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Category: neuroscience – Page 39

How the tiny microbes in your mouth could be putting your health at risk

Current dental implants can work well, but they’re not perfect. They don’t attach to bones and gums in the same way that real teeth do. And around 20% of people who get implants end up developing an infection called peri-implantitis, which can lead to bone loss.

It is all down to the microbes that grow on them. There’s a complex community of microbes living in our mouths, and disruptions can lead to infection. But these organisms don’t just affect our mouths; they also seem to be linked to a growing number of disorders that can affect our bodies and brains. If you’re curious, read on.

The oral microbiome, as it is now called, was first discovered in 1670 by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a self-taught Dutch microbiologist. “I didn’t clean my teeth for three days and then took the material that had lodged in small amounts on the gums above my front teeth … I found a few living animalcules,” he wrote in a letter to the Royal Society at the time.

Sex-based brain differences: Structure of a single neuron in C. elegans provides new insights

Is there a difference in brain structure between men and women? If we were to find such a difference in a single neuron, would it matter?

One of the most useful models for studying these questions is the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). This tiny worm has several characteristics that make it an excellent research model, one of which is that every cell in its body has a predetermined identity and lineage.

Like humans, C. elegans has two sexes. However, instead of male and female, the two sexes of this worm are male and hermaphrodite—a self-fertilizing individual capable of producing both male and female gametes (sperm and eggs), allowing it to reproduce without a partner.

Mouse memory hinges on a nine-letter protein fragment exclusive to neurons

Cells have a trick called splicing. They can cut a gene’s message into pieces and decide which fragments to keep. By mixing and matching these fragments, a single gene can produce many different proteins, giving tissues and organs more options to thrive and evolve. Out of all tissues, splicing is most prevalent in the brain.

Researchers at the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) have discovered that one such fragment, a “microexon” just nine amino acids long, is inserted into the DAAM1 protein exclusively in neurons and nowhere else in the body. The inclusion of the microexon is critical for healthy neuronal development, with effects rippling all the way up to . The findings are published in Nature Communications.

DAAM1 makes a protein that helps cells maintain their shape and enables their movement. When the team deleted the nine-letter microexon in mice, the animals were healthy at birth, but their adult brain cells had half of the usual “learning spines,” protrusions known to be important for learning and retrieval of memories.

Distinct neuron populations in the hypothalamus encode states associated with predator-related threats

The ability to detect imminent threats and execute behaviors aimed at protecting oneself, such as hiding, running away or defending oneself, is central to the survival of most animal species. A region of the mammalian brain known to play a key role in threat response is the hypothalamus, which also regulates the release of hormones and other vital bodily functions.

Researchers at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Howard Hughes Medical Institute recently carried out a study aimed at better understanding how a specific group of neurons in the dorsomedial subdivision (VMHdm), which are identified by the presence of the steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) gene, contribute to the coding of predator imminence.

Their findings, published in Neuron, show that distinct subsets of VMHdmSF1 neurons encode multiple internal states that are evoked by the imminence of predators.

Daily mindfulness practice can reduce anxiety for autistic adults

Just 10 to 15 minutes of mindfulness practice a day led to reduced stress and anxiety for autistic adults who participated in a study led by scientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research. Participants in the study used a free smartphone app to guide their practice, giving them the flexibility to practice when and where they chose.

Mindfulness is a state in which the mind is focused only on the . It is a way of thinking that can be cultivated with practice, often through meditation or breathing exercises—and evidence is accumulating that practicing mindfulness has positive effects on mental health. The open-access study, reported April 8 in the journal Mindfulness, adds to that evidence, demonstrating clear benefits for .

“Everything you want from this on behalf of somebody you care about happened: reduced reports of anxiety, reduced reports of stress, reduced reports of negative emotions, and increased reports of positive emotions,” says McGovern investigator and MIT Professor John Gabrieli, who led the research with Liron Rozenkrantz, an investigator at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and a research affiliate in Gabrieli’s lab.

Towards new human rights in the age of neuroscience and neurotechnology

Rapid advancements in human neuroscience and neurotechnology open unprecedented possibilities for accessing, collecting, sharing and manipulating information from the human brain. Such applications raise important challenges to human rights principles that need to be addressed to prevent unintended consequences. This paper assesses the implications of emerging neurotechnology applications in the context of the human rights framework and suggests that existing human rights may not be sufficient to respond to these emerging issues. After analysing the relationship between neuroscience and human rights, we identify four new rights that may become of great relevance in the coming decades: the right to cognitive liberty, the right to mental privacy, the right to mental integrity, and the right to psychological continuity.