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How the brain balances emotion and reason
Navigating through life requires balancing emotion and reason, a feat accomplished by the brain region “area 32” of the anterior cingulate cortex. The area maintains emotional equilibrium by relaying information between cognitive and emotional brain regions, according to new research in monkeys published in JNeurosci.
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Research confirms link between sleep apnea and Alzheimer’s disease
New research has confirmed long-suspected links between sleep apnea and Alzheimer’s disease, finding identical signs of brain damage in both conditions. While the cause of Alzheimer’s disease remains a mystery, amyloid plaques that are toxic to brain cells are known indicators of the disease. The new research showed these plaques start in the same place […]
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Evolutionary and heritable axes shape our brain
Every region has its place in the brain. However, it has been unclear why brain regions are located where they are. Now, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) and the Forschungszentrum Jülich have defined two main axes along which brain regions are genetically organized, stretching from posterior […]
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TCCI® Director, Professor Ying Mao Introduces New Technologies for Epilepsy Treatment in a Paper Published in the Journal Nature, Biomedical Engineering
On September 28, Professor Ying Mao, Director of the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Translational Research, and Professor Cong Li from the School of Pharmacy at Fudan University, published a paper, titled ” An electric-field-responsive paramagnetic contrast agent enhances the visualization of epileptic foci in mouse models of drug-resistant epilepsy” in the journal Nature […]
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Nerve cells let others “listen in”
How many “listeners” a nerve cell has in the brain is strictly regulated. This is shown by an international study led by the University College London and the universities of Bonn, Bordeaux and Milton Keynes (England). In the environment of learning neurons, certain processes are set in motion that make signal transmission less exclusive. The […]
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Research challenges conventional wisdom about key autism trait
A new study into the causes of sensorimotor impairments prevalent among autistic people could pave the way for better treatment and management in the future, say psychologists. Publishing findings in the leading journal BRAIN [today: Friday 25 September], the scientists from the universities of Exeter and Bath present fresh evidence that sensorimotor difficulties associated with […]
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Anxious, moody older adults are vulnerable to worse cognitive function
Our aging brains collect tangles and sticky plaques that can interfere in our cognition and memory. But some older adults with this neuropathology have more cognitive resilience than others, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.
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A Genetic Variant That Protects Against Alzheimer’s Promotes Immune Cell Functions
A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland found that the PLCG2-P522R genetic variant, which protects against Alzheimer’s disease, enhances several key functions of immune cells. The results obtained in the study highlight the importance of immune cells as a target of future development of new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.
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Stem cells can repair Parkinson’s-damaged circuits in mouse brains
The mature brain is infamously bad at repairing itself following damage like that caused by trauma or strokes, or from degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s. Stem cells, which are endlessly adaptable, have offered the promise of better neural repair. But the brain’s precisely tuned complexity has stymied the development of clinical treatments.
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160 genes linked to brain shrinkage
A new study implicates 160 genes in brain shrinkage seen on MRIs of 45,000 healthy adults. The shrinkage is in the cortex, the dimply outer layer of the brain that gives rise to thinking, awareness and action, and largely consists of gray matter.