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Category: neuroscience – Page 458

B-Amyloid Protects The Brain Against Herpes Virus Infection: Amy Proal, PhD

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Dissecting the causal role of early inferior frontal activation in reading

Cognitive models of reading assume that speech production occurs after visual and phonological processing of written words. This traditional view is at odds with more recent magnetoencephalography studies showing that the left posterior inferior frontal cortex (pIFC) classically associated with spoken production responds to print at 100–150 ms after word-onset, almost simultaneously with posterior brain regions for visual and phonological processing. Yet the theoretical significance of this fast neural response remains open to date. We used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate how the left pIFC contributes to the early stage of reading. In Experiment 1, 23 adult participants (14 females) performed three different tasks about written words (oral reading, semantic judgment and perceptual judgment) while single-pulse TMS was delivered to the left pIFC, fusiform gyrus or supramarginal gyrus at different time points (50 to 200 ms after word-onset). A robust double dissociation was found between tasks and stimulation sites — oral reading, but not other control tasks, was disrupted only when TMS was delivered to pIFC at 100 ms. This task-specific impact of pIFC stimulation was further corroborated in Experiment 2, which revealed another double dissociation between oral reading and picture naming. These results demonstrate that the left pIFC specifically and causally mediates rapid computation of speech motor codes at the earliest stage of reading and suggest that this fast sublexical neural pathway for pronunciation, although seemingly dormant, is fully functioning in literate adults. Our results further suggest that these left-hemisphere systems for reading overall act faster than known previously.

Significance Statement Recent neuroimaging data suggest that left posterior inferior frontal cortex, classically associated with spoken production, responds to print simultaneously with left fusiform and supramarginal gyri, each responsible for visual and phonological processing, contrary to traditional serial cascade models of reading. While the region is now known to mediate different aspects of cognitive processing, the functional significance of this fast neural response remains unclear. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation, we show that early inferior frontal activation plays a specific and causal role in speeded oral reading at 100 ms after word-onset. This fast sublexical neural pathway for pronunciation, although seemingly dormant, is fully functioning in literate adults. We also propose that the left-hemisphere reading systems act differently and faster than known previously.

Tumor Model Accurately Predicts Patient Response to Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy has changed the way physicians treat patients and has improved standard of care for many different tumors. Unfortunately, solid tumors are still treated with limited efficacy. In many cases, solid tumors are not recognized by the immune system and progress throughout the body. Tumor growth unnoticed by the immune system is due to immune suppressive mechanisms that the cancer controls. These mechanisms dysregulate immune cells from functioning properly. Various tumors escape immune cell detection and by the time it is clinically detected, the cancer has moved to an advanced stage.

Although there are many solid tumors that rapidly progress, one in particular includes glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor that extends into the spinal cord and results in poor prognosis. It arises from glial cells which support nerves and aids in brain damage repair. Unfortunately, scientists are still unsure on how glioblastoma occurs. Symptoms can vary based on location of tumor in the brain, but common features include headaches, nausea, seizures, vision changes, difficulty speaking, and change in personality. Currently, there is no cure for glioblastoma and the treatments are limited based on the aggressive stage at diagnosis. Scientists are working to improve quality of life and prolong survival through different immunotherapies, which redirect immune cells toward the tumor.

There are various ways to study therapy in a laboratory including the use of animal models and cells in a dish. However, a more recent form of model has emerged in the last few decades that can help scientists better mimic a human tumor. This new technology are cells cultured in a dish that are produced to form a 3D tumor. These cell cultures are referred to as ‘organoids’ and they are designed to grow and act like a tumor within the body. A group at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) is using this model to test tumor response to novel immunotherapies.

Scientists find promising new target for antidepressants—in the gut

Researchers have discovered new connections between the gut and brain that hold promise for more targeted treatments for depression and anxiety, and could help prevent digestive issues in children by limiting the transmission of antidepressants during pregnancy.

The study, published in the journal Gastroenterology, shows that increasing serotonin in the gut epithelium—the thin layer of cells lining the small and large intestines—improves symptoms of anxiety and depression in animal studies. The researchers also found that, in humans, antidepressant use during increases the risk of babies developing constipation in the first year of life.

“Our findings suggest that there may be an advantage to targeting antidepressants selectively to the gut epithelium, as systemic treatment may not be necessary for eliciting the drugs’ benefits but may be contributing to digestive issues in children exposed during pregnancy,” said Kara Margolis, director of the NYU Pain Research Center and associate professor of molecular pathobiology at NYU College of Dentistry, who co-led the study with Mark Ansorge, associate professor of clinical neurobiology at Columbia University.

Electrical stimulation boosts motor learning in study

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have demonstrated that the brain’s ability to learn certain skills can be significantly enhanced if both the brain and nervous system are primed by carefully-calibrated, precisely-timed electrical and magnetic stimulations. This new research has the potential to open entirely new perspectives in rehabilitation and possibly elite sports.

Scientists meticulously calculate the process. First, electricity is delivered to a nerve in the forearm of a test subject. Milliseconds later, is applied to the motor area of their brain using a coil placed on their head. The immediate effect is visible as small, involuntary twitches in the subject’s hand. Ten seconds later, the process is repeated.

While this may evoke images of Dr. Frankenstein at work, the reality is that of pioneering research into the brain’s capacity to learn that could unlock new understandings of brain function and provide new avenues for motor training and rehabilitation. The young, healthy test subjects reportedly felt almost nothing during the process, but displayed enhanced benefits from their motor training session thereafter.

Longevity Breakthrough: New Protein Discovery Could Be the Key to Healthier Aging

New research found that the protein MANF helps cells manage toxic protein clumps, improving cellular health and potentially aiding treatments for age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Researchers at McMaster University have uncovered a previously unidentified cell-protective role of a protein, potentially paving the way for new treatments for age-related diseases and promoting healthier aging.

The team has found that a class of protective proteins known as MANF plays a role in the process that keep cells efficient and working well.

Rethinking the brain pacemaker: How better nanocomposites can improve signals

Two years ago, a medical professional approached scientists at the University of Tabriz in Iran with an interesting problem: Patients were having headaches after pacemaker implants. Working together to investigate, they began to wonder if the underlying issue is the materials used in the pacemakers.

“Managing that affects patients is crucial,” author Baraa Chasib Mezher said. “For example, a person with a may experience interference from external electrical fields from phones or the sounds of cars, as well as various electromagnetic forces present in daily life. It is essential to develop novel biomaterials for the outlet gate of brain pacemakers that can effectively handle .”

In an article published this week in AIP Advances, Mezher, who is an Iraqi doctoral student studying in Iran, and her colleagues at the Nanostructured and Novel Materials Laboratory at the University of Tabriz created organic materials for brain and heart pacemakers, which rely on uninterrupted signal delivery to be effective.

Neurosurgeons unravel the distinct nerve wiring of human memory

The black box of the human brain is starting to open. Although animal models are instrumental in shaping our understanding of the mammalian brain, scarce human data is uncovering important specificities.

In a paper published in Cell, a team led by the Jonas group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and neurosurgeons from the Medical University of Vienna shed light on the human hippocampal CA3 region, central for memory storage.

Many of us have relished those stolen moments with a grandparent by the fireplace, our hearts racing to the intrigues of their stories from good old times, recounted with vivid imagery and a pinch of fantasy.

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