Summary: Researchers have identified a molecular process involved in gene expression in neurons which appears to play a key role in memory consolidation. Source: UC Davis The process by which memories are formed in the hippocampus region of the brain is complex. It relies on a precise choreography of interactions between neurons, neurotransmitters, receptors and enzymes. A...
Tag: <span>the brain</span>
A vicious cycle: How alcohol’s impact on the brain makes us more likely to drink
BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Heavy alcohol use creates a vicious cycle: It changes signaling pathways in the brain, which in turn affects cognitive functions like decision-making and impulse control — and makes the individual more likely to drink. The mechanism behind this may involve the brain’s immune system, according to a recent article in...
What scientists are learning about COVID-19 and the brain
by Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute The scientists found that SARS-CoV-2 (red) primarily infects brain cells called choroid plexus cells (blue), which are part of the brain’s protective blood-brain barrier. Credit: Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute We caught up with cell biologist Anne Bang, who recently teamed up with her husband to study how...
Cartographers of the brain
UCI’s Center for Neural Circuit Mapping is redrawing our understanding of mechanisms underlying several common disorders. Thanks to Xiangmin Xu and his team at the UCI School of Medicine’s Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, lazy eye, Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases could become a thing of the past. Opened earlier this year, the unit focuses...
From fluffy to valuable: How the brain recognises objects
To recognise a chair or a dog, our brain separates objects into their individual properties and then puts them back together. Until recently, it has remained unclear what these properties are. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig have now identified them – from “fluffy” to “valuable” –...