#Scientists discover atomic-resolution details of brain signaling"This is a very important, exciting advance that may open up possibilities for targeting new drugs to control neurotransmitter release.
SNARES play a key role in the brain's chemical signaling by joining, or"fusing,"little packets of neurotransmitters to the outer edges of neurons,
which helps to explain how they trigger brain signaling so rapidly.""The neuron is not building the'gun'as it sits there on the membrane--it's already there,
#Scientists uncover nuclear process in the brain that may affect disease Every brain cell has a nucleus,
Scientists have shown that the passage of molecules through the nucleus of a star-shaped brain cell, called an astrocyte,
"Unexpectedly we may have discovered a hidden pathway to understanding how astrocytes respond to injury and control brain processes.
The pathway may be common to many brain diseases and we're just starting to follow it,
Some neurological disorders are associated with higher than normal brain levels of the growth factor TGF-beta,
Hydrocephalus is a disorder that fills the brain with excess cerebral spinal fluid. Eliminating the p75ntr gene also prevented astrocytes in the brains of the mice from forming scars after injuries and restored gamma oscillations
which are patterns of neuronal activity associated with learning and memory. The cell nucleus is a ball of chromosomes wrapped in a protective fatty membrane.
"This research highlights the importance of the nuclear pore complex in the brain and raises the possibility that it may be a target for treating a wide range of neurological disorders,
"Building functional models of the complex cellular networks such as those found in the brain is probably one of the highest challenges you could aspire to,
there is a new kid on the block Alzheimer's disease is associated with the appearance of characteristic neurotoxic protein aggregates in various regions in the brain.
the LMU researchers have studied also the effects of the eta-amyloid on nerve-cell function in the brain.
and might therefore compromise brain function, "says Haass. He therefore suggests that investigators need to be on the look out for any signs of unanticipated side-effects in the current clinical trials a
akin to the misfolded proteins involved in incurable progressive brain diseases such Creutzfeldt-jakob disease (CJD), according to two new research papers led by scientists at UC San francisco. The findings suggest new approaches to developing treatments for MSA,
since work at the National institutes of health in the 1960s showed that human brain tissue infected with CJD could transmit neurodegeneration to chimpanzees.
insoluble plaques throughout the brain that kill off cells and result in the typical"spongy"appearance of CJD-affected brains.
and an international team of colleagues report that a misfolded version of a protein called alpha-synuclein seems to act in a similar way to transmit MSA from diseased human brain tissue to mice and to human cell cultures.
or deep brain stimulation used for Parkinson's symptoms. As in Parkinson's disease, neurodegeneration in MSA is accompanied by a buildup of clumps of alpha-synuclein protein within brain cells.
Both MSA and PD can arise sporadically in families with no history of the disease,
showing that samples of brain tissue from two human MSA patients were able to transmit the disease to a mouse model for Parkinson's disease,
the Massachusetts Alzheimer's disease Research center in Boston, the Parkinson's UK Brain Bank at Imperial College London,
and the Sydney Brain Bank in Australia. The results were the same: When exposed to human MSA tissue, the mice developed neurodegeneration.
In addition, the team found that the brains of infected mice contained abnormally high levels of insoluble human alpha-synuclein,
and that infected mouse brain tissue could itself spread the disease to other mice. The discovery that alpha-synuclein prions can transmit MSA raises a public health concern about treatments
and research that involve contact with brain tissue from neurodegeneration patients, because standard disinfection techniques that kill microbes do not eliminate the Prp prions that cause CJD.
which is treated often with deep-brain stimulation. The disease could potentially be transmitted to other patients
if deep-brain stimulation equipment is reused.""You can't kill a protein, "Giles said.""And it can stick tightly to stainless steel,
People are living longer and likely getting more brain surgeries. There could be undiagnosed neurodegenerative diseases that
Arrayin 2004, professor Petter Strømme examined a child with congenital cataract, growth delay and symptoms from the brain, the peripheral nervous system,
"The work by Karatsoreos and his colleagues--published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity--is a rare look into the circadian process,
a brain-driven clock that controls the rhythms of various biological processes, from digestion to blood pressure, heart rate to waking and sleeping.
and the pattern of electrical activity in their brains related to restorative sleep was reduced greatly d
See-through brains ready for study Researchers at the RIKEN Brain science Institute in Japan have developed a new technique for creating transparent tissue that can be used to illuminate 3d brain anatomy at very high resolutions.
