Neuroscience – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Feb 4
2023

Ideal blood pressure may remodel brain clearance pathways linked to brain health, dementia

𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡, 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚

𝘾𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙍𝙄 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 (𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 120 𝙢𝙢 𝙃𝙜) 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨-𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙛 140 𝙢𝙢 𝙃𝙜 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣’𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨: 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙭𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙮𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙨.

𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙗𝙮𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖, 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙.

Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023

(NewMediaWire) — February 2, 2023 — DALLAS Among people who received more intensive treatment for high blood pressure, evaluations of MRI scans indicated a positive change in brain structures involved in its ability to clear toxins and other byproducts, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2023. The meeting, held in person in Dallas and virtually, Feb. 8–10, 2023, is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health.

The study is the first to examine whether intensive blood pressure treatment may slow, or reverse structural changes related to the volume of the brain’s perivascular spaces, areas of the brain around the blood vessels that are involved in the clearance of toxins and other byproducts. These areas tend to enlarge as people get older or have more cardiovascular risk factors.

Continue reading “Ideal blood pressure may remodel brain clearance pathways linked to brain health, dementia” | >

Feb 4
2023

Clinical trials show encouraging safety profile for brain-computer interface turning thoughts into action

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — More than two decades ago, a team of Brown University researchers set out with an ambitious goal to provide people with paralysis a revolutionary neurotechnology capable of turning thoughts about movement into actual action, using a tiny device that would one day be implanted in the surface of the brain. Their work led to an ongoing, multi-institution effort to create the BrainGate brain-computer interface, designed to allow clinical trial participants with paralysis to control assistive devices like computers or robotic limbs just by thinking about the action they want to initiate.

Open Access Paper:

https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2023/01/13/WNL.

In an important step toward a medical technology that could help restore independence of people with paralysis, researchers find the investigational BrainGate neural interface system has low rates of associated adverse events.

Feb 4
2023

Scientists develop new device to detect brain tumors using urine

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐲𝐚 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐂𝐒 𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐨.

Although early detection of many types of cancer has contributed to the recent increases in cancer survival rates, the survival rate for brain tumors has remained almost unchanged for over 20 years. Partly this is due to their late detection. Physicians often discover brain tumors only after the onset of neurological symptoms, such as loss of movement or speech, by which time the tumor has reached a considerable size. Detecting the tumor when it is still small, and starting treatment as soon as possible, should help to save lives.

One possible sign that a person has a brain tumor is the presence of tumor-related extracellular vesicles (EVs) in their urine. EVs are nano-sized vesicles involved in a variety of functions, including cell-to-cell communication. Because those found in brain cancer patients have specific types of RNA and membrane proteins, they could be used to detect the presence of cancer and its progression.

Feb 3
2023

Scientists Discover World’s Oldest Preserved Vertebrate Brain

A second look at a coccocephalus wildi fossil first unearthed over 100 years could yield ancient insights into gaps of evolutionary history.

Feb 3
2023

Researchers identify the neurons that synchronize female preferences with male courtship songs in fruit flies

When it comes to courtship, it is important to ensure that one is interacting with a member of the same species. Animals use multiple sensory systems to confirm that potential mates are indeed suitable, with acoustic communication playing an important role in their decision making.

Although these differences have previously been reported at the behavioral level, it is not known how the neuronal circuitry underlying this decision-making has diverged between species. Now, in a new publication in Scientific Reports, a research group at Nagoya University in Japan has investigated how the auditory processing pathway has evolved and diverged between fruit fly species.

Males of several species of Drosophila (fruit flies), which are regularly used in neuroscience research, vibrate their wings rhythmically during courtship, producing a courtship song. The temporal components of these songs differ between species, allowing female flies to distinguish between potential mates.

Feb 3
2023

Science Claims to Have Solved the Mystery of Consciousness

This article is based on accredited medical, science, and media reports. Disclaimer: I am not a scientist. I will share knowledge but will offer no personal opinion on this matter herein.

All listed theories and facts shared within this article are fully-attributed to said outlets, including Wikipedia.org, NeuroscienceNews.com, and TheDailyBrief.com.

The origins and workings of consciousness have remained among science’s greatest unanswered mysteries. How did it begin? What sparks it?

Feb 3
2023

Revealing the Genes that Shape the Human Brain

Neurologist Christopher Walsh discovered genes that direct cerebral cortex development. We asked him what they reveal about intelligence, psychiatric disorders, and the nature of being human.

