Researchers develop synthetic markers that cross the blood-brain barrier, allowing for noninvasive monitoring of the living brain via blood tests.
Category: neuroscience – Page 97
Large-Scale Neuromorphic Spiking Array Processors: A Quest to Mimic the Brain
Neuromorphic engineering (NE) encompasses a diverse range of approaches to information processing that are inspired by neurobiological systems, and this feature distinguishes neuromorphic systems from conventional computing systems. The brain has evolved over billions of years to solve difficult engineering problems by using efficient, parallel, low-power computation. The goal of NE is to design systems capable of brain-like computation. Numerous large-scale neuromorphic projects have emerged recently. This interdisciplinary field was listed among the top 10 technology breakthroughs of 2014 by the MIT Technology Review and among the top 10 emerging technologies of 2015 by the World Economic Forum.
Flexible high-density microelectrode arrays for closed-loop brain–machine interfaces: a review
Flexible high-density microelectrode arrays (HDMEAs) are emerging as a key component in closed-loop brain–machine interfaces (BMIs), providing high-resolution functionality for recording, stimulation, or both. The flexibility of these arrays provides advantages over rigid ones, such as reduced mismatch between interface and tissue, resilience to micromotion, and sustained long-term performance. This review summarizes the recent developments and applications of flexible HDMEAs in closed-loop BMI systems. It delves into the various challenges encountered in the development of ideal flexible HDMEAs for closed-loop BMI systems and highlights the latest methodologies and breakthroughs to address these challenges. These insights could be instrumental in guiding the creation of future generations of flexible HDMEAs, specifically tailored for use in closed-loop BMIs.
Challenges and opportunities in adapting high-throughput functional assays for in vivo neuroscience
High-throughput functional assays such as CRISPR screens and massively parallel reporter assays have transformed studies of gene regulation in cultured cells, but their translation to neuroscience remains limited.
The brain presents unique barriers to scaling these assays, including delivery bottlenecks, low recovery, and the complexity of cellular diversity and spatial architecture.
Emerging strategies—ranging from optimized viral vectors and streamlined library design to integration with singlecell and spatial transcriptomics—offer paths to overcome these limitations.
Together, these innovations are paving the way toward in vivo functional genomics approaches that can bridge the gap between genetic variation, regulatory logic, and brain function. sciencenewshighlights ScienceMission https://sciencemission.com/high-throughput-functional-assays
Insufficient Sleep in Adolescents and the Need for System Changes
💬 Editor’s Note by JAMA Editorial Fellow Randi Bates and JAMA Deputy Editor Tracy Lieu: Adolescents face increasing rates of insufficient sleep, driven by early school start times and digital media use, undermining cognitive and mental health.
Insufficient sleep is one of the most common health risks in adolescents and is associated with worse cognitive performance and academic achievement, as well as depression, other mental health conditions, and physical concerns. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend adolescents aged 13 to 18 years sleep for 8 to 10 hours each night.1 Yet, studies have found that adequate sleep eludes most adolescents.2
In this issue of JAMA, Bommersbach and colleagues report worsening trends in insufficient sleep duration among US high school students based on an analysis of the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey.3 Insufficient sleep increased from 68.9% in 2007 to 76.8% in 2023, largely from increases in very short sleep durations of less than or equal to 5 hours per night. This trend was observed in all demographic groups and was generally consistent across subgroups characterized by behavioral risk factors.
These sweeping patterns suggest that structural and environmental factors may be driving increases in insufficient sleep at the population level. Although some studies have focused on changing individual behavior to increase sleep, such interventions may have limitations in adolescents whose self-regulatory and decision-making abilities are still maturing. Additionally, adolescents may lack sufficient agency to overcome school or social system barriers that limit sleep.
Why Reality Is Just Information | Leonard Susskind
Have you ever felt like the world around you isn’t exactly… “real”? Modern physics is starting to suggest something incredible: The universe isn’t made of atoms, energy, or particles. It is made of Information. In this video, we explore the radical “It from Bit” theory and the Holographic Principle. From the mysterious paradoxes of Black Holes and Hawking Radiation to the way quantum entanglement might actually create the fabric of space and time, we dive deep into the mind-bending reality of quantum mechanics. In this video, we cover: Why Stephen Hawking conceded the Black Hole Information Paradox. The Ryu-Takayanagi formula: How entanglement builds geometry. Why 3D space might just be a 2D holographic projection. The “It from Bit” philosophy by John Wheeler. How consciousness relates to Integrated Information Theory (IIT). If reality is just a pattern of qubits in a vast Hilbert space, what does that make us? Join us as we deconstruct the material world and look at the “source code” of the universe. #QuantumPhysics #HolographicUniverse #ItFromBit #TheoreticalPhysics #ScienceDocumentary #SpaceTime #quantuminformation
A new class of Alzheimer’s biomarkers: Why protein shape may beat protein levels
Researchers have identified a new type of blood-based biomarker test for Alzheimer’s disease that measures structural changes in proteins, providing more information on the underlying biology of the disease than standard blood tests. The findings, published in Nature Aging, also provide new insights into how Alzheimer’s disease biology may differ between males and females.
“This work introduces a fundamentally new, blood-based approach to detecting and staging Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Richard Hodes, director of NIH’s National Institute on Aging (NIA). “By revealing protein structural changes associated with genetic risk, symptom severity, and sex differences—features not captured by existing biomarkers—this research could enable earlier diagnosis and more effective clinical trials.”
An exploration of brain augmentation especially that which involves neural dust
The new JMG Clips channel for sleep!
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Foundation AI model uses MRI data to predict multiple brain disorders
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are computational models that can learn to identify patterns in data, make accurate predictions or generate content (e.g., texts, images, videos or sound recordings). These models can reliably complete various tasks and are now also used to carry out research rooted in different fields.
Over the past few decades, some AI models have proved promising for the early diagnosis and study of specific diseases or neuropsychiatric conditions. For instance, by analyzing large amounts of brain scans collected using a noninvasive technique known as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), AI could uncover patterns associated with tumors, strokes and neurodegenerative diseases, which could help to diagnose these conditions.
Researchers at Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School and other institutes recently developed Brain Imaging Adaptive Core (BrainIAC), a large AI system pre-trained on a vast pool of MRI data that could be adapted to tackle different tasks. This foundation model, presented in a paper published in Nature Neuroscience, was found to outperform many models that were trained to complete specific medical or neuroscience-related tasks.