Summary: A recent study reveals that specific brain cells respond not only to smells but also to images and written words related to those scents, providing deeper insight into human odor perception. Researchers found that neurons in the olfactory cortex and other brain regions, like the hippocampus and amygdala, distinguish between different smells and associate them with visual cues.

This research, using data from epilepsy patients, bridges a gap between animal and human studies on olfactory processing. Remarkably, individual neurons responded to scent, image, and word, suggesting that smell processing integrates visual and semantic information early on. These findings could lead to future innovations in “olfactory aids.” The study emphasizes the interconnected nature of smell and visual memory in the human brain.

Researchers have discovered how a cell surface protein called Aplp1 can play a role in spreading material responsible for Parkinson’s disease from cell-to-cell in the brain.

Promisingly, an FDA-approved cancer drug that targets another protein called Lag3 – which interacts with Aplp1 – blocks the spread in mice, suggesting a potential therapy may already exist.

In a recent paper, an international team of scientists describes how the two proteins work together to help harmful alpha-synuclein protein clumps get into brain cells.