by University of Barcelona A montage of three images of single striatal neurons transfected with a disease-associated version of huntingtin, the protein that causes Huntington’s disease. Nuclei of untransfected neurons are seen in the background (blue). The neuron in the center (yellow) contains an abnormal intracellular accumulation of huntingtin called an inclusion body (orange). Credit: Wikipedia/...
Category: <span>Neuroscience</span>
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Science underestimated dangerous effects of sleep deprivation
by Michigan State University Credit: CC0 Public Domain Michigan State University’s Sleep and Learning Lab has conducted one of the largest sleep studies to date, revealing that sleep deprivation affects us much more than prior theories have suggested. Published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, the research is not only one of the largest studies, but also the...
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Scientists identify underlying molecular mechanisms of Alexander disease
by University of North Carolina Health Care Immunofluorescence staining of Alexander Disease iPSC-astrocytes showing cell nuclei (white), cytoplasmic GFAP filaments (magenta), and perinuclear GFAP aggregates (green; marked by yellow arrowheads). Credit: Lab of Natasha Snider, PhD, UNC School of Medicine Scientists have known that genetic mutations leading to the production of a defective protein called GFAP...
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One hand and two hemispheres: How both sides of the brain get involved post-amputation
by Bangor University Credit: CC0 Public Domain Psychologists have shown, for the first time, how our brains’ plasticity and ability to adapt, extends across both sides of the brain. We have known for a while that if one body part or function is lost, then an adjacent part of the brain, which controls a different function, can extend into...
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Don’t just fear memory loss: Take action now to keep your brain sharp
by Cindy Krischer Goodman Credit: CC0 Public Domain Do you forget what you walked into the bedroom to get? One of the most common fears people have as they grow older is losing their memory. Keeping your brain healthy and your memory sharp is about more than doing puzzles or remembering what you needed in...
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To Understand Facebook, Study Capgras Syndrome
This mental disorder gives us a unique insight into the digital age. Nautilus|Robert Sapolsky Illustration by Dadu Shin We start with the case of a woman who experienced unbearable tragedy. In 1899, this Parisian bride, Madame M., had her first child. Shockingly, the child was abducted and substituted with a different infant, who soon died. She...
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Unraveling the connectome
Mammalian brains, with their unmatched number of nerve cells and density of communication between them, are the most complex networks known. While methods to analyze neuronal networks sparsely, accessing about one in every ten thousandth nerve cell have been available for decades, the dense mapping of neuronal circuits by imaging each and every synapse and...
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Video Game Uses Brain Wave Monitoring to Treat ADHD
MEDGADGET EDITORS | NEUROLOGY, PEDIATRICS, PSYCHIATRY While there are a number of drugs to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), they can have some pretty serious side effects. Researchers in Singapore at the country’s Institute of Mental Health (IMH), Duke-NUS (National University of Singapore) Medical School, and A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), have developed a...
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Bilingualism and dementia: How some patients lose their second language and rediscover their first
by David Murphy, Aedin Ni Loingsigh, Ingeborg Birnie and Thomas H Bak, The Conversation For many people with dementia, memories of early childhood appear more vivid than their fragile sense of the present. But what happens when the present is experienced through a different language than the one spoken in childhood? And how might carers...
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The origins of trypophobia
by Chrissie Giles, Mosaic Julia was around 11 the first time it happened. She let herself into her dad’s apartment in Malmö, Sweden, dropped her schoolbag and flopped on to the sofa. She switched on the TV and turned to her favorite channel in time for the cartoons. The screen filled up with a cartoon...