By JOE PINKSTONE FOR MAILONLINE Memory formation and recall is linked to specific brainwaves called theta waves These fire three times a second and only when a person learns successfully They originate from the hippocampus region, deep inside a person’s brain They are again produced when a person remembers one of their memories Recall is...
Study reveals previously unknown protein that helps proinsulin fold and opens new avenues for diabetes research SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have mapped for the first time the vast network of proteins that interact with proinsulin, the protein the body normally processes into insulin. The study,...
CHICAGO — Scientists from Northwestern Medicine and the University of Belgrade have pinpointed the electrophysiological mechanism behind upper motor neuron (UMN) disease, unlocking the door to potential treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia and Primary Lateral Sclerosis. The study, published in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience on...
New imaging technology allows scientists to see the widespread loss of brain synapses in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, a finding that one day may help aid in drug development, according to a new Yale University study. The research, published May 13 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, compared the density...
by Society for Neuroscience Gene expression of the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) in the right amygdala and vlPFC correlated with anxiety-like behavior in the human intruder test. Credit: Quah et al., JNeurosci 2020 Anxiety-prone people can blame serotonin cleanup proteins gone awry in their amygdala, according to research in marmosets recently published in JNeurosci. Targeting...
SCIENCECORONAVIRUS COVERAGE The pandemic is giving people vivid, unusual dreams. Here’s why. Researchers explain why withdrawal from our usual environments—due to social distancing—has left dreamers with a dearth of “inspiration.” Deirdre Barrett, a professor of psychology at Harvard University who studies dreams, made this photo illustration of a recent COVID-19 dream she had. ARTWORK BY...
By Nick Lavars One of the serious and enduring side effects of a spinal cord injury can be the gradual development of regular muscle spasms, something that afflicts around 70 percent of sufferers, according to researchers at the University of Copenhagen. These scientists may have uncovered an effective new treatment for this side effect in...
Working with the laboratory worm C. elegans, Mutlu and her colleagues conducted a broad screen to investigate whether neurons can actively send signals that, without affecting feeding habits, could alter lipid metabolism. “When we found a connection with the sense of smell, we were very surprised. We expected a link with taste or related to...
by The Army Research Laboratory A big data approach to neuroscience promises to significantly improve our understanding of the relationship between brain activity and performance. To date, there have been relatively few attempts to use a big-data approach within the emerging field of neurotechnology. In this field, the few attempts at meta-analysis (analysis across multiple...
by Katherine Fenz, Rockefeller University All neurodegenerative diseases have a common thread: the appearance of protein clumps in the brain such as amyloid-beta plaques in Alzheimer’s disease and alpha synuclein aggregates in Parkinson’s. The root cause of this buildup has been hard to pinpoint, but Rockefeller scientists have identified a likely culprit that opens up...
