A hidden gut-brain protein may hold the key to stopping alcohol’s twin assault on the liver and the mind.
Category: neuroscience – Page 24
V-STARS pioneers neuroscience at ESA’s Orbital Robotics Lab
As part of the ESA Academy Experiments Programme, Team V-STARS carried out the first experiment with human participants in the Orbital Robotics Lab, investigating how microgravity affects the perception of verticality.
The V-STARS team, a collaboration between Birkbeck, University of London, and the University of Kent (UK), was selected to join the ESA Academy Experiments Programme in February 2025. After obtaining ethical approval from the United Kingdom and authorisation from the ESA Medical Board, the team was permitted to carry out their experiment in the Orbital Robotics Lab (ORL), located at ESTEC, the ESA site in the Netherlands.
The campaign involved test subjects seated on the ORL’s floating platform, wearing VR headsets while performing gravity-related perceptual tasks. The project investigates the use of Vestibular Stochastic Resonance — a phenomenon in which controlled noise enhances the sensitivity of a sensory system — to improve perception and potentially accelerate adaptation to microgravity. Over two weeks, the team tested more than 20 participants and has now returned to their universities to analyse the results.
Video NeuroImage: Stereotypic Motor Behaviors in a Patient With Pantothenate Kinase–Associated Neurodegeneration
A 24-year-old woman with pantothenate kinase–associated neurodegeneration (PKAN) presented with a 5-year history of psychiatric symptoms followed by prominent stereotypic motor behaviors, including repetitive touching of her mouth and leg, object manipulation, and tip-toe walking (Video 1). Examination revealed severe depression and anxiety, mild speech dysfluency, and the stereotypic movements. Previous symptomatic treatments provided limited benefit. Brain magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated the pathognomonic “eye-of-the-tiger” sign, indicative of iron deposition in the bilateral globus pallidus (Figure). Genetic testing identified compound heterozygous variants in the PANK2 gene: a known pathogenic variant (c.401AG) and a novel likely pathogenic variant (c.1465CG).
A Review of the Clinical Progress of CT1812, a Novel Sigma-2 Receptor Antagonist for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease marked by the accumulation of toxic amyloid-beta (Aβ) oligomers. These oligomers are thought to cause synaptic dysfunction and contribute to neurodegeneration. CT1812 is a small-molecule sigma-2 receptor antagonist that is currently being investigated and tested as a potential disease-modifying treatment for AD. CT1812 acts by displacing Aβ oligomers into the cerebrospinal fluid and preventing their interaction with receptors on neurons. Preclinical studies and early clinical trials of CT1812 show promising results and provide evidence for its potential to slow AD progression. This review outlines the role of Aβ oligomers in AD, CT1812’s mechanism of action, and the effectiveness and limitations of CT1812 based on preclinical and clinical studies.
Lab-grown neural circuits reveal thalamus’s key role in cortex development
A Japanese research team has successfully reproduced the human neural circuit in vitro using multi-region miniature organs known as assembloids, which are derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. With this circuit, the team demonstrated that the thalamus plays a crucial role in shaping cell type-specific neural circuits in the human cerebral cortex.
These findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Our brain’s cerebral cortex contains various types of neurons, and effective communication among these neurons and other brain regions is crucial for activating functions like perception and cognition.