called Scales, is a real and practical way to see through brain and body tissue.""In recent years, generating see-through tissue--a process called optical clearing--has become a goal for many researchers in life sciences because of its potential to reveal complex structural details of our bodies, organs,
"By combining sorbitol in the right proportion with urea, we could create transparent brains with minimal tissue damage,
"The new technique creates transparent brain samples that can be stored in Scales solution for more than a year without damage.
and brains are firm enough to permit the micron-thick slicing necessary for more detailed analyses."
the researchers put the technique to practical use by visualizing in 3d the mysterious"diffuse"plaques seen in the postmortem brains of Alzheimer's disease patients that are typically undetectable using 2d imaging.
and pinpointing structural changes that characterize other brain diseases
#Biodiesel made easier, cleaner with waste-recycling catalyst Researchers at Cardiff University have devised a way of increasing the yield of biodiesel by using the waste left over from its production process.
like the eyes, kidney, brain and bone. But this new research found that in certain patients with AML--a type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells
#Loss of cellular energy leads to neuronal dysfunction in neurodegenerative disease model A new study from the Gladstone Institutes shows for the first time that impairments in mitochondria--the brain's cellular power plants--can deplete cellular energy levels
the scientists created novel assays to more accurately measure the brain's energy production. Using a model of Leigh's disease,
which brain cells release neurotransmitters to communicate with each other. The scientists blocked glycolysis, another way that cells make ATP,
including brain tissue from surgical steel. Cleaning instruments between patients is critical to avoid transmission of agents leading to conditions such as Creutzfeldt-jakob disease.
Neurotransmitters--chemicals used by brain cells to communicate--are essential for brain function. In particular, acetylcholine, which was the first neurotransmitter to be discovered,
a rare genetic disorder affecting a region of the brain involved in motor control and which leads to difficulty in coordinating complex movements,
Neurotransmitters--chemicals used by brain cells to communicate--are essential for brain function. In particular, acetylcholine, which was the first neurotransmitter to be discovered,
a rare genetic disorder affecting a region of the brain involved in motor control and which leads to difficulty in coordinating complex movements,
"We could pull 12 metastatic cells out of the brain and tell you what is special about those 12 cells.
whether lymph, liver, lung or brain. In contrast, early-stage metastases and cancer cells traveling through the blood expressed genes typically active in mammary stem cells and quite distinct from primary tumor cells.
#Team links two human brains for question -and-answer experiment Researchers used a brain-to-brain interface they developed to allow pairs of participants to play a'20 question'style game by transmitting signals from one brain to another over the Internet.
Their experiment is thought to be the first to demonstrate that two brains can be linked directly to allow someone to accurately guess what is on another person's mind.
Sci-fi? Mind-reading superpowers? Not quite.""This is the most complex brain-to-brain experiment, I think,
that's been done to date in humans, "said lead author Andrea Stocco, an assistant professor of psychology and a researcher at UW's Institute for Learning & Brain sciences."
"It uses conscious experiences through signals that are experienced visually, and it requires two people to collaborate,
or"respondent,"wears a cap connected to an electroencephalography (EEG) machine that records electrical brain activity.
But only a"yes"answer generates a response intense enough to stimulate the visual cortex and cause the inquirer to see a flash of light known as a"phosphene."
The researchers took steps to ensure participants couldn't use clues other than direct brain communication to complete the game.
"They have to interpret something they're seeing with their brains, "said co-author Chantel Prat, a faculty member at the Institute for Learning & Brain sciences and a UW associate professor of psychology."
"It's not something they've ever seen before.""Errors can also result from respondents not knowing the answers to questions or focusing on both answers,
or by the brain signal transmission being interrupted by hardware problems.""While the flashing lights are signals that we're putting into the brain,
those parts of the brain are doing a million other things at any given time too,
"Prat said. The study builds on the UW team's initial experiment in 2013, when it was the first to demonstrate a direct brain-to-brain connection between humans.
Other scientists have connected the brains of rats and monkeys, and transmitted brain signals from a human to a rat, using electrodes inserted into animals'brains.
In the 2013 experiment, the UW team used noninvasive technology to send a person's brain signals over the Internet to control the hand motions of another person.
The first experiment evolved out of research by co-author Rajesh Rao, a UW professor of computer science and engineering,
on brain-computer interfaces that enable people to activate devices with their minds. In 2011, Rao began collaborating with Stocco
and Prat to determine how to link two human brains together. In 2014, the researchers received a $1 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation that allowed them to broaden their experiments to decode more complex interactions and brain processes.
