Instruction and permission in eye/brain development
...om rather than a normal pattern. Surprisingly, the axons of theoptic nerve still grow into the brain normally and form normallayered LGN structures. However, when all activity was completelyblocked in the developing retina, the researchers found that thenormal separation of left and right eye connections d...Gene therapy grows new auditory hair cells in mammals
...at these hair cells can provide signals to attract axons and that neurons can respond to these signals," Raphael says. In the next stage of research, Raphael will determine whether the guinea pig hair cells are functional and able to transmit sound signals to auditory neurons. He also plans to test the pr...Muscle protein has role in nerve disorders
...ann cells, which wrap themselves around peripheral axons (nerve fibers) and protect them by producing a myelin sheath. The sheath allows nerve impulses to move faster and more efficiently along the nerves. If nerve fibers are the body's electrical wiring, then the myelin sheath represents the insulation. E...Human stem cells improve movement in paralyzed rats
... only migrated into the spinal cord, but also sent axons back out. It is just incredible." "These are important first steps as we begin to analyze the potential of various types of stem cells in disorders of motor neurons," adds Jeffrey Rothstein, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Robert Packard Center for ALS ...New growth-stimulating cue identified for nerve cells
...ying a family of proteins best known for repelling axons and inhibiting their growth reports finding one me...iments, rat nerves in the lab grew more and longer axons on the side nearest a source of this protein, called semaphorin-7a. Moreover, in mice without semaph...Modifier gene controls severity of neurological disease in mice
...Scn8a forms pores in nerve cell projections called axons and dendrites allowing sodium ions to flow through and rapidly opens and closes the pores to initiate and cut off the electrical signal. Mice with mutated forms of Scn8a have a range of neurological defects and movement disorders, depending on thei...How genes orchestrate facial expressions
...Hoxb3 specify which neurons or nerve cells develop axons or nerve fibers to carry nerve impulses to muscles that control outward eye movements the left eye looking left and the right eye looking right. When the two genes were disabled in mouse embryos, those nerve connections failed to form. "Without the...Pathways of emotion from cortex to peripheral organs
...as coloured structures through the microscope the axons of the neurons originating in the cortex were red and the neurons that terminated in the spinal cord were blue. Both blue and red structures could be seen close together in the hypothalamus, specifically in those areas that are involved in the contro...Study reveals patterns of gene activity in the mouse nervous system
...hts about neuronal migration, interactions between axons and their target neurons, and other functions that may be relevant to understanding human development, behavior, and/or disease. Data about each gene studied, including high-resolution images from the mouse nervous system at each stage of development...Emory scientists use enzymes to enhance regeneration of damaged peripheral nerves in mice
...ific targets. When a peripheral nerve is damaged, axons between the injury site and muscle or skin degener...e and function is lost. Although peripheral nerve axons are capable of regenerating after such injuries, in humans this regeneration is modest at best and t...New technique helps shed light on progression of dementia
...choline is released. In the cortex, the density of axons that released acetylcholine was strikingly reduced. "The occurrence of ministrokes and microvascular disorders are significant risk factors for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease," Sarter said. "But our knowledge of what happens after a stroke a...Dying nerves cause even more harm after spinal cord injury
...njury. Oligodendrocytes protect the white matter's axons long, skinny tails attached to nerve cells that c...The researchers found a delayed reaction . . . the axons near the injection site began breaking two days after injection. In related work, these researchers ...Chemical gradient steers nerve growth in spinal cord
...linicians because it could help regenerate damaged axons in the central nervous system." The study focused ...at the tips of these growing neurons. Commissural axons in Frizzled3-deficient mice (generously provided by Jeremy Nathans of Johns Hopkins Medical School) ...JCI Table of Contents, January 15 2004
...the onset of motor skill impairment. The number of axons containing these abnormal mitochondria was far greater than the number of swollen and degenerate axons. The authors suggest that local failure of mitochondrial function may affect axonal transport and cause axonal degeneration. In an accompanying co......ntists found that importin beta is produced in the axons upon injury. It then binds to importing alpha, which is normally present in axons, and to proteins that contain the "healing message" (which still have to be identified). The whole group fastens itself to an "engine" called dynein that chugs along "t...Key advance reported in regenerating nerve fibers
...ith other nerve cells or with muscles. One reason axons can't regenerate has been known for about 15 years... rats, then used a two-pronged approach to get the axons to regenerate. To gas up the sluggish nerve cells, Dr. Dietmar Fischer, first author of the study, ...Stem cells found in adults may repair nerves
.... In other words, we're looking at ways to get the axons out of the mud. One way is to make the mud less st...ate in scar formation. Another is to stimulate the axons to push through the scar by providing the cut nerves with molecules that induce elongation. We're u...Scientist works to interrupt early changes resulting in diabetic vision loss
... cells found in the inner part of the retina. "The axons of these cells join to form the optic nerve, which then goes to the brain and delivers a visual image," she says. While the idea that these cells might be affected by diabetes is not new, its acceptance is. Evidence is mounting that transporters, wh...OHSU researchers discover possible connection between infant hormone exposure, obesity
...Specifically, they noted diminished development of axons from ARH neurons in the leptin-deficient mice. Axons are considered the "arms" of a brain cell, acting as the pathways for cell communication. To further test the theory that leptin plays an important role in brain development, Sebastien Bouret, Ph.D...Common cold virus can cause polio in mice when injected into muscles
...al nervous system along "motor neuron axons." Such axons extend from the central nervous system to muscles ... for muscle movement. The site in the muscle where axons physically attach is called a neuromuscular junction. These junctions likely served as the cold viru...