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Neuroplasticity and cognitive aging: The scaffolding theory of aging and cognition
A recent proposal called the Scaffolding Theory of Cognitive Aging (STAC) postulates that functional changes with aging are part of a lifespan process of compensatory cognitive scaffolding that is an attempt to alleviate the cognitive declines associated with aging. Indeed, behavioral studies have shown that aging is associated with both decline as well as preservation […]
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Neuroscientist Viviana Gradinaru Receives Young Investigator Award
The Society for Neuroscience has presented a Young Investigator Award to Viviana Gradinaru (BS ’05), professor of neuroscience and biological engineering, Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator, and director of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience of the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech. The award recognizes the outstanding achievements and contributions […]
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How Stem Cells Choose their Careers
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question asked of many children but what about stem cells? Stem cells are cells that have not yet chosen a specialized fate, such as becoming a neuron or a white blood cell. At some point, however, each stem cell does decide what it […]
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TCCI® Opens First “Chen Frontier Lab for Brain Research” in Shanghai
On October 23, 2020, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute (TCCI®)’s first Frontier Lab for Brain Research was put into operation at Shanghai Huashan Hospital Hongqiao Campus, a large-scale neuroscience medical center. The new lab works on multiple fields of research, including the brain-machine interface, sleep and dreams, cognitive assessment, and digital medicine. It prioritizes the […]
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New Study Reveals Brain Circuit Biomarkers to Predict Response to Treatment in Patients with Complex Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Cohen Veterans Bioscience (CVB), a non-profit research biotech advancing brain health solutions, today announces findings from a study which generates new evidence in support of a critical brain imaging biomarker, that may help guide people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depressive disorder (MDD) towards the most effective treatment. The study, entitled […]
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Focal Epilepsy Often Overlooked
Having subtler symptoms, a form of epilepsy that affects only one part of the brain often goes undiagnosed long enough to cause unexpected seizures that contribute to car crashes, a new study finds. The study, published online October 20 in the journal Epilepsia, addressed focal epilepsy, the most common form of this brain disorder. Researchers […]
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Targeted delivery of anti-inflammatory therapy shows promise in slowing progression of multiple sclerosis
Intranasal administration of an anti-inflammatory drug helped reduce disease progression in a preclinical model of multiple sclerosis, according to recent research out of the University of Alberta. Christopher Power, a professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, and Leina Saito, a graduate student on his team, showed that delivering an anti-inflammatory drug to mice […]
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New research reveals why low oxygen damages the brain
Brain cell dysfunction in low oxygen is, surprisingly, caused by the very same responder system that is intended to be protective, according to a new published study by a team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “These powerful protein responders initially protect brain cells from low oxygen as expected, but we […]
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Could Reducing Painful Procedures Help Premature Infants’ Brains?
Premature infants born earlier than 28 weeks gestation who experience fewer needle pokes while receiving life-saving care in the neonatal intensive care unit may have better growth of a part of the brain called the thalamus. The new study is published in the October 21, 2020, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the […]
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Community Noise May Affect Dementia Risk
Researchers studied 5,227 participants of the Chicago Health and Aging Project who were aged 65 years or older, of whom 30% had mild cognitive impairment and 11% had Alzheimer’s disease. They found that persons living with 10 decibels more noise near their residences during the daytime had a 36% higher odds of having mild cognitive […]