They are now exploring the possibility of"brain tutoring, "transferring signals directly from healthy brains to ones that are impaired developmentally
or impacted by external factors such as a stroke or accident, or simply to transfer knowledge from teacher to pupil.
The team is also working on transmitting brain states--for example, sending signals from an alert person to a sleepy one,
or from a focused student to one who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD."
"Imagine having someone with ADHD and a neurotypical student, "Prat said.""When the non-ADHD student is paying attention,
the ADHD student's brain gets put into a state of greater attention automatically.""Many technological advancements over the past century, from the telegraph to the Internet, were created to facilitate communication between people.
and other animals to take information out of our brains and communicate it to other animals in the forms of behavior, speech and so on,
We can only communicate part of whatever our brain processes.""What we are doing is kind of reversing the process a step at a time by opening up this box
and taking signals from the brain and with minimal translation, putting them back in another person's brain,
and Justin Abernethy, a research assistant at the UW Institute for Learning & Brain sciences s
In a study published in Cell, Feng Zhang and his colleagues at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Mcgovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT,
Will brain palpation soon be possible? If there is one technique used by the physician to explore the human body during every medical examination
however, the brain cannot be palpated without using a highly invasive procedure (craniotomy, or opening the skull),
Ultimately, it could be used in the early diagnosis of brain tumours or Alzheimer's disease. This work is published in PNAS.
However, this method cannot be applied to the brain, which, doubly protected by the cranium and cerebrospinal fluid, is difficult for externally applied waves to access.
It is therefore impossible to directly or indirectly palpate the brain, something that greatly complicates the work of neurosurgeons.
On the other hand, the brain is the seat of natural vibrations created by the blood pulsating in the arteries and the circulating cerebrospinal fluid.
There remained a significant unprecedented challenge: how to capture this complex field of natural shear waves,
have succeeded in detecting natural shear waves in the brain using computational techniques borrowed from seismologists and known as"noise correlation."
"They were thus able to build images of the brain's elasticity.""If this method can be developed for clinical use,
since making the brain vibrate is quite painful at the moment. Of course, this method will be complementary to those that already exist,
"Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and hydrocephalus involve changes in the stiffness of the brain tissues. This new technique allows their detection,
and could be used to avoid brain biopsies.""This method for palpating the brain could have other areas of application,
such as for analysing the development of neurodegenerative processes, the impact of a lesion from a trauma or tumour, response to treatment, etc e
Also on the horizon is research using scorpion venom to target brain tumours with MRI scanning g
Both cardiac cells in the heart and neurons in the brain communicate by electrical signals,
which so far has been used mainly in brain science. Dr Gil Bub, from Oxford university explained:''When there is scar tissue in the heart or fibrosis,
and shape of such excitation waves would mean unprecedented direct control of organ-level function, in the heart or brain,
including those in our own brains and hearts s
#Some patients in a vegetative state retain awareness, despite being unable to move New insight into a vital cerebral pathway has explained how some patients in a vegetative state are aware
identify structural damage between the thalamus and primary motor cortex as the obstacle between covert awareness and intentional movement.
""In highlighting damage to the pathways that physically connect the thalamus, one of the hubs of consciousness if you will,
and the motor cortex, which drives our voluntary muscular activity, as the reason behind the dissociation we have provided an important explanation."
was observed in a case study at the imaging centre at the Brain and Mind Institute, at Western University, Canada.
"while their brain activity was measured. Additionally the researchers assessed the integrity of the structural pathways that were revealed as essential for successful motor execution (those connecting the thalamus with the motor cortex.
Dr Fernández-Espejo added,"The ultimate aim is to use this information in targeted therapies that can drastically improve the quality of life of patients.
'Understanding how subtle changes in our genes may trigger brain cell death is one of the most promising avenues for the development of new treatments for Parkinson's.'
lend hope to patients around the world with neurological conditions that are difficult to treat due to a barrier mechanism that prevents approximately 98 percent of drugs from reaching the brain and central nervous system."
"We are developing a platform that may eventually be used to deliver a variety of drugs to the brain,
seizure disorders and many other conditions affecting the brain and nervous system down the road.""Using nasal mucosal grafting,
a therapeutic protein in testing for treating Parkinson's disease, to the brains of mice. They showed through behavioral
and histological data capture that their delivery method was equivalent to direct injection of GDNF--the current gold standard for delivering this drug in Parkinson's disease despite its traumatic nature and high complication rates--in diffusing drugs to the brain.
