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The formation of amyloid plaques in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. But drugs designed to reduce accumulations of these plaques have so far yielded, at best, mixed results in clinical trials.

Yale researchers have found, however, that swelling caused by a byproduct of these plaques may be the true cause of the disease’s debilitating symptoms, they report Nov. 30 in the journal Nature. And they identified a biomarker that may help physicians better diagnose Alzheimer’s and provide a target for future therapies.

Continue reading “Swelling along brain’s axons may be true culprit in Alzheimer’s disease” »

An Opinion Response by Michael Ulrich For this question, the answer considers the constraints and definition of personal identity. Consider the implications, every copy has, at some point, the same mental information that is unique to your brain’s origination. At the …

Carboncopies attended the Future of Neurotechnology With: Human Intelligence + Artificial Intelligence open discussion with Bryan Johnson and David Eagleman. A picture at our annual Whole Brain Emulation dinner in San Diego. Randal and Jevon after the discussion.

Tiny antenna-like organelles once thought to be holdovers from our ancient past appear to play a crucial role in keeping track of time, according to a recent study on mice by researchers from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), in the US. Known as cilia, the microtubule projections can be found throughout the more complex branches of the tree of life, including on many of our own cells.

In a study from Cedars-Sinai, scientists suggest irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the most common gastrointestinal disorder, may be caused by gravity. They explain that IBS—and many other conditions—could result from the body’s inability to manage gravity. The hypothesis describes how the intestines, spine, heart, nerves and brain evolved to manage gravity.

Laser light therapy has been shown to be effective in improving short term memory in a study published in Science Advances.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. and Beijing Normal University in China, demonstrated that the therapy, which is non-invasive, could improve short term, or working memory in people by up to 25%.

The treatment, called transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), is applied to an area of the brain known as the right prefrontal cortex. This area is widely recognized as important for working memory. In their experiment, the team showed how working memory improved among research participants after several minutes of treatment. They were also able to track the changes in brain activity using electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring during treatment and testing.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered a key molecule that contributes to understanding and treating neurological diseases like epilepsy and autism.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered a long-sought gene-encoded protein that allows the brain to communicate a number of signals across synapses, or gaps between neurons.

The discovery was recently published in the journal Nature.

Abstract

Transcranial photobiomodulation enhances visual working memory capacity in humans

Transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) is a safe and noninvasive intervention that has shown promise for improving cognitive performance.

Continue reading “Short Term Memory Problems Can Be Improved With Laser Therapy” »

Why is consciousness so contentious? Neuroscience can increasingly explain many facets of consciousness, but what about conscious awareness itself? Some philosophers claim that although facets of consciousness—such as how we see edges or colors—can be explained, we have no possibility of explaining, in purely physical terms, the experience of consciousness.

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Continue reading “Tim Bayne — Is Consciousness Irreducible?” »