This article was produced for The Kavli Prize by Scientific American Custom Media, a division separate from the magazine’s board of editors.

Feb 3
2023

Dendrites: Why Biological Neurons Are Deep Neural Networks

Keep exploring at http://brilliant.org/ArtemKirsanov/
Get started for free, and hurry—the first 200 people get 20% off an annual premium subscription.

My name is Artem, I’m a computational neuroscience student and researcher. In this video we will see why individual neurons essentially function like deep convolutional neural networks, equipped with insane information processing capabilities as well as some of the physiological mechanisms, that account for such computational complexity.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/artemkirsanov.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArtemKRSV

OUTLINE:
00:00 Introduction.
01:42 — Perceptrons.
03:43 — Electrical excitability and action potential.
07:12 — Cable theory: passive dendrites.
09:03 — Active dendritic properties.
12:10 — Human neurons as XOR gates.
19:11 — Single neurons as deep neural networks.
22:32 — Brilliant.
23:57 — Recap and outro.

REFERENCES (in no particular order):
1. Bicknell, B. A., Bicknell, B. A. & Häusser, M. A synaptic learning rule for exploiting nonlinear dendritic computation. Neuron (2021) doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2021.09.044.
2. Matthew Larkum. Are dendrites conceptually useful? Neuroscience (2022) doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.03.008.
3. Polsky, A., Mel, B. W. & Schiller, J. Computational subunits in thin dendrites of pyramidal cells. Nature Neuroscience 7621–627 (2004).
4. Tran-Van-Minh, A. et al. Contribution of sublinear and supralinear dendritic integration to neuronal computations. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 9, 67–67 (2015).
5. Gidon, A. et al. Dendritic action potentials and computation in human layer 2/3 cortical neurons. Science 367, 83–87 (2020).
6. London, M. & Häusser, M. DENDRITIC COMPUTATION. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 28503–532 (2005).
7. Branco, T., Clark, B. A. & Häusser, M. Dendritic Discrimination of Temporal Input Sequences in Cortical Neurons. Science 329, 1671–1675 (2010).
8. Stuart, G. J. & Spruston, N. Dendritic integration: 60 years of progress. Nat Neurosci 18, 1713–1721 (2015).
9. Smith, S. L., Smith, I. T., Branco, T. & Häusser, M. Dendritic spikes enhance stimulus selectivity in cortical neurons in vivo. Nature 503115–120 (2013).
10. Beniaguev, D., Segev, I. & London, M. Single cortical neurons as deep artificial neural networks. Neuron 109, (2021).
11. Michalikova, M., Remme, M. W. H., Schmitz, D., Schreiber, S. & Kempter, R. Spikelets in pyramidal neurons: generating mechanisms, distinguishing properties, and functional implications. Reviews in the Neurosciences 31101–119 (2019).
12. Larkum, M. E., Wu, J., Duverdin, S. A. & Gidon, A. The Guide to Dendritic Spikes of the Mammalian Cortex In Vitro and In Vivo. Neuroscience 489, 15–33 (2022).

CREDITS:

Continue reading “Dendrites: Why Biological Neurons Are Deep Neural Networks” | >

Feb 3
2023

Mapping and modeling human brain networks

Olaf Sporns.
September 15, 2014

Abstract: Recent years have seen a rapid expansion of empirical and theoretical studies in connectomics – the emerging science of structural and functional brain networks. In this talk I will survey some of the recent advances and a few of the challenges for connectomics research, with an emphasis on human brain connectivity. Of particular interest are studies that employ network science methods for analyzing and modeling connectivity patterns. These studies have shown the existence of highly connected hub regions that play crucial roles in brain communication and the integration of information. Future applications of brain modeling and computation for understanding brain function and dysfunction will also be discussed. Overall, the new field of connectomics offers a unique opportunity for building a theoretical understanding of the function of the human brain.

Feb 3
2023

A 319-million-year-old brain has been discovered. It could be the oldest of its kind

A scan of the skull of a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish has led to the discovery of the oldest example of a well-preserved vertebrate brain, shining a new light on the early evolution of bony fish.

The fossil of the skull belonging to the extinct Coccocephalus wildi was found in a coal mine in England more than a century ago, according to researchers of the study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

The fossil is the only known specimen of the fish species so scientists from the University of Michigan in the US and the University of Birmingham in the UK used the nondestructive imaging technique of computed tomography (CT) scanning to look inside its skull and examine its internal bodily structure.