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Category: neuroscience – Page 24

Pharmacy Professor Works to Unlock Secrets of Cellular Sugar

OXFORD, Miss. – A University of Mississippi pharmacy professor will study how sugar molecules on proteins could lead to new ways to detect and treat diseases using a prestigious grant from the National Science Foundation.

The NSF has awarded a Faculty Early Career Development Program grant to Jing Li, assistant professor of medical chemistry and research and assistant professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Science.

Li will use computer modeling to study the effects of sugar molecules connected to proteins. These molecules – known as glycosylation – affect ion channels that play a crucial role in brain activity, heartbeats and muscle movement.

Experiments add to evidence of links between amyloid deposits in brain and bone marrow

A recent study led by a team of researchers at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine examining aging mice has provided what is believed to be the first evidence that amyloid beta protein—small, sticky protein fragment found in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD)—particles build up in the bone marrow of the animals, although not in the exact same form as the large, dense plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Although amyloid buildup has been found in organs outside the brain—such as the heart, kidneys, and nerves—it remains unclear whether similar deposits form in bone or with aging or in Alzheimer’s disease,” says contributing study author Mei Wan, Ph.D., professor of the department of Orthopedic Surgery.

“While brain amyloid has been extensively studied for its role in memory loss and neurodegeneration, far less is known about amyloid elsewhere in the body. In fact, almost nothing is known about whether amyloid forms in the skeleton or how it might contribute to age-related .”

Exposure to nanoplastics could induce spread of Alzheimer’s disease from the brain to other organs

A new preclinical study has found exposure to nanoplastics may contribute to the rapid progression of Alzheimer’s disease and subsequent spread from the brain to other key organs such as the liver, heart and gut.

The research, “Cerebral to Systemic Representations of Alzheimer’s Pathogenesis Stimulated by Polystyrene Nanoplastics,” is published in the journal Environment & Health.

The study, co-led by Monash University and South China University of Technology, investigated how environmental-level polystyrene exposure influences the progression of Alzheimer’s disease from the brain to other parts of the body. Studies in mice revealed that nanoplastic-induced neurological damage is not confined within the brain, but expands systemically through the gut–liver–brain axis.

Human CLOCK gene enhances brain connectivity and mental flexibility in mice, study finds

Clock genes are a set of genes known to contribute to the regulation of the human body’s internal 24-hour cycle, also known as the circadian rhythm. One of these genes is the so-called CLOCK gene, a protein that regulates the activity of other genes, contributing to recurrent patterns of sleep and wakefulness.

Past findings suggest that this gene is also expressed in the neocortex, a brain region that supports important cognitive abilities, including reasoning, decision-making and the processing of language. However, the gene’s possible contribution to these specific brain functions remains poorly understood.

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center recently carried out a study on genetically modified mice aimed at better understanding how the expression of the CLOCK gene in the human neocortex influences cognitive functions. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that the gene plays a role in the formation of connections between neurons, which in turn influence mental and behavioral flexibility.

New research unveils vast influence of B vitamins on health and disease

Eight essential nutrients make up the suite of B vitamins also known as the B complex. Researchers from Tufts University and elsewhere have revealed that these B vitamins influence a vast spectrum of human health and disease, including cognitive function, cardiovascular health, gastric bypass recovery, neural tube defects, and even cancer.

“It’s hard to study the B vitamins in isolation,” says gastroenterologist Joel Mason, senior scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) and professor at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Tufts University School of Medicine. “Four of these B-vitamins cooperate as co-factors in many critical activities in cells in what we call ‘one carbon metabolism’.”

One carbon metabolism is a series of pathways that allow for the transfer of single-carbon units to cells for essential processes such as DNA synthesis, amino acid metabolism, and more. It’s their role in all these crucial biological functions that make the B vitamins so important-and so challenging to tease out how they contribute positively and, perhaps negatively, to human health.

New Technique Uses Focused Sound Waves and Holograms to Control Brain Circuits

NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A new study provides the first visual evidence showing that brain circuits in living animals can be activated by ultrasound waves projected into specific patterns (holograms).

Led by scientists at NYU Langone Health and at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich in Switzerland, the study describes a system that combines sources of ultrasound waves and a fiber scope connected to a camera to visualize in study mice brain targets that are directly activated by the sound. This lays the groundwork, the study authors say, for a new way to treat neurological diseases and mental health disorders from outside of the body.

Already, there are applications approved by the Food and Drug Administration and designed to reduce tremor symptoms seen in Parkinson’s disease, using intense sound waves to kill brain cells called neurons within neural pathways linked to tremors. Rather than kill neurons, the lower-intensity ultrasound waves used in the current work can temporarily activate them, the researchers say. The resulting effects can be widespread as neurons relay messages to other neurons within their circuits and between interconnected neuronal circuits.

Metabolic signals in neurons determine whether axons degrade or resist neurodegeneration, study finds

Unlike most cells in the human body, neurons—the functional cells of our nervous system—cannot typically replace themselves with healthy copies after being damaged.

Rather, after an injury from something like a stroke, concussion or neurodegenerative disease, neurons and their axons, fiber-like projections that relay , are far more likely to degrade than regenerate.

But new research from the University of Michigan opens new ways to think about neurodegeneration that could help protect patients against that degradation and neurological decline in the future.

Stem cells created from ALS patients point to potential new target for treatment

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is an incurable neurological disorder affecting motor neurons—nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement and breathing.

Many ALS , including those testing promising drugs, have fallen short of expectations—often because the extent of the disease can vary, and patients don’t respond the same way to medications.

But a new study led by scientists at Case Western Reserve University used created from ALS patients to target a specific gene as a kind of shut-off valve for what stresses —and it worked.

Discovery of a new analgesic promises pain relief with fewer downsides

Opioids like morphine are widely used in medical practice due to their powerful pain-relieving effects, yet they carry the risk of serious adverse effects such as respiratory depression and drug dependence. For this reason, Japan has strict regulations in place to ensure that these medications are prescribed only by authorized physicians.

In the United States, the opioid OxyContin was once frequently prescribed, triggering a surge in the misuse of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. As a result, the number of deaths caused by surpassed 80,000 in 2023, escalating into a national public health crisis now referred to as the “opioid crisis.”

Opioids may soon have a rival, however. A team of researchers at Kyoto University has recently discovered a novel analgesic, or , that exerts its effect through an entirely different mechanism. Clinical development of their drug ADRIANA is currently underway as part of an international collaborative effort.

Imaging provides indicators for early detection of depression, paths for future prevention and treatment efforts

Novel imaging research indicates that young adults with a higher genetic risk for depression showed less brain activity in several areas when responding to rewards and punishments. The study also uncovered notable differences between men and women.

The findings from this new study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, highlight potential early indicators for depression before clinical symptoms fully manifest.

Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions, and many people with depression have trouble processing rewards and punishments.

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