Possible approach to block medulloblastoma growth
Researchers have identified a potential approach to stop the growth of the most common type of brain tumor in children.
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Deep inside the brain: Unraveling the dense networks in the cerebral cortex
Mammalian brains, with their unmatched number of nerve cells and density of communication, are the most complex networks known. While methods to analyze neuronal networks sparsely have been available for decades, the dense mapping of neuronal circuits is a major scientific challenge. Researchers have now succeeded in the dense connectomic mapping of brain tissue from the cerebral cortex, and quantify the possible imprint of learning in the circuit.
Read moreHigh-salt diet promotes cognitive impairment through the Alzheimer-linked protein tau
Investigators sought to understand the series of events that occur between salt consumption and poor cognition and concluded that lowering salt intake and maintaining healthy blood vessels in the brain may 'stave off' dementia. Accumulation of tau deposits has been implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease in humans.
Read moreWhy, sometimes, we don't see what we actually saw
Neuroscientists say they have identified how people can have a 'crash in visual processing' — a bottleneck of feed-forward and feedback signals that can cause us not to be consciously aware of stimuli that our brain recognized.
Read moreProtein movement in cells hints at greater mysteries
A new imaging technique that makes it possible to match motor proteins with the cargo they carry within a cell is upending a standard view of how cellular traffic reaches the correct destination. The research focuses on neurons and sheds light on some neurodegenerative diseases.
Read moreIn Alzheimer's research, scientists reveal brain rhythm role
In the years since her lab discovered that exposing Alzheimer's disease model mice to light flickering at the frequency of a key brain rhythm could stem the disorder's pathology, a neuroscientist and her team have been working to understand what the phenomenon may mean both for fighting the disease and understanding of how the brain works.
Read morePolymerized estrogen shown to protect nervous system cells
Medical researchers have demonstrated how estrogen — a natural hormone produced in the body — can be polymerized into a slow-releasing biomaterial and applied to nervous system cells to protect those cells and even promote regeneration.
Read moreProtein in blood protects against neuronal damage after brain hemorrhage
Patients who survive a cerebral hemorrhage may suffer delayed severe brain damage caused by free hemoglobin, which comes from red blood cells and damages neurons. Researchers have now discovered a protective protein in the body called haptoglobin, which prevents this effect.
Read moreNovel agent flips on garbage disposal in neurons, eliminating toxic brain proteins in mice
Neuroscientists say they have developed and tested an agent that reduces the buildup of toxic proteins in animal models of both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, and improves cognitive and motor behavior.
Read moreQ-suite motor assessment tool promising for evaluating Huntington's disease
In clinical trials of adults with Huntington's disease (HD) the Q-Suite Motor Assessment Tool (Q-Motor) has proven to be helpful to detect and quantitate subtle motor abnormalities. With the anticipated arrival of preventive gene therapies that will most likely be administered to young children known to be carriers of the HD mutation, it is crucial to have a means to evaluate motor abilities in children that is sensitive to the child's stage of development.
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