Canadian researchers show that stress modifies the morphology of brain cells in mice, directly influencing the rodents’ level of physical activity.
Category: neuroscience – Page 45
SeeMe detects hidden signs of consciousness in brain injury patients
SeeMe, a computer vision tool tested by Stony Brook University researchers, was able to detect low-amplitude, voluntary facial movements in comatose acute brain injury patients days before clinicians could identify overt responses.
Close friends know that I have a standing “do not unplug” order should I ever fall into an unresponsive state. If there is even a flicker of a chance that the mind is still working, I will be fine. Keep me plugged in and hang a “do not disturb” sign on whatever apparatus is keeping me alive.
It’s not like you can know in advance what it’s like, but it seems relaxed enough, with plenty of time to think, and I haven’t really gained anything useful from conversations with other humans in years (aside from my editors who always provide valuable information). If it is at all like sleeping, there might be dreams, so, perchance, that’s what I’d be doing in a comatose state. But for the friends by my bedside, how to be certain that the mind is still flickering?
Brains listen best in the ‘Goldilocks echo zone,’ says study
Macquarie University hearing researchers have discovered how our brains learn to listen, and how this can help us understand speech in noisy, echo-filled spaces.
The research, published in eLife, looks at how we can unconsciously adjust to different kinds of background noise.
Building on earlier work that showed animals’ brains quickly adapt to changes in sound levels, the new study is the first to show how humans adapt to echoey environments to improve their speech understanding.
Study of promising speech-enabling interface offers hope for restoring communication
Stanford Medicine scientists have developed a brain-computer interface that detects inner speech from speech-impaired patients, in a step toward restoring rapid communication.
Pancreatic insulin disruption triggers bipolar disorder-like behaviors in mice, study shows
Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric disorder characterized by alternating episodes of depression (i.e., low mood and a loss of interest in everyday activities) and mania (i.e., a state in which arousal and energy levels are abnormally high). On average, an estimated 1–2% of people worldwide are diagnosed with bipolar disorder at some point during their lives.
Bipolar disorder can be highly debilitating, particularly if left untreated. Understanding the neural and physiological processes that contribute to its emergence could thus be very valuable, as it could inform the development of new prevention and treatment strategies.
In addition to experiencing periodic changes in mood, individuals diagnosed with this disorder often exhibit some metabolic symptoms, including changes in their blood sugar levels. While some previous studies reported an association between blood sugar control mechanisms and bipolar disorder, the biological link between the two has not yet been uncovered.
Why Do We Need Sleep? Oxford Scientists Trace the Answer to Mitochondria
Sleep may serve as more than rest for the mind; it may also function as essential upkeep for the body’s energy systems. A new study from University of Oxford researchers, published in Nature, shows that the drive to sleep is caused by electrical stress building up in the tiny energy-producing structures of brain cells.
This finding provides a concrete physical explanation for the biological need for sleep and has the potential to reshape scientific thinking about sleep, aging, and neurological disorders.
Switching Off One Crucial Protein Appears to Reverse Brain Aging in Mice
A protein called ferritin light chain 1 (FTL1) may play a significant role in brain aging, a new study reveals, giving scientists a new target for understanding and potentially preventing brain deterioration and disease.
FTL1 was brought to light through a careful comparison of the hippocampus part of the brain in mice of different ages. The hippocampus is involved in memory and learning, and it is one of the regions that suffers most from age-related decline.
The study team found that FLT1 was the one protein in this region that old mice had more of and young mice had less of.
Brain cancer cells can be ‘reprogrammed’ to stop them from spreading
Scientists have found a way to stop brain cancer cells spreading by essentially ‘freezing’ a key molecule in the brain.
The finding could pave the way for a new type of treatment for glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer, although extensive testing will be required before it can be trialed in patients. Glioblastoma is the most common type of brain cancer, with a five-year survival rate of just 15%.
The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, found that cancer cells rely on the flexibility of hyaluronic acid (HA)—a sugar-like polymer that makes up much of the brain’s supporting structure—to latch onto receptors on the surface of cancer cells to trigger their spread throughout the brain.
Memory consolidation requires reactivation of only three neurons during sleep, research reveals
Researchers at Tsukuba University in Japan report that memories acquired while awake are stored in a more permanent form (called memory consolidation) during the REM stage of sleep, and that this process requires the reactivation of only a few specialized neurons involved in memory formation. They found that three of these neurons are crucial for memory consolidation during REM sleep.
The researchers focused on adult-born neurons (ABNs) in the hippocampal region of the temporal lobe, which are rare neurons known to be essential for maintaining proper memory function as the loss of these cells is observed in Alzheimer’s disease. However, it has remained unclear why the loss of this small neuronal population has such devastating effects on memory.
In the Nature Communications study, specially genetically modified mice, in which the activity of ABNs could be monitored, were exposed to a fear experience, and the researchers examined if the activities of these ABNs during initial memory formation were reproduced during REM sleep, when dreaming is believed to occur.