‘Night owls’ – those who go to bed and get up later—have fundamental differences in their brain function compared to ‘morning larks’ , which mean they could be disadvantaged by the constraints of a normal working day. Research led by the University of Birmingham found that individuals whose internal body clock dictates that they go...
Category: <span>Neuroscience</span>
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Brain discovery explains a great mystery of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
One of the great mysteries of neuroscience may finally have an answer: Scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified a potential explanation for the mysterious death of specific brain cells seen in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. The new research suggests that the cells may die because of naturally occurring...
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Tampering with the Brakes
We’ve all seen these people. Maybe at one point in time we’ve actually been these people: messy, falling-down drunk, slurring and incoherent, precariously close to catastrophe … and asking the bartender for another shot. For the majority of us who imbibe, there is a certain point at which we stop pounding the drinks, and many...
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Dementia eliminates the ability to daydream, sufferers are “stuck in the moment”
Daydreaming, thinking about the past, planning for the future, or just letting your mind wander off from the current moment occupies our thoughts for a large part of every day. However, a new study has revealed patients suffering from a specific kind of early-onset dementia may have completely lost the ability to do this and...
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New study in mice reveals unexpected place for learning, memory in the brain
Columbia research demonstrates that the brain’s primitive sensory region also participates in sophisticated learning THE ZUCKERMAN INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY NEW YORK — Columbia neuroscientists have revealed that a simple brain region, known for processing basic sensory information, can also guide complex feats of mental activity. The new study involving mice demonstrated that cells in...
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Light-Activated Tether-Free Neural Stimulation Device
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed an ultra-small implantable neural stimulation device that can be activated using a laser and which doesn’t require a cable that tethers it to a controller outside the body. The researchers hope that the device could pave the way for less invasive neural stimulation therapy in neurological disorders...
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Can a nerve injury trigger ALS?
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO A growing collection of anecdotal stories raises the possibility that nerve injury in an arm or a leg can act as a trigger for the development amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS — a progressive neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, named after the famous New York Yankee who...
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UBC researchers discover how blood vessels protect the brain during inflammation
Findings could lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Researchers from the University of British Columbia have discovered how blood vessels protect the brain during inflammation–a finding that could lead to the development of new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as stroke, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. In a study published today...
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A new Neuro-inspired system for pattern detection
A scientific team comprising researchers from the Center for Biomedical Technology (CTB) at UPM, University of La Laguna (ULL) and Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex System (IFISC, CSIC-UIB) has developed a new method to detect temporal patterns which is based on a neuro-inspired system and is used to classify brain activity using magnetoencephalography. This...
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T-cell specificity found to play a role in attacks on myelin versus β-synuclein in MS
A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Germany has found that T-cell specificity plays a major role in immune system attacks on myelin versus β-synuclein in people with multiple sclerosis. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their study of T-cell behavior in rat models and what they learned....