Healing the brain from the inside out
...mation that the replacements were projecting their axons to make connections with other neurons came from additional anatomical labeling with dyes. Macklis warns that this experiment is merely a first crude step in exploring the pathway of neural regeneration. "Not for a moment would any of us suggest tha...UF researcher: gene therapy effective in animal studies of Parkinson's disease
...ain. There you can see a regrowth of the fibers or axons that are connected to the dopamine-producing cells. Without that connection, those cells are incapable of supporting normal movement," Mandel said. Parkinson's disease has been in the news in recent months with the revelation that actor Michael J....Target cells found to play active role in synapse formation
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - When axons connect with target cells, synapses form - a pivot...milar axon-like fingers. Filopodia extending from axons - the communicating arms of neurons - are well documented and thought to be the reaching, seeking fi...Mouse gene trap helps decipher brain's wiring diagram
...vous system development. Receptor proteins on the axons act as the growth cones' antennae for receiving th...g -- expressing particular populations of labeled axons as a resource for the neuroscience community. In the current study, Tessier-Lavigne, Skarnes and col...Gene-trapping method powers discovery of new brain-wiring signals
...e themselves into networks by extending cable-like axons that grow towardspecific targets in the nervous sy...dancemolecules either attract or repel the growing axons of neurons by plugging intoreceptors on the surface of the axon tip. Typically, each guidance molecu...Calcium signals found to guide nerve cell development
...steer the growth cones to their target cells, long axons are formed, which transfer chemical signals betwee...he pioneers, leading the way for the growth of the axons behind them." To conduct their study, the UCSD researchers used spinal nerve cells from developing f...Researchers find new clues to nerve cell development
... out to detect environmental clues and help direct axons to their proper destinations. Until now, scientist...help steer the growth cones to their target cells, axons are formed along the way. Gomez and his colleagues studied frog spinal nerve cells they kept alive i...Growing neurons use silencing mechanism to avoid disastrous tug-of-war
...e themselves into networks by extending cable-like axons that grow toward specific targets in the nervous ...versely, a repellent protein called Slit triggers axons to grow away from a site by plugging into a receptor called Robo. Thus, a growing axon is attracted...Scientists discover how nerve cells move from target to target as they wire up the developing embryo
...ility or death to the embryo. The discovery of how axons can simply "walk away" from an attractant is repor...en the two either attracts or repels the migrating axons on their initial journey in the embryo. Researchers at UCSF and UC Berkeley did much of the initial ......ptors. The bipolar cells funnel signals down their axons the outgoing wires of the nerve cell and relay t... details were hazy. Part of the reason is that the axons from the bipolar cells synapse with or touch the dendrites of the ganglion cells in a tangled region...Hopkins' Young Investigators' Day winners shine in the spotlight
...Ph.D., who has shown that a receptor on nerve cell axons gets activated by nerve growth factor (ngf) before ngf's message to preserve cells can travel to its target site in the nucleus. An interest in health care policy has won Hoangmai Pham, M.D., the A. McGehee Harvey Award. Pham found that high qual...Plastic tube may help treat paralysis
...wly grown tissue, said Shoichet. We hope that once axons grow across the gap they will make the appropriate connections. Unlike nerves in other parts of the body which regenerate rapidly after an injury, spinal cord nerves must be coaxed into growing. Other researchers are testing the practicality of using...Controlled nerve growth factor aids brain cell transplant
...ules that inhibit cell migration and the growth of axons (the part of the nerve cell that carries the nerve impulse) that could connect nerve cells, while scars that form on the glial (or connecting) cells after brain injuries also inhibit the elongation of axons. Mahoney says: "Neurotrophins, such as nerv...... cyclic AMP in affecting the regeneration of nerve axons after injury. Both scientists will receive the prize at the Neurotrauma Symposium in San Diego on November 10, 2001. Professors Filbin and Poo are the eighth winners of the Ameritec Prize, established in 1987 specifically to recognize scientists w...Researchers discover precise olfactory map
...s in the bulb. The bulb neurons, in turn, extend axons to make contact with neurons located in the olfact...spatial zones. In the olfactory bulb, however, the axons of neurons with the same receptor converge in a few invariant glomeruli, creating a map of odor rece...Delayed treatment of spinal cord injury may improve recovery
... which does not contain myelin. Surprisingly, the axons below the point of injury regrew into the white matter even though previous work has shown that myelin-associated inhibitory factors can interfere with axon growth. The pattern of axon growth was also better in the rats that received delayed treatme...Science's Top Ten: nanoscale computing circuits named top scientific advance of 2001
..., and this year scientists gained insight into how axons know where to grow in the developing nervous syste...rned more about how these signals interact and how axons integrate their often-conflicting messages. Other studies demonstrated how these signals are transla...Recovery from spinal cord injury seen in mice when scarring is minimized
... eliminates the ability of neurons to regrow their axons across the injury site. It's an absolute physical block. We found, however, that if you prevent the scar tissue from forming, the mice recover from their injuries." The findings show that physically preventing scar tissue from forming can open the wa......g glial cells are required for proper formation of axons - the long extensions that allow neurons to communicate with other distant cells. According to Steller, there may be other cell death pathways with similar outcomes, but this one is the first to be elucidated in full. "Although the regulation of cel......hout those cells -- including the cell bodies, the axons and the finely branching dendrites, said Yau. To m...ed. This protein was capable of traveling down the axons of the ganglion cells, revealing their targets. "The labeling was just beautiful," said Yau. "It sho...