Neuroscience posts
- September 29, 2015
- 02:37 PM
- 514 views
Scientists to bypass brain damage by re-encoding memories
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Researchers at USC and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have developed a brain prosthesis that is designed to help individuals suffering from memory loss. The prosthesis, which includes a small array of electrodes implanted into the brain, has performed well in laboratory testing in animals and is currently being evaluated in human patients.... Read more »
Song, D., Harway, M., Marmarelis, V., Hampson, R., Deadwyler, S., & Berger, T. (2014) Extraction and restoration of hippocampal spatial memories with non-linear dynamical modeling. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00097
- September 29, 2015
- 11:04 AM
- 439 views
Cognitive Enhancers in Neuroscience Medicine
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Neuropsychiatric disorders cause impairment via multiple pathways. One pathway to impairment is cognitive impairment via attention problems, cognitive slowing and memory disruption.Barbara Sahakian and colleagues recently published an interesting manuscript examining the issue of cognitive enhancement.Their review begins by summarizing some of the research related to cognitive enhancement in four neuropsychiatric syndromes. I will summarize their main points by specific disorder.Alzheimer's Dise........ Read more »
Sahakian BJ, Bruhl AB, Cook J, Killikelly C, Savulich G, Piercy T, Hafizi S, Perez J, Fernandez-Egea E, Suckling J.... (2015) The impact of neuroscience on society: cognitive enhancement in neuropsychiatric disorders and in healthy people. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 370(1677). PMID: 26240429
- September 28, 2015
- 07:22 PM
- 390 views
Connecting Alzheimer’s disease and the immune system
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
The role of the immune system in Alzheimer’s disease is a hot topic, but exactly how the two are connected and what interventions could help lower risk remain a mystery. In a new study, researchers in the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) investigate how genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease may influence a key type of immune cell. Their results lay the groundwork for designing better therapeutic strategies and better prediction tools fo........ Read more »
Chan, G., White, C., Winn, P., Cimpean, M., Replogle, J., Glick, L., Cuerdon, N., Ryan, K., Johnson, K., Schneider, J.... (2015) CD33 modulates TREM2: convergence of Alzheimer loci. Nature Neuroscience. DOI: 10.1038/nn.4126
- September 28, 2015
- 12:48 PM
- 656 views
What Animals Contageously Yawn?
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Does this sight make you want to yawn? A yawning Japanese macaque by Daisuke Tashiro at Wikimedia Commons.Do you think it would make other animals want to yawn? Many animals yawn spontaneously, but yawning in response to sensing or thinking about someone else doing it may be a completely different thing. Contagious yawning requires a sense of social connection and emotional empathy that not all species share. So far, scientists have found experimental evidence of contagious yawning in humans, ch........ Read more »
Gallup, A., Swartwood, L., Militello, J., & Sackett, S. (2015) Experimental evidence of contagious yawning in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus). Animal Cognition, 18(5), 1051-1058. DOI: 10.1007/s10071-015-0873-1
- September 27, 2015
- 01:02 AM
- 548 views
Neurohackers Gone Wild!
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Scene from Listening, a new neuro science fiction film by writer-director Khalil Sullins. What are some of the goals of research in human neuroscience?To explain how the mind works.To unravel the mysteries of consciousness and free will.To develop better treatments for mental and neurological illnesses.To allow paralyzed individuals to walk again.Brain decoding experiments that use fMRI or ECoG (direct recordings of the brain in epilepsy patients) to deduce what a person is looking at or sa........ Read more »
Stocco, A., Prat, C., Losey, D., Cronin, J., Wu, J., Abernethy, J., & Rao, R. (2015) Playing 20 Questions with the Mind: Collaborative Problem Solving by Humans Using a Brain-to-Brain Interface. PLOS ONE, 10(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137303
- September 24, 2015
- 02:59 PM
- 530 views
Mexico City’s air pollution has detrimental impact on Alzheimer’s disease gene
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A new study by researchers heightens concerns over the detrimental impact of air pollution on hippocampal metabolites as early markers of neurodegeneration in young urbanites carrying an allele 4 of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE). This is associated with the risk for Alzheimer disease (AD) and a susceptibility marker for poor outcome in traumatic brain injury (TBI) recovery.... Read more »
Dr. Lilian Calderón-Garcidueñas et. al. (2015) Mexico City's air pollution has detrimental impact on Alzheimer's disease gene . Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. DOI: http://dx.org/10.3233/JAD-150415
- September 22, 2015
- 05:02 PM
- 488 views
Genetic analysis supports prediction that spontaneous rare mutations cause half of autism
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A team led by researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has published a new analysis of data on the genetics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One commonly held theory is that autism results from the chance combinations of commonly occurring gene mutations, which are otherwise harmless. But the authors’ work provides support for a different theory.... Read more »
Ivan Iossifov, Dan Levy, Jeremy Allen, Kenny Ye, Michael Ronemus, Yoon-ha Lee, Boris Yamrom, & Michael Wigler. (2015) Low load for disruptive mutations in autism genes and their biased transmission. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States of America. info:/
- September 22, 2015
- 08:21 AM
- 625 views
Time to Rethink the Reconsolidation Theory of Memory?
