Tag: Neuroscience

Dietary lipids, already an important source of energy for tiny preemies, also provide a much-needed brain boost by significantly increasing global brain volume as well as increasing volume in regions involved in motor activities and memory, according to research presented during the Pediatric Academic Societies 2019 Annual Meeting. “Compared with macronutrients like carbohydrates and proteins,

A scientific breakthrough provides new hope for millions of people living with multiple sclerosis. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have developed a compound that stimulates repair of the protective sheath that covers nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The discovery, involving mice genetically engineered to mimic multiple sclerosis, published in the

The next time you’re offered a free sample as you’re walking past a storefront, go ahead and take it. But be aware that the more you like that little chunk of cheese or sip of herbal tea, the likelier your brain’s internal map will warp in a way that increases your ability to return to

A team led by Lida Kanari now reports a new system for distinguishing cell types in the brain, an algorithmic classification method that the researchers say will benefit the entire field of neuroscience. Blue Brain founder Professor Henry Markram says, “For nearly 100 years, scientists have been trying to name cells. They have been describing

Scientists at Scripps Research have found that they can reverse the desire to drink in alcohol-dependent rats — with the flip of a switch. The researchers were able to use lasers to temporarily inactivate a specific neuronal population, reversing alcohol-seeking behavior and even reducing the physical symptoms of withdrawal. “This discovery is exciting — it

Columbia engineers and neuroscientists have joined forces to create 3D videos of individual nerve cells moving, stretching and switching on inside fruit fly larvae as they move. Data gleaned from these videos reveals how nerve cells called proprioceptive neurons work together to help the body sense where it is in space. To accomplish this feat,

Elizabeth Delacruz can’t crawl or toddle around like most youngsters nearing their second birthday. A rare metabolic disorder that decimated her mobility has also led to cortical blindness — her brain is unable to process images received from an otherwise healthy set of brown eyes. And multiple times a day Elizabeth suffers seizures that continually

Experts from the Basque research centre BCBL have shown for the first time that the way in which the activity of two brains is connected depends on whether the dialogue takes place in the native language or in a foreign language. As two people speak, their brains begin to work simultaneously, synchronizing and establishing a

When a person takes a puff on a cigarette, nicotine floods into the brain, latching onto receptors on the surface of neurons and producing feelings of happiness. But nicotine does not simply stay on the surface of cells — the drug actually permeates into neural cells and alters them from the inside out. Now, a

A team of researchers under the direction of the Medical Center — University of Freiburg has succeeded in demonstrating in an animal model that previously entirely unknown types of immune cells are present in the inflamed brain in the course of multiple sclerosis (MS). The discovery was made by means of a new, high-resolution method

More people today are poised to explore space than ever before; those who do will experience the effects of microgravity on the human body. Recognizing the need for more data related to those effects, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) neuroradiologist Donna Roberts, M.D., and co-author Lonnie G. Petersen, M.D.,Ph.D., University of California San Diego,

Typically, damaged nerve fibres of the central nervous system (CNS) in the brain, the optic nerve and spinal cord don’t have the ability to regenerate. One of the pivotal reasons is that nerve fibres don’t produce any proteins that are necessary for their regeneration, or that they don’t produce enough of those proteins. The team

Academics at the University of Warwick have found that low functional connectivity of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex that is associated with the tendency to smoke is associated with increased impulsiveness — which may contribute to the tendency to smoke. The high connectivity of the reward-related medial orbitofrontal cortex in drinkers may increase the tendency to

Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, in collaboration with research groups in Finland, Canada, and Slovenia, have discovered a novel and unexpected function of nestin, the best known marker of neural stem cells. In the developing brain, the 3 main cell types, specifically neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, are generated from neural

The brain updates its preferences in real-time in order to choose between two equally attractive options, reveals a human neuroimaging and eye-tracking study published in JNeurosci. The research shows how we avoid becoming paralyzed by indecision like the starving donkey in a famous thought experiment. In the 14th century the French philosopher Jean Buridan described

The rat in a maze may be one of the most classic research motifs in brain science, but a new innovation described in Cell Reports by an international collaboration of scientists shows just how far such experiments are still pushing the cutting edge of technology and neuroscience alike. In recent years, scientists have shown that

That moment when you step on the gas pedal a split second before the light changes, or when you tap your toes even before the first piano note of Camila Cabello’s “Havana” is struck. That’s anticipatory timing. One type relies on memories from past experiences. The other on rhythm. Both are critical to our ability

According to a study conducted by the UAB and the UPO, scene changes diminish a spectator’s blink rate, producing an increase in attention. The results of the study demonstrate that a dynamic and chaotic audiovisual editing causes more activity in the visual processing areas, while continuous and orderly editing produces more cognitive processing activity. Scene

Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists have shown that mutations in specific genes that destroy motor neurons and thereby cause the devastating effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease — also attack sensory neurons. The discovery in today’s (Thursday, Nov. 8) Scientific Reports indicates that studying sensory neurons

Scientists at the University of Sussex have developed a piece of hardware to demonstrate how our brains function, as part of a growing range of equipment which uses DIY and 3D printable models to open up access to science education. Professor of Neuroscience, Tom Baden, has been working with colleagues to build Spikeling; a piece