"Brain diseases are notoriously difficult to treat due to the natural protections the body builds against intrusion,
"Nasal mucosal grafting is a technique regularly used in the ENT field to reconstruct the barrier around the brain after surgery to the skull base.
ENT surgeons commonly use endoscopic approaches to remove brain tumors through the nose by making a window through the blood-brain barrier to access the brain.
with the nasal lining protecting the brain from infection just as the blood brain barrier has done. Dr. Bleier saw an opportunity to apply these techniques to the widespread clinical dilemma of delivering drugs across the barrier to the brain and central nervous system.
By functionally replacing a section of the blood-brain barrier with nasal mucosa, which is more than 1, 000 times more permeable than the native barrier,
surgeons may create a"screen door"to allow for drug delivery to the brain and central nervous system. The technique has the potential to benefit a large population of patients with neurodegenerative disorders,
where there remains a specific unmet need for blood-brain penetrating therapeutic delivery strategies.""We see this expanding beyond Parkinson's disease,
as there are multiple diseases of the brain that do not have good therapeutic options, "Dr. Bleier said."
"It is a platform that opens doors for new discovery and could enable drug development for an underserved population
University of London has been able to predict participants'movements just by analysing their brain activity. The research,
and could be the first step in the development of brain-computer interfaces. Dr. Lingnau and her team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fmri)
whether they were able to predict which movement the participant was going to perform on the basis of the brain activity measured during the planning phase.
We were successfully able to predict what action they were going to carry out just from analysing their brain signals.""
""This opens up huge possibilities for the future including the development of technology you can control with your mind as well as enabling the development of methods for helping those with paralysis to have direct brain control to the affected areas
In the case of our eyes, the electrical impulses transmit the image to the brain.
who is also an associate member of MIT's Mcgovern Institute for Brain Research. As a starting point, the researchers used ferritin,
but also stimulates important receptors in the brain. By switching off LRRC8D, it will now be possible to specifically investigate physiological and pathological roles of taurine release by VRAC.
Mind & Brain: Men Are attracted to Nonconformist Women Space: Sun Accused of Stealing Planetary Objects from Another Star Technology:
In their proof-of-concept study, they sent light from the LED through an optical fiber to stimulate neurons in mouse brain slices.
#Memory-Boosting Devices Tested in Humans A strategy designed to improve memory by delivering brain stimulation through implanted electrodes is undergoing trials in humans.
The findings raise hopes that a euro prostheticthat automatically enhances flagging memory could aid not only brain-injured soldiers,
Because of the risks associated with surgically placing devices in the brain, both groups are studying people with epilepsy who already have implanted electrodes.
The researchers can use these electrodes both to record brain activity and to stimulate specific groups of neurons.
because repeated seizures can destroy the brain tissue needed for long term memory formation. Short-term memories are thought to be created
when a part of the brain called the hippo campus aggregates sensory information, as well as the perception of space and time,
and receives inputs from many connections in the brain, stimulating it with the CA3 signal alone may not be enough.
Thomas Mchugh, a neuroscientist at the RIKEN Brain science Institute in Tokyo, says that he has been following the team work for years
Many parts of the brain are organized in obvious ways: in the motor cortex, for example, stimulating a particular spot causes motion in a specific part of the body.
But there is no such obvious organization in the hippocampus, so it is unclear why stimulating certain locations leads to predictable results.
again by working with people with epilepsy, that stimulating a region called the medial temporal lobe, which houses the hippocampus, improves memory that is functioning poorly.
Penn neuroscientist Daniel Rizzuto and his colleagues recorded brain activity in 28 people as they recalled a list of words.
By stimulating the brain only when a person read words that were likely to be forgotten the researchers could boost performance by up to 140%.
%Penn psychologist Michael Kahana says that the team has recorded from the brains of about 80 people in total
#This Robotic Hand Wired to a Brain Implant Restored a Paralyzed Man Sense of touch In the last few years,
a paralyzed 28-year-old man reported a ear-naturalsense of touch from a sensor-laden robotic hand wired to a brain implant.
however, robotic arms wired directly to the brain via an implant have been primarily one-way devicesllowing action but not yielding sensory information.
