Tag Archive for 'Brain'

The unpleasantness of pain is an emotional phenomenon distinct from pain’s sensory qualities. To study how the brain processes pain-related emotions, Corder et al used neural calcium imaging in freely behaving mice. The team identified brain circuits that respond to pain and directly tested their causal role in motivational behaviors associated with acute and chronic pain. Image credit: Corder et al, doi: 10.1126/science.aap8586.

Neuroscientists Identify Neurons that Make Pain Unpleasant

Jan 22, 2019 by News Staff

Pain sensation and the emotional experience of pain are not the same. A research team at Stanford University has now identified a group of neurons in mice...

ExLLSM (expansion/lattice light-sheet microscopy) images neural structures with molecular contrast over millimeter-scale volumes, including (clockwise from top right) mouse pyramidal neurons and their processes; organelle morphologies in somata; dendritic spines and synaptic proteins across the cortex; stereotypy of projection neuron boutons in Drosophila; projection neurons traced to the central complex; and (center) dopaminergic neurons across the brain, including the ellipsoid body (circular inset). Image credit: Gao et al, doi: 10.1126/science.aau8302.

Powerful New 3D-Imaging Technique Maps Fruit Fly and Mouse Brains in Unprecedented Detail

Jan 18, 2019 by News Staff

A revolutionary new technique combines a rapid 3D microscopy technique known as lattice light-sheet microscopy with expansion microscopy for nanoscale...

When we remember a past event, the brain reconstructs that experience in reverse order. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.

Study Shows How Human Brain Reconstructs Memories

Jan 14, 2019 by News Staff

Remembering is a reconstructive process, yet little is known about how the reconstruction of a memory unfolds in time in the brain. In a study published...

Mice with AD-like symptoms receiving supplemental levels of choline in the womb improved their spatial memory. A second generation bred from these choline-treated mice also showed improved spatial memory, suggesting epigenetic changes in genes. Choline acts to reduce harmful levels of the amino acid homocysteine, converting it to the beneficial chemical methionine. Image credit: Shireen Dooling, Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University.

Choline: Vitamin-Like Nutrient May Help Protect against Alzheimer’s Disease

Jan 11, 2019 by News Staff

The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is anticipated to increase significantly over the next few decades. This is alarming given that no effective...

Irisin is produced by muscles during exercise. Image credit: Free-Photos.

‘Exercise Hormone’ Could Slow Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease

Jan 10, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by Queen’s University, Columbia University and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro has found that irisin,...

Ribic et al discovered a new molecular mechanism that is essential for brain maturation and may be used to restore plasticity in aged brains. Image credit: Adema Ribic / Tufts University School of Medicine.

Neuroscientists Uncover Way to Restore Cortical Plasticity in Mature Brain

Jan 9, 2019 by News Staff

In a study on mice, a team of researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine and Yale University School of Medicine has discovered a molecular mechanism...

In a proposed neuromodulation device, two of the new chips would be embedded in a chassis located outside the head. Each chip could monitor electrical activity from 64 electrodes located into the brain while simultaneously delivering electrical stimulation to prevent unwanted seizures or tremors. Image credit: Rikky Muller / University of California, Berkeley.

Researchers Develop Wireless ‘Pacemaker for the Brain’

Jan 8, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has developed a novel neurostimulator that can listen to and stimulate electric current...

Plasma cells (PC) are found in the central nervous system of multiple sclerosis patients, yet their source and role in multiple sclerosis remains unclear. Rojas et al find that some PC in the central nervous system of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) originate in the gut and produce immunoglobulin A (IgA). Moreover, the researchers show that IgA + PC are dramatically reduced in the gut during EAE, and likewise, a reduction in IgA-bound fecal bacteria is seen in multiple sclerosis patients during disease relapse. Image credit: Rojas et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.11.035.

Gut-Derived Immune Cells Reduce Brain Inflammation in Multiple Sclerosis

Jan 8, 2019 by News Staff

Studying mice and samples from multiple sclerosis patients, a research team led by University of Toronto scientists found that gut-derived immunoglobulin-A-(IgA)...

Wild-type mice were challenged with Candida albicans and immunofluorescence staining for DAPI, IBA1, Aβ, and GFAP was performed on brain sections containing fungal granulomas. Image credit: Wu et al, doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-07991-4.

Study: Candida albicans Can Cause Brain Infection, Memory Impairment

Jan 7, 2019 by News Staff

A fungal pathogen called Candida albicans can cross the blood-brain barrier and trigger an inflammatory response that results in the formation of granuloma-type...