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
An influential theory about the malleability of memory comes under scrutiny in a new paper in the Journal of Neuroscience.
The 'reconsolidation' hypothesis holds that when a memory is recalled, its molecular trace in the brain becomes plastic. On this view, a reactivated memory has to be 'saved' or consolidated all over again in order for it to be stored.
A drug that blocks memory formation ('amnestic') will, therefore, not just block new memories but will also cause reactivated m... Read more »
Gisquet-Verrier P, Lynch JF 3rd, Cutolo P, Toledano D, Ulmen A, Jasnow AM, & Riccio DC. (2015) Integration of New Information with Active Memory Accounts for Retrograde Amnesia: A Challenge to the Consolidation/Reconsolidation Hypothesis?. The Journal of Neuroscience, 35(33), 11623-33. PMID: 26290239
- September 21, 2015
- 02:18 PM
- 460 views
‘Delayed remembering’: Kids can remember tomorrow what they forgot today
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
For adults, memories tend to fade with time. But a new study has shown that there are circumstances under which the opposite is true for small children: they can remember a piece of information better days later than they can on the day they first learned it. While playing a video game that asked them to remember associations between objects, 4- and 5-year-olds who re-played the game after a two-day delay scored more than 20 percent higher than kids who re-played it later the same day.... Read more »
Kevin Darby. (20115) ‘Delayed remembering’: kids can remember tomorrow what they forgot today. Psychological Science. info:/
- September 20, 2015
- 03:01 PM
- 405 views
A barrier against brain stem cell aging
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Neural stem cells generate new neurons throughout life in the mammalian brain. However, with advancing age the potential for regeneration in the brain dramatically declines. Scientists now identified a novel mechanism of how neural stem cells stay relatively free of aging-induced damage. A diffusion barrier regulates the sorting of damaged proteins during cell division.... Read more »
Moore, D., Pilz, G., Arauzo-Bravo, M., Barral, Y., & Jessberger, S. (2015) A mechanism for the segregation of age in mammalian neural stem cells. Science, 349(6254), 1334-1338. DOI: 10.1126/science.aac9868
- September 19, 2015
- 02:49 PM
- 541 views
Schizophrenia: Repairing the brain
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Research led by scientists from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore (Duke-NUS) has linked the abnormal behaviour of two genes (BDNF and DTNBP1) to the underlying cause of schizophrenia. These findings have provided a new target for schizophrenia treatment.... Read more »
Yuan, Q., Yang, F., Xiao, Y., Tan, S., Husain, N., Ren, M., Hu, Z., Martinowich, K., Ng, J., Kim, P.... (2015) Regulation of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Exocytosis and Gamma-Aminobutyric Acidergic Interneuron Synapse by the Schizophrenia Susceptibility Gene Dysbindin-1. Biological Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.08.019
- September 18, 2015
- 03:14 PM
- 536 views
Types of athletic training affect how brain communicates with muscles
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Using endurance training or strength and resistance training not only prepares an athlete for different types of sports, they can also change the way the brain and muscles communicate with each other.... Read more »
Trevino, M., & Herda, T. (2015) The effects of chronic exercise training status on motor unit activation and deactivation control strategies. Journal of Sports Sciences, 1-10. DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2015.1046396
Herda, T., Siedlik, J., Trevino, M., Cooper, M., & Weir, J. (2015) Motor unit control strategies of endurance- versus resistance-trained individuals. Muscle . DOI: 10.1002/mus.24597
- September 16, 2015
- 04:00 PM
- 663 views
Immune system may be pathway between nature and good health
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Research has found evidence that spending time in nature provides protections against a startling range of diseases, including depression, diabetes, obesity, ADHD, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and many more. How this exposure to green space leads to better health has remained a mystery. After reviewing hundreds of studies examining nature’s effects on health, researchers believe the answer lies in nature’s ability to enhance the functioning of the body’s immune system.... Read more »
Kuo, M. (2015) How might contact with nature promote human health? Promising mechanisms and a possible central pathway. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01093
- September 16, 2015
- 10:20 AM
- 559 views
More Doubts Over The Oxytocin And Trust Theory
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
The claim that the hormone oxytocin promotes trust in humans has drawn a lot of attention. But today, a group of researchers reported that they've been unable to reproduce their own findings concerning that effect.
The new paper, in PLoS ONE, is by Anthony Lane and colleagues from Louvain in Belgium. The same team have previously published evidence supporting the link between oxytocin and trust.
