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Category: neuroscience – Page 198

Air Pollution Exposure during Early Life can have Lasting Effects on the Brain’s White Matter

Exposure to certain pollutants, like fine particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), during pregnancy and childhood is associated with differences in the microstructure of the brain´s white matter, and some of these effects persist throughout adolescence. These are the main conclusions of a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa” Foundation. The findings, published in Environmental Research, highlight the importance of addressing air pollution as a public health issue, particularly for pregnant women and children.

An increasing amount of evidence suggests that air pollution affects neurodevelopment in children. Recent studies using imaging techniques have looked at the impact of air pollutants on the brain’s white matter, which plays a crucial role in connecting different brain regions. However, these studies were limited in that they only looked at one timepoint and did not follow the participants throughout childhood.

“Following participants throughout childhood and including two neuroimaging assessments for each child would shed new light on whether the effects of air pollution on white matter persist, attenuate, or worsen,” says ISGlobal researcher Mònica Guxens. And that is what she and her team did.

Original Art Stimulates the Brain More Than Reproductions, Study Finds

A neurological study from the Netherlands reveals that viewing art in person triggers emotions 10 times stronger than seeing the same works in reproduction.

Five artworks induced stronger positive responses in 20 participants in the Netherlands than museum shop posters of the same works.

Stem cell capsules restore motor function in Parkinson’s rats

Neural microtissues derived from pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can replace dopaminergic neurons, the nerve cells that are lost in Parkinson’s disease, and restore motor function when grown into tiny capsules and transplanted into the brains of model rats, a study led by TreeFrog Therapeutics found.

“TreeFrog Therapeutics has overcome the most complex challenges of developing a successful treatment for Parkinson’s disease using our C-Stem platform technology and producing a therapy containing mature dopaminergic neurons with a unique 3D format that promotes cell survival post-graft with proven pre-clinical results,” Jens Schroeder, MD, PhD, TreeFrog’s chief medical officer, said in a company press release.

The study, “Bioreactor-produced iPSCs-derived dopaminergic neuron-containing neural microtissues innervate and normalize rotational bias in a dose-dependent manner in a Parkinson rat model,” was published in Neurotherapeutics.

Learning With Sean The Science Kid

https://youtube.com/channel/UC8Gtb6QcDOTbwcsDJo1bcGg

This little boy is really smart. I’m like in my 50’s this kid is barely 10, but much smarter than I am. Share and show him support. We need to have incentives for kids to thrive educationally. Props to the kids parents, they really raised an inspirational talent.

Sean is an aspiring brain and heart surgeon and he has created a name for it. He wants to be a “Neurocardio surgeon”. A word he created from Neurologist and Cardiologist. He is a STEM Educator Education Promotor/Advocate. He loves to learn and teach and wants to make the learning of science fun for all. Sean wants to create the awareness that science is not complex and can be seen in everything we do and in our everyday life. Sean is an advocate for positivity and shares motivation everywhere he goes. Sean is managed by his mom.

Brain delays could be a computational advantage, researchers say

Biological components are less reliable than electrical ones, and rather than instantaneously receive the incoming signals, the signals arrive with a variety of delays. This forces the brain to cope with said delays by having each neuron integrate the incoming signals over time and fire afterwards, as well as using a population of neurons, instead of one, to overcome neuronal cells that temporarily don’t fire.

Scientists discover unexpected link between genes involved in human brain evolution and developmental disorders

The human brain’s remarkably prolonged development is unique among mammals and is thought to contribute to our advanced learning abilities. Disruptions in this process may explain certain neurodevelopmental diseases.

Now, a team of researchers led by Prof. Pierre Vanderhaeghen (VIB-KU Leuven), together with scientists of Columbia University and Ecole Normale Supérieure has discovered a link between two genes, present only in human DNA, and a key gene called SYNGAP1, which is mutated in intellectual disability and .

Their study, published in Neuron, provides a surprisingly direct link between human brain evolution and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Take a look, and you’ll see, into your imagination

Kyoto, Japan — Scanning your brain to decode the contents of your mind has been a subject of intense research interest for some time. As studies have progressed, scientists have gradually been able to interpret what test subjects see, remember, imagine, and even dream.

There have been significant limitations, however, beginning with a necessity to extensively catalog each subject’s unique brain patterns, which are then matched with a small number of pre-programmed images. These procedures require that subjects undergo lengthy and expensive fMRI testing.

Scientists accidentally discovered deep-sea ‘jelly’ creatures fused into a ‘single entity’ after an injury

Accidental Discovery in the Lab

The discovery happened unexpectedly during research on warty comb jellies (Mnemiopsis leidyi), also known as sea walnuts, in a lab at the University of Exeter. Researchers noticed that one jelly was missing from a tank, only to realize that a larger jelly was actually two individuals fused together. This accidental fusion occurred when the jellies sustained minor injuries. Excited by the finding, study lead author Kei Jokura immediately shared the discovery with other lab members.

The team then tested whether this fusion could be replicated. They injured 20 comb jellies by removing small sections of their bodies and placed them near each other. Out of the 20, nine pairs fused completely, typically within 24 hours. The merging process also affected their nervous systems, which synchronized rapidly. Researchers observed that the fused individuals reacted as one when poked, indicating a full integration of their neural functions.