The high levels of serotonin seen in the blood of some autistic people have confounded scientists for more than half a century. Despite so little progress, some researchers refuse to give up.
David Sinclair is a geneticist at Harvard and author of Lifespan.
Nature – Reversal of biological clock restores vision in old mice
Continue reading “Age Resetting Genes Going to Human Studies in Two Years” »
Summary: The resting brain repeatedly and rapidly replays faster memories of what a person has recently learned and practiced. The more a person replays the memory during rest, the better they become during subsequent sessions where they practice their newly learned skill.
Source: NIH
In a study of healthy volunteers, National Institutes of Health researchers have mapped out the brain activity that flows when we learn a new skill, such as playing a new song on the piano, and discovered why taking short breaks from practice is a key to learning.
Circa 2015 brain immortality through aldehyde stabilized cryopreservation.
We describe here a new cryobiological and neurobiological technique, aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation (ASC), which demonstrates the relevance and utility of advanced cryopreservation science for the neurobiological research community. ASC is a new brain-banking technique designed to facilitate neuroanatomic research such as connectomics research, and has the unique ability to combine stable long term ice-free sample storage with excellent anatomical resolution. To demonstrate the feasibility of ASC, we perfuse-fixed rabbit and pig brains with a glutaraldehyde-based fixative, then slowly perfused increasing concentrations of ethylene glycol over several hours in a manner similar to techniques used for whole organ cryopreservation. Once 65% w/v ethylene glycol was reached, we vitrified brains at −135 °C for indefinite long-term storage. Vitrified brains were rewarmed and the cryoprotectant removed either by perfusion or gradual diffusion from brain slices. We evaluated ASC-processed brains by electron microscopy of multiple regions across the whole brain and by Focused Ion Beam Milling and Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) imaging of selected brain volumes. Preservation was uniformly excellent: processes were easily traceable and synapses were crisp in both species. Aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation has many advantages over other brain-banking techniques: chemicals are delivered via perfusion, which enables easy scaling to brains of any size; vitrification ensures that the ultrastructure of the brain will not degrade even over very long storage times; and the cryoprotectant can be removed, yielding a perfusable aldehyde-preserved brain which is suitable for a wide variety of brain assays.
Summary: A study in fruit fly models of autism reveals sleep disruption associated with the neurodevelopmental disorder is associated with elevated levels of serotonin. The origin of the higher levels of serotonin was discovered to be in glial cells in the blood-brain barrier.
Source: Radboud University.
Bad sleep causes severe health issues and affects our ability to concentrate, memorize, and cope with challenging situations. Individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and intellectual disability, frequently suffer from sleep problems. However, little is known about their underlying mechanisms.
Is the physical universe independent from us, or is it created by our minds, as suggested by scientist Robert Lanza?
In a new study published in ‘Nature’, scientists have discovered a major hallmark of the aging process and how to reverse the accompanying cognitive decline.
The landmark decision has been eagerly awaited by millions but will be hotly contested by some experts doubt the drug’s effectiveness.
Summary: Study identifies genes that become activated in the brain prior to the initiation of severe repetitive behaviors associated with addiction, ASD, and schizophrenia.
Source: MIT
Extreme repetitive behaviors such as hand-flapping, body-rocking, skin-picking, and sniffing are common to a number of brain disorders including autism, schizophrenia, Huntington’s disease, and drug addiction. These behaviors, termed stereotypies, are also apparent in animal models of drug addiction and autism.
