High activity in a relatively poorly studied group of brain cells can be linked to aggressive behaviour in mice, a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows. Using optogenetic techniques, the researchers were able to control aggression in mice by stimulating or inhibiting these cells. The results, which are published in the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience, contribute...
Category: <span>Neuroscience</span>
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Nanoparticles carry drug duo into the brain to fight cancer
Glioblastoma is one of the most deadly forms of cancer. Affecting the brain, those unlucky enough to receive a diagnosis don’t have many treatment options – and usually a median life expectancy of just over a year. Now, researchers at MIT have developed nanoparticles that could provide hope, crossing the blood-brain barrier and delivering two types of...
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Depression speeds up brain aging, find psychologists
Psychologists at the University of Sussex have found a link between depression and an acceleration of the rate at which the brain ages. Although scientists have previously reported that people with depression or anxiety have an increased risk of dementia in later life, this is the first study that provides comprehensive evidence for the effect...
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Mechanisms of harmful overhydration and brain swelling
We are all familiar with the drawbacks of dehydration, but we rarely hear about the harmful effects of overhydration. For one, excess fluid accumulation can lead to dangerously low sodium levels in the blood or hyponatremia—a life-threatening condition that can result in brain swelling. Similarly, more is known about the mechanisms in the body that...
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UCI researchers discover novel mode of neurotransmitter-based communication
Influential GABA neurotransmitter proven to control voltage-activated ion channels Researchers at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine have discovered the first example of a novel mode of neurotransmitter-based communication. The discovery, published in Nature Communications, challenges current dogma about mechanisms of signaling in the brain, and uncovers new pathways for developing therapies for disorders like...
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What helps form long-term memory also drives the development of neurodegenerative disease
Dublin, Tuesday 22nd May, 2018 – Scientists have just discovered that a small region of a cellular protein that helps long-term memories form also drives the neurodegeneration seen in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This small part of the Ataxin-2 protein thus works for good and for bad. When a version of the protein lacking this...
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Reading the minds of pilots on the fly
After a plane engine blew apart at 32,000 feet in the air last month, the pilot flying Southwest Flight 1380 safely brought the Boeing 737 to an emergency landing in Philadelphia. Captain Tammie Jo Shults was heralded a hero, but a different flier may not have been able to respond as adeptly. A pilot study...
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Feel the burn: Biochemical pathway that spurs beige fat cells to burn energy is discovered
A collaborative research team, including bioanalytical neurochemist Alexander G. Zestos of American University, has identified a key signaling pathway that spurs beige fat cells to burn energy, revealing a possible target for obesity therapies in humans. The team, whose findings published today in Nature Medicine, conducted mouse studies to identify the brain receptor known as the CHRNA2 signaling...
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Mice regrow brain tissue after stroke with bioengineered gel
Replacement neurons, blood vessels fill in stroke cavity; gel provides scaffolding In a first-of-its-kind finding, a new stroke-healing gel helped regrow neurons and blood vessels in mice with stroke-damaged brains, UCLA researchers report in the May 21 issue of Nature Materials. “We tested this in laboratory mice to determine if it would repair the brain in a model...
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Cell types underlying schizophrenia identified
Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and University of North Carolina, USA, have identified the cell types underlying schizophrenia in a new study published in Nature Genetics. The findings offer a roadmap for the development of new therapies to target the condition. Schizophrenia is an often devastating disorder causing huge human suffering. Genetic studies have linked...