Scientists have identified the neural circuitry responsible for assigning emotional value—positive or negative—to social encounters.
Category: neuroscience – Page 48
Discovery that microglia can be effectively replaced could transform cell therapy for brain diseases
An international research team led by Professor Kiavash Movahedi from the Brussels Center for Immunology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has published unexpected results in the journal Immunity. Their study sheds new light on the possibility of effectively replacing defective microglia—the brain’s immune cells—marking a potential breakthrough in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Microglia are essential for healthy brain function. Defective microglia are increasingly linked to the development of neurodegenerative disorders.
“Microglia are unique,” says Prof. Movahedi. “They originate early in embryonic development and maintain themselves throughout life without being replaced by new cells from the blood. That makes them special, but also vulnerable.”
Adaptive Whole-Brain Dynamics Predictive Method: Relevancy to Mental Disorders
The Hopf whole-brain model, based on structural connectivity, overcomes limitations of traditional structural or functional connectivity-focused methods by incorporating heterogeneity parameters, quantifying dynamic brain characteristics in healthy and diseased states. Traditional parameter fitting techniques lack precision, restricting broader use. To address this, we validated parameter fitting methods using simulated networks and synthetic models, introducing improvements such as individual-specific initialization and optimized gradient descent, which reduced individual data loss. We also developed an approximate loss function and gradient adjustment mechanism, enhancing parameter fitting accuracy and stability.
Clustered neurons in bat midbrain encode categories of vocalizations, study finds
The ability to quickly recognize sounds, particularly the vocalizations made by other animals, is known to contribute to the survival of a wide range of species. This ability is supported by a process known as categorical perception, which entails the transformation of continuous auditory input (e.g., gradual changes in pitch or tone) into distinct categories (i.e., vocalizations that mean something specific).
Various past studies have tried to shed light on the neural underpinnings of categorical perception and the categorization of vocalizations. While they broadly identified some brain regions that could play a part in these abilities, the precise processes through which animals categorize their peer’s categorizations have not yet been fully elucidated.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University recently carried out a study investigating how vocalizations are represented in the brain of big brown bats, which are scientifically known as Eptesicus fuscus. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that the categories of vocalizations are encoded in the bat midbrain.
Basil Hiley Explains Consciousness and Quantum Reality | Mind and Matter Are One
Consciousness cannot be separated from reality. In this profound reflection, physicist Basil Hiley explains why classical physics tried to exclude the subject…
Gerald Pao | Algorithms to Map Neural Activity to Behavior
*Apply to join Foresight Neurotech program:* https://foresight.org/neurotech-improving-cognition-program/ A group of neuroscience researchers, entrepreneurs,…
PET scans reveal early signs of Parkinson’s and Lewy body disorders
In a comprehensive Genomic Press perspective article published today, researchers from Fudan University and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine have highlighted remarkable advances in the development of positron emission tomography (PET) tracers capable of visualizing α-synuclein aggregates in the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease and related disorders.
The abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein protein is a defining pathological feature of several neurodegenerative conditions collectively known as synucleinopathies, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Until recently, confirming the presence of these protein aggregates required post-mortem examination, severely limiting early diagnosis and treatment monitoring capabilities.
“The ability to visualize these protein aggregates in living patients represents a significant leap forward in neurodegenerative disease research,” explains Dr. Fang Xie, corresponding author and researcher at the Department of Nuclear Medicine & PET Center at Huashan Hospital, Fudan University.