Robotic thought-controlled prosthetic limbs for amputees are controlled by the brain indirectly using healthy nerves and muscles in the stump.
however, the only way to link up to a robotic arm is directly through the brain by way of an implant.
the hand converts physical sensations into electrical signals that are communicated to the brain through the brain implant.
but without feedback from signals traveling back to the brain it can be difficult to achieve the level of control needed to perform precise movements.
By wiring a sense of touch from a mechanical hand directly into the brain, this work shows the potential for seamless biotechnological restoration of all function.
invasive surgery and wired brain implants are not an ideal solution. And limited to pressure,
And advances in brain-machine interfaces should make implants less invasive. For now, however, it one step at a time.
Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have found a new way to treat dementia by sending electrical impulses to specific areas of the brain to enhance the growth of new brain cells.
Known as deep brain stimulation, it is a therapeutic procedure that is already used in some parts of the world to treat various neurological conditions such as tremors or Dystonia,
NTU scientists have discovered that deep brain stimulation could also be used to enhance the growth of brain cells
Their research has shown that new brain cells, or neurons, can be formed by stimulating the front part of the brain
which is involved in memory retention using minute amounts of electricity. The increase in brain cells reduces anxiety and depression,
and promotes improved learning, and boosts overall memory formation and retention. The research findings open new opportunities for developing novel treatment solutions for patients suffering from memory loss due to dementia-related conditions such as Alzheimer and even Parkinson disease.
he findings from the research clearly show the potential of enhancing the growth of brain cells using deep brain stimulation. round 60 per cent of patients do not respond to regular antidepressant treatments
said that deep brain stimulation brings multiple benefits. o negative effects have been reported in such prefrontal cortex stimulation in humans
Growing new brain cells For decades, scientists have been finding ways to generate brain cells to boost memory and learning,
but more importantly, to also treat brain trauma and injury, and age-related diseases such as dementia. As part of a natural cycle, brain cells constantly die
and get replaced by new ones. The area of the brain responsible for generating new brain cells is known as the hippocampus
which is involved also in memory forming, organising and retention. By stimulating the front part of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex,
new brain cells are formed in the hippocampus although it had not been stimulated directly. The research was conducted using middle-aged rats, where electrodes
which sends out minute micro-electrical impulses were implanted in the brains. The rats underwent a few memory tests before and after stimulation,
and displayed positive results in memory retention, even after 24 hours. xtensive studies have shown that ratsbrains
and the Whitehead Institute have discovered a vulnerability of brain cancer cells that could be exploited to develop more-effective drugs against brain tumors.
Many of these disorders specifically affect brain development; the most common of these is marked phenylketonuria
which causes glycine to build up in the brain and can lead to severe mental retardation. GLDC is also often overactive in certain cells of glioblastoma,
a disorder that severely affects the developing brain. Sabatini and colleagues elucidated that loss of GLDC builds up glycine levels,
Clinical Trial Finds A wearable device that emits low-level electrical fields can slow the progression of glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer,
Image depicts patterns of brain activation in typically developing, ASD oodand ASD oorlanguage ability toddlers in response to speech sounds during their earliest brain scan (ages 12-29 months.
which display robust activation in classic language brain regions, such as the superior temporal gyrus. In contrast, the ASD Poor language toddlers showed no statistically significant activation in classic language regions.
Image depicts patterns of brain activation in typically developing, ASD oodand ASD oorlanguage ability toddlers in response to speech sounds during their earliest brain scan (ages 12-29 months.
The imaging occurred one to two years prior to their language outcome designation at age 30-48 months.
which display robust activation in classic language brain regions, such as the superior temporal gyrus. In contrast, the ASD Poor language toddlers showed no statistically significant activation in classic language regions.
A major challenge of ASD diagnosis and treatment is that the neurological condition which affects 1 in 68 children in the United states,
of detecting different brain subtypes within ASD that underlie and help explain varying development language trajectories
if patterns of brain activity in response to language can explain and predict how well language skills would develop in a toddler with ASD before that toddler actually began talking,
a region of the brain responsible for processing sounds so that they can be understood as language. In contrast, ASD toddlers with poor language outcomes had superior temporal cortices that showed diminished or abnormal inactivity to speech.
our study shows a strong relationship between irregularities in speech-activation in the language-critical superior temporal cortex and actual,
The scientists said fmri imaging also showed that the brains of ASD toddlers with poor language development processed speech differently,
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