allowing the heart to function like new again.

20 Apr 2023

MIT Researchers Identify Brain Cells Most Susceptible to Neurodegeneration

Neurodegeneration, or the gradual loss of neuron function, is one of the key features of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Apr 2023

New Peptide Blocks a Hyperactive Brain Enzyme Involved in Neurodegeneration

MIT neuroscientists have found a way to reverse neurodegeneration and other symptoms of Alzheimer's disease by interfering with an enzyme that is typically overactive in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

17 Apr 2023

Trinity Scientists Discover New Mechanisms Involved in Establishing Cellular Identity

A team of scientists led by those in Trinity College Dublin has discovered new mechanisms involved in establishing cellular identity, a process that ensures the billions of different cells in our bodies do the correct job.

10 Apr 2023

Astrocytes in the Brain may Play a Key Role in Regulating Information

Long thought of as "brain glue," the star-shaped cells called astrocytes-;members of a family of cells found in the central nervous system called glial that help regulate blood flow, synaptic activity, keep neurons healthy, and play an important role in breathing.

3 Apr 2023

The proper implementation of stem cell-based disease models

Scientists have learned how to manufacture induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from regular cells through genetic reprogramming during the last ten years.

29 Mar 2023