𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐬:

The Neuro-Network.

𝐄𝐧𝐳𝐲𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬

𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙖 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙚𝙧… See more.

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Researchers have uncovered how a certain molecular pathway triggers the breakdown of nerve fibers in neurodegenerative diseases – and more importantly, how to potentially switch it off. The find could lead to a new class of drugs that slows the progression of these debilitating disorders.

The focus of the study was an enzyme called SARM1, which is expressed in neurons and plays a role as an immune regulator. However, it also functions as a sensor of metabolic stress, and at a certain point it sparks a cascade of processes that eventually begins to break down axons, leading to some of the issues associated with Parkinson’s disease, ALS, neuropathy, and other neurodegenerative diseases.

A new study led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found that a group of neurons in the brain’s striatum encodes information about the potential outcomes of different decisions. The study was published in the journal, ‘Nature Communications’.

A group of neurons in the brain become particularly active when a behaviour leads to a different outcome than what was expected, which the researchers believed helped the brain adapt to changing circumstances. “A lot of this brain activity deals with surprising outcomes because if an outcome is expected, there’s really nothing to be learned. What we see is that there’s a strong encoding of both unexpected rewards and unexpected negative outcomes,” said Bernard Bloem, a former MIT postdoc and one of the lead authors of the new study.

Impairments in this kind of decision-making are a hallmark of many neuropsychiatric disorders, especially anxiety and depression. The new findings suggested that slight disturbances in the activity of these striatal neurons could swing the brain into making impulsive decisions or becoming paralyzed with indecision, the researchers said. The striatum, located deep within the brain, is known to play a key role in making decisions that require evaluating the outcomes of a particular action. In this study, the researchers wanted to learn more about the neural basis of how the brain makes cost-benefit decisions, in which a behaviour can have a mixture of positive and negative outcomes.

The study could provide hope for people who have locked-in syndrome. But the study author’s track record is mired with controversy.

𝙇𝙤𝙪 𝙂𝙚𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙜’𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚—𝙖𝙢𝙮𝙤𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙘 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙨 (𝘼𝙇𝙎)—𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢, 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙖 34-𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧-𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙-𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙇𝙎 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣… See more.

The Neuro-Network.

𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 ‘𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝-𝐢𝐧’ 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞

𝙐𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙚, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨. 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙡… See more.

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Unable to move a single muscle, even to open your eyes. Completely locked into your own body, yet fully conscious and aware.

Lou Gehrig’s disease— amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)—is a nightmare in its advanced form, leaving patients without any means of communicating their needs and wishes.