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Category: neuroscience – Page 289

An ancient relative of modern seals—known as Potamotherium valletoni—that had an otter-like appearance and lived over 23 million years ago likely used its whiskers to forage for food and explore underwater environments, according to a new study in Communications Biology. The findings provide further insight into how ancient seals transitioned from life on land to life underwater.

Although modern seals live in and use their to locate food by sensing vibrations in the water, ancient seal relatives mostly lived on land or in freshwater environments. Some species used their forelimbs to explore their surroundings. Prior to this study, it was unclear when seals and their relatives began using their whiskers to forage.

Alexandra van der Geer and colleagues investigated the evolution of whisker-foraging behaviors in seals by comparing the brain structures of Potamotherium with those of six extinct and 31 living meat-eating mammals, including mustelids, bears, and seal relatives. Brain structures were inferred from casts taken from the inside of skulls.

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A recent study used special eye-tracking technology to investigate how people look at each other’s eyes and faces during conversations. The researchers, who published their results in Scientific Reports, found that people who exhibited more direct eye-to-eye contact during their conversation tended to also be better at following the direction of another’s gaze (they were better at understanding where the other person was looking). The research provides unique insights into non-verbal communication.

Much of human social communication occurs nonverbally, and eye contact plays a crucial role in allowing individuals to convey and interpret information such as attention, mental states, intentions, and emotions. Eye contact is not only passively received but also reciprocated through mutual looks.

The researchers wanted to examine the frequency and types of mutual looking behaviors, such as direct eye-to-eye contact and other gaze interactions involving different parts of the face. They were also interested in understanding how the mutual looking behaviors observed during interactions might influence subsequent gaze-following behavior.

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Neuroscientists today report the first results from experimental tests designed to explore the idea that “forgetting” might not be a bad thing, and that it may represent a form of learning—and outline results that support their core idea.

Last year the neuroscientists behind the new theory suggested that changes in our ability to access specific memories are based on environmental feedback and predictability. And that rather than being a bug, may be a functional feature of the brain, allowing it to interact dynamically with a dynamic environment.

In a changing world like the one we and many other organisms live in, forgetting some memories would be beneficial, they reasoned, as this can lead to more flexible behavior and better decision-making. If memories were gained in circumstances that are not wholly relevant to the current environment, forgetting them could be a positive change that improves our well-being.

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The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used a genetic approach to fix deafness in mice with a defective Spns2 gene, restoring their hearing abilities in low and middle frequency ranges. Researchers say this proof-of-concept study suggests that hearing impairment resulting from reduced gene activity may be reversible.

Over half of adults in their 70s experience significant hearing loss. Impaired hearing is associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing depression and cognitive decline, as well as being a major predictor of dementia. While hearing aids and cochlear implants may be useful, they do not restore normal hearing function, and neither do they halt disease progression in the ear. There is a significant unmet need for medical approaches that slow down or reverse hearing loss.

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London has successfully reversed hearing loss in mice.

This proof-of-concept study suggests that gene therapy for this type of hearing loss in humans may be successful in the future.

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Brain-computer interfaces are devices that allow for direct communication between the brain and external devices, such as computers or prosthetics. As significant investments flow into R&D, cutting-edge companies are gearing up for human trials. These trials aim to showcase and fine-tune the potential of these interfaces to treat conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and depression.

While these technologies’ immediate use is for treating conditions, they also have the potential to access vast information at unprecedented speeds. As it stands today, the field not only aims to aid recovery, but also enhance existing cognitive functions. These goals introduce various ethical and… More.

Can cutting-edge technology transform the way humans learn, remember and evolve?

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Older adults with more severe behavioral symptoms, including agitation, aggression, and disinhibition, are more likely to become divorced than those with less severe symptoms. However, increasing stages of dementia are associated with a low likelihood of divorce. These are some of the conclusions of a new study published August 16 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Joan Monin of the Yale School of Public Health and colleagues.

In recent years, divorce has been on the rise among older adults. Moreover, can be difficult for married couples for many reasons, including the introduction of caregiving burden, loss of intimacy, and financial strain.

In a new study, researchers analyzed data from 37 NIA/NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) across the US. The final study included 263 married or living-as– who were divorced or separated during their follow up period at an ADRC, as well as 1,238 age-matched controls.

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Since 2014, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has inspired more than 17 million people to raise $115 million for The ALS Association, which has funded over 500 research projects with the money. Because of that boost, the first drug to treat ALS has been approved by the FDA, other new treatments are in testing, and scientists have been able to identify several genes that are connected to the disease.

While mutations in a gene called NEK1 have only been associated with around two percent of ALS cases, it is one of the primary genetic causes of ALS that have been revealed so far. Now investigators have learned more about how NEK1 mutations can lead to ALS, a disease in which the motor neurons that control movement degenerate and die, which causes paralysis and eventually, death. The work has been reported in Science Advances.

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Researchers at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at NIH, Bethesda, have discovered a potential breakthrough for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), marked by extreme exhaustion, post-exertional malaise and cognitive issues.

In a paper, “WASF3 disrupts and may mediate exercise intolerance in /,” published in PNAS, the team details the influence of increased WASF3 proteins on the assembly of mitochondrial proteins, hampering energy production.

The study focused on a woman (S1) who experienced severe long-term fatigue. Measuring her muscles for phosphocreatine regeneration after exercise revealed a significant delay in mitochondrial ATP synthesis capacity. This discovery was followed up with a cell assay which found increased phospho-activation of an enzyme in a signaling pathway (MPAK).

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