Thanarajah et al combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) to assess the brain’s response to food intake and discovered immediate and delayed dopamine release in distinct areas of the human brain; the study authors also identified areas where dopamine release reflected subjective wanting to eat, shedding light on how the brain transforms energetic signals into the desire to eat. Image credit: Thanaraja et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.12.006.

Study: Our Brain Rewards Us Twice Per Meal

Jan 2, 2019 by News Staff

Our brain rewards us for every meal by releasing dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a starring role in motivating behavior. According to a new study,...

Multicellular organisms eliminate abnormal but viable cells based on their fitness status through cell competition to maintain tissue integrity. Coelho et al report that fitness-based neuronal selection occurs in the course of neurodegeneration. Death of unfit neurons is beneficial, protecting against disease progression by restoring motor and cognitive functions. Image credit: Coelho et al, doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.11.098.

Neuronal Loss May Have Beneficial Effect in Alzheimer’s Disease

Dec 28, 2018 by News Staff

Neuronal loss in Alzheimer’s disease may be the result of a cell quality control mechanism trying to protect the brain from the accumulation of malfunctioning...

Bees can solve seemingly clever counting tasks with very small numbers of neurons in their brains. Image credit: PollyDot.

Bees Can Solve Counting Tasks with Just Four Neurons, New Study Shows

Dec 25, 2018 by News Staff

Bees can count up to four or five items, can choose the smaller or the larger number from a group and even choose ‘zero’ against other numbers when...

Forensic facial reconstruction of another Australopithecus species - A. afarensis. Image credit: Cicero Moraes / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Little Foot Fossil Sheds New Light on Hominin Brain Evolution

Dec 21, 2018 by News Staff

The first detailed comparative description of the external neuroanatomy of the 3.67-million-year-old Australopithecus prometheus fossil known as the Little...

The new study by Burke Quinla et al suggests that the experience of chronic peer victimization during adolescence might induce psychopathology-relevant deviations from normative brain development. Early peer victimization interventions could prevent such pathological changes. Image credit: Alexas Fotos.

Study: Bullying Affects Structure of Adolescent Brain

Dec 17, 2018 by News Staff

Chronic peer victimization during adolescence impacts mental health via structural brain changes, according to new research published in the journal Molecular...

Caffeine and eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide may protect against brain degeneration. Image credit: Anja Osenberg.

Two Compounds in Coffee May Combat Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia

Dec 12, 2018 by News Staff

Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder that can lead to shaking, stiffness and difficulty with walking, balance and coordination. Dementia with Lewy...

He et al found that a single workout can activate POMC neurons (shown in green in yellow) for up to 2 days; these neurons are important regulators of blood glucose levels and energy balance. Image credit: He et al, doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2018.08.011.

Exercise Can Boost Metabolism, Animal Study Shows

Dec 7, 2018 by News Staff

A new study shows neurons in mice that influence metabolism are active for up to two days after a single workout. The study, published in the journal Molecular...

In fruit flies, dopamine neurons regulate both learning and forgetting. Berry et al identify a locus for the storage and retrieval of a short-term memory trace and show that a single dopamine neuron regulates both formation and disruption of this trace. Image credit: Berry et al, doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.09.051.

Neuroscientists Decode Physiological Mechanism of Remembering and Forgetting

Nov 30, 2018 by News Staff

In a study of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), a team of researchers from the Scripps Research Institute Florida has shown the physiological mechanism...

The study by Yuan et al supports a long-term beneficial role of vegetable, fruit, and orange juice consumption on cognitive function. Image credit: Silvia Rita.

Long-Term Consumption of Vegetables, Fruits and Orange Juice May Reduce Memory Loss in Men

Nov 28, 2018 by News Staff

Vegetable, fruit, and orange juice consumption may be associated with a lower risk of memory loss in men, according to a new study from the Harvard T.H....

The endorestiform nucleus is found near the brain-spinal cord junction. Image credit: George Paxinos, Neuroscience Research Australia.

Australian Neuroscientist Discovers Hidden Region in Human Brain: Endorestiform Nucleus

Nov 23, 2018 by News Staff

Professor George Paxinos from Neuroscience Research Australia has discovered a hidden region of the human brain. The endorestiform nucleus is found near...

Exposure to outdoor air pollution may be one of the pathways that contribute to the health inequities experienced by people with intellectual disabilities. Image credit: Ralf Vetterle.

Scientists Find Link between Air Pollution and Intellectual Disabilities in Children

Nov 23, 2018 by News Staff

Levels of exposure to outdoor air pollution among children with intellectual disabilities are significantly higher than those of children without intellectual...

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