Back in 2010 they reported that "oxytocin increases trust when confidential information is ... Read more »
Lane A, Mikolajczak M, Treinen E, Samson D, Corneille O, de Timary P, & Luminet O. (2015) Failed Replication of Oxytocin Effects on Trust: The Envelope Task Case. PloS ONE, 10(9). PMID: 26368396
- September 15, 2015
- 02:52 PM
- 588 views
Know your brain: Blood-brain barrier
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
Where is the blood-brain barrier?The blood-brain barrier surrounds most of the blood vessels in the brain. It is a structure that is formed primarily due to the establishment of tight junctions between endothelial cells (i.e. cells that line the walls of blood vessels). There are also several other cells and proteins contributing to the blood-brain barrier complex; for example, processes called astrocytic end-feet extend from astrocytes to surround blood vessels and provide support to the endoth........ Read more »
Ballabh P, Braun A, & Nedergaard M. (2004) The blood-brain barrier: an overview: structure, regulation, and clinical implications. Neurobiology of disease, 16(1), 1-13. PMID: 15207256
- September 14, 2015
- 12:00 PM
- 5,441 views
The stuff of screams
by Pierre Megevand in Neuroscience and Medicine
Luc Arnal, a post-doctoral scientist in David Poeppel’s laboratory at New York University, was having his brain hijacked. No, this isn’t a report of futuristic brain implants and neurohacking: rather, Arnal was experiencing the joys of fatherhood, together with the unavoidable alarm at hearing his newborn baby scream. Ever the scientist, he decided to explore what made those screams such an irresistible alarm signal. The answer fits in one word: roughness.... Read more »
Arnal, L., Flinker, A., Kleinschmidt, A., Giraud, A., & Poeppel, D. (2015) Human Screams Occupy a Privileged Niche in the Communication Soundscape. Current Biology, 25(15), 2051-2056. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.06.043
- September 13, 2015
- 10:19 AM
- 5,738 views
Evolutionary Theory of Consciousness: first reply to comments.
by Sergio Graziosi in Writing my own user manual - Sergio Graziosi's Blog
Two of my readers have kindly provided some very interesting comments and questions on my Evolutionary Theory of Consciousness paper (ETC). Because their comments and questions are very relevant and thought-provoking, I am publishing my reply as a separate post.…Read more ›... Read more »
Butler, A. (2008) Evolution of brains, cognition, and consciousness. Brain Research Bulletin, 75(2-4), 442-449. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2007.10.017
Edelman DB, Baars BJ, & Seth AK. (2005) Identifying hallmarks of consciousness in non-mammalian species. Consciousness and cognition, 14(1), 169-87. PMID: 15766896
Mather, J. (2008) Cephalopod consciousness: Behavioural evidence. Consciousness and Cognition, 17(1), 37-48. DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2006.11.006
Verzijden, M., Abbott, J. K.,, von Philipsborn, A., & Loeschcke, V. (2015) Male Drosophila melanogaster learn to prefer an arbitrary trait associated with female mating status. Current Zoology. (2015) Male Drosophila melanogaster learn to prefer an arbitrary trait associated with female mating status. Current Zoology, 61(6). info:/
- September 12, 2015
- 03:37 PM
- 5,651 views
Female mice sing for sex
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
They don’t use gondolas or croon like Sinatra. But scientists have known for a long time that male mice belt out something like love songs to females when the time seems right to them. What they didn’t know – until a University of Delaware researcher developed a sophisticated array of microphones and a sound analysis chamber – was that female mice were singing back.... Read more »
Neunuebel, J., Taylor, A., Arthur, B., & Egnor, S. (2015) Female mice ultrasonically interact with males during courtship displays. eLife. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.06203
- September 11, 2015
- 06:06 PM
- 5,659 views
Smart cells teach neurons damaged by Parkinson’s to heal themselves
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
As a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have created smarter immune cells that produce and deliver a healing protein to the brain while also teaching neurons to begin making the protein for themselves.... Read more »
Zhao, Y., Haney, M., Gupta, R., Bohnsack, J., He, Z., Kabanov, A., & Batrakova, E. (2014) GDNF-Transfected Macrophages Produce Potent Neuroprotective Effects in Parkinson's Disease Mouse Model. PLoS ONE, 9(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106867
- September 11, 2015
- 12:34 PM
- 470 views
Perfect Pitch: Is this for real?
by Henkjan Honing in Music Matters
Absolute Pitch (AP) or Perfect Pitch, as some prefer to call it, is common throughout the animal world, and dogs are no exception (Levitin & Rogers, 2005).*... Read more »
Levitin, D., & Rogers, S. (2005) Absolute pitch: perception, coding, and controversies. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(1), 26-33. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2004.11.007
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