COLUMBUS, Ohio – A team of researchers is beginning to see exactly what the response to threats looks like in the brain at the cellular and molecular levels. (more…)
Yale University researchers have found that a single molecule not only connects brain cells but also changes how we learn. The findings, reported in the December 9 issue of the journal Neuron, may help researchers discover ways to improve memory and could lead to new therapies to correct neurological disorders.
The junctions between brain cells over which nerve pulses pass — called synapses — are crucial for regulating learning and memory and how we think. Aberrations in the structure and function of synapses have been linked to mental retardation and autism, while synapses are lost in the aging brains of Alzheimer’s patients. (more…)
Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability, due to the brain’s limited capacity for recovery. Physical rehabilitation is the only current treatment following a stroke, and there are no medications available to help promote neurological recovery.
Now, a new UCLA study published Nov. 3 in the journal Nature offers insights into a major limitation in the brain’s ability to recover function after a stroke and identifies a promising medical therapy to help overcome this limitation.
Researchers interested in how the brain repairs itself already know that when the brain suffers a stroke, it becomes excitable, firing off an excessive amount of brain cells, which die off. The UCLA researchers found that a rise in a chemical system known as “tonic inhibition” immediately after a stroke causes a reduction in this level of excitability. (more…)
Prahlad Jani, an 82 year Indian yogi is used to living with empty stomach. He claims that he receives his energy from space.
