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Category: neuroscience – Page 21

A unified model of memory and perception: How Hebbian learning explains our recall of past events

A collaboration between SISSA’s Physics and Neuroscience groups has taken a step forward in understanding how memories are stored and retrieved in the brain. The study, recently published in Neuron, shows that distinct perceptual biases—long thought to arise from separate brain systems—can, in fact, be explained by a single, biologically grounded mechanism.

The research, led by professors Sebastian Goldt and Mathew E. Diamond, and first author Francesca Schönsberg (now a junior research chair at the École Normale Supérieure), brings together , , and to bridge decades of fragmented research on perceptual . Yukti Chopra and Davide Giana carried out laboratory experiments to provide the empirical data that the model was tested against.

Shock Discovery Reveals Sea Urchins Are Basically ‘All Brain’

Sea urchins may just look like a ball of spikes waiting to be stepped on at the tide pool, but there’s much more to these barbed beasts than just roe and teeth.

New research reveals sea urchin nervous systems are far more complex than we knew. These creatures, it turns out, possess ‘all-body brains’ and, at least in their genetic layout, they are remarkably similar to our own.

A team of scientists led by developmental biologist Periklis Paganos from Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Italy made the discovery while investigating metamorphosis in purple sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus), which transform from free-swimming, planktonic larvae to the mature, spine-encrusted form we’re more familiar with.

Strange Structures Found Lurking in The Blood of People With Long COVID

A hidden physical change in the body may be helping to drive the prolonged malaise some people experience after contracting COVID-19.

Analyzing blood samples from patients with long COVID, a team of medical researchers has identified unusual microscopic structures that may contribute to symptoms such as brain fog and fatigue. If this is the case, it offers a hopeful target for future treatment.

“This study shows a robust association between biomarkers indicative of thromboinflammatory activity and long COVID,” the team writes in a paper led by geneticist Alain Thierry of Montpellier University in France.

Gene ‘switch’ reverses Alzheimer’s risk in experimental model

University of Kentucky researchers have developed a new experimental model that could point the way toward more effective Alzheimer’s disease treatments by targeting one of the brain’s most important genes for risk and resilience.

The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, focuses on apolipoprotein E (APOE), a gene long known to play a major role in Alzheimer’s disease. The team created a first-of-its-kind mouse model that allows scientists to “flip a switch,” changing the high-risk version of the gene (APOE4) to the protective form (APOE2) in adult animals.

A dream EEG and mentation database

For millennia, dreams have been a source of fascination, but their systematic study is a modern endeavor with significant scientific applications. Investigating subjective experiences during sleep can inform research into consciousness itself, aid in understanding memory consolidation, and provide insights into sleep disorders like sleepwalking. Despite this importance, progress has been hampered by a persistent challenge: dream studies are resource-intensive, often resulting in small sample sizes that are difficult to compare across different laboratories.

To address this limitation, a consortium of 53 researchers from 37 institutions across 13 countries came together to build the Dream EEG and Mentation database, known as DREAM. Coordinated by Monash University in Australia and supported by organizations including the Bial Foundation, the project aimed to centralize and standardize decades of dream research.

The goal was to create a large-scale, publicly accessible resource that would allow scientists to conduct more robust and comprehensive analyses of the dreaming brain. Giulio Bernardi of the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca in Italy, a contributor to the project, noted that the effort represents a decisive step in the scientific exploration of human consciousness by gathering vast amounts of research into a single place.

The team assembled data from 20 different studies, resulting in a collection of more than 2,600 records of awakenings from 505 participants. For each record, the database contains electroencephalography, or EEG, recordings, which measure the brain’s electrical activity using electrodes placed on the scalp. Some records also include magnetoencephalography, a related technique that measures magnetic fields produced by the brain’s electrical currents. These neurophysiological recordings are paired with a report from the participant upon waking.

A dream EEG and mentation database.

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Fibromyalgia: A Review of the Pathophysiological Mechanisms and Multidisciplinary Treatment Strategies

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain, which may or may not be associated with muscle or joint stiffness, accompanied by other symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression. It is a highly prevalent condition globally, being considered the third most common musculoskeletal disorder, following lower back pain and osteoarthritis. It is more prevalent in women than in men, and although it can occur at any age, it is more common between the ages of thirty and thirty-five. Although the pathophysiology and etiopathogenesis remain largely unknown, three underlying processes in fibromyalgia have been investigated. These include central sensitization, associated with an increase in the release of both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters; peripheral sensitization, involving alterations in peripheral nociceptor signaling; and inflammatory and immune mechanisms that develop concurrently with the aforementioned processes. Furthermore, it has been determined that genetic, endocrine, psychological, and sleep disorders may influence the development of this pathology. The accurate diagnosis of fibromyalgia remains challenging as it lacks specific diagnostic biomarkers, which are still under investigation. Nonetheless, diagnostic approaches to the condition have evolved based on the use of scales and questionnaires for pain identification. The complexity associated with this pathology makes it difficult to establish a single effective treatment. Therefore, treatment is multidisciplinary, involving both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions aimed at alleviating symptoms. The non-pharmacological treatments outlined in this review are primarily related to physiotherapy interventions. The effectiveness of physical exercise, both on land and in water, as well as the application of electrotherapy combined with transcranial therapy and manual therapy has been highlighted. All of these interventions aim to improve the quality of life of patients highly affected by fibromyalgia.

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