Scientists identify specific genes in the brain affected by fragile X syndrome
...t research illuminates what might be going on in a neuron that could lead to mental retardation besides the ...hat some of these proteins affect the ability of a neuron to form a connection with another neuron. We hope the novel proteins we have identified will lead t...Pictures reveal how nerve cells form connections to store short- and long-term memories in brain
...uency burst of electricity to a specific area of a neuron on a silicon chip by simply shining light on that ..." says Colicos. "The standard way of stimulating a neuron is to use an electrode. But as soon as you stab the cell with an electrode, it begins to die. So the...Stem cells, forged into neurons, show promise for brain repair
...of cells necessary for normal brain function. "The neuron that we're seeing after transplant is almost identical to what the neuron should be in the healthy brain," says Zhang. "These are the cells that will be used, ultimately, to ......ignificant increases in DAPK preceding episodes of neuron death. There is currently a "time window of unmet need" for therapeutics following a stroke or brain injury. During this period, which can last from hours to days, neurons continue to die, adding significantly to the initial damage. The timing of DA...Protein protects against degeneration of neurons in fruit flies
...duced similar pathological effects of dopaminergic neuron loss, by engineering a -synuclein over-production in flies. In previous studies, Bonini and her colleagues had shown that the Hsp70 chaperone protected against neurotoxicity in a Drosophila model of a neurodegenerative disorder in which pathogenic...Hebrew University and Ben-Gurion researchers find that stress causes shift in gene products
...elps control signaling across synapses between one neuron and another, produces a normally rare mRNA followi...ould be able to normally transmit signals from one neuron to another. As these impulses can be detected as electrical activity in the brain, at BGU Dr. Alon F...Research may lead to jump-starting damaged nerve cells
...eases, the electrical properties of the developing neuron change. Dryer found that once a certain density of ion channels in the embryonic nerve cell are in place, the cell exhibits mature electrical behavior, functioning with the specialized electrical patterns needed to do what its supposed to do, he say...... entire molecular pathway by which a population of neuron cells in the brains of developing fruit flies comm...f proteins that relay a message of survival from a neuron to a glial cell in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The surviving glial cells are required for...Stanford researchers home in on Huntington's disease treatment
...t of the neuron," Steinman said. "This allows the neuron to survive, which is important since mammalian brains are bad at regenerating neurons." Though these findings suggest that cystamine could someday offer hope to patients with Huntington's disease, the quest for other potentially better compoun...Johns Hopkins scientists find brain's nose plug
... opens when an odor is presented and closes as the neuron becomes desensitized to that smell. By measuring the signals from these odor receptor cells in genetically engineered mice, Reed and his colleagues showed that mice lacking CNGA4 can't adapt to odors. Other scientists studied the molecule's behavi...Scientists prove mature adult cells can be cloned
...pment or cancer. "You may be able to take a single neuron and make a cloned mouse with it. All the cells in the resulting mouse will be genetically identical to the original donor cell. The cloning technique amplifies what happens in a single cell into a whole animal. If changes in a cell are reversibleepig...'Wishful thinking' gene regulates neural development
...hat is, the transmitting "presynaptic" side on the neuron and the receiving "postsynaptic" side on the muscl...naptic "boutons" -- the small bulbs from which the neuron sends signals to the muscle cell. O'Connor and his colleagues also began to trace how the receptors...Neural stem cells move to damaged areas of brain after injury
...elopment between a stem cell and a fully developed neuron to multiply and form neural chains that migrated across the brain to the site of injury. Whats fascinating is that neuroblasts responded similarly to both types of brain injury, says Parent. Theres some cue in common that activates their development...Worm neuron research may lead to powerful model for Parkinson's study
...pamine transporter expression and trigger dopamine neuron cell death. Although rare genetic forms of PD h...e been identified, the molecular basis of dopamine neuron vulnerability and cell death in the majority of PD cases is poorly understood. Some theories on the ...Brain's cleaning crew may aid learning, memory formation
...s in glutamate transporters may be responsible for neuron damage and death associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gherigs disease. Eskins research is funded by the National Institutes of Health....Enzyme once thought harmful to Alzheimers patients now appears key to future treatment
...h as epilepsy. When a nerve is cut or injured, the neuron produces extra galanin, possibly to repair or modulate the damage. The production of galanin may be one way that the body tries to repair nerve damage. Unfortunately, accepted literature states when the onset of AD occurs, galanin hyperinnervation (...Scientists enhance fruit fly memory using mouse protein: New clue to fundamental brain mechanism
...en brain neurons, called synapses. A typical brain neuron makes thousands of synapses with other neurons. However, only a subset of those synapses is involved in a particular memory or learned skill. Neuroscientists are interested in determining how molecules that strengthen synapses are targeted to some s...Fly brains provide new insights into the growth and development of human nerve cells
... neurons. For the brain to be wired properly, each neuron must grow, bend and branch in a specific location ...ur in discrete steps. During the growth phase, the neuron sends out an axon, which conducts messages away from the cell, and several dendrites, which carry im...Study identifies new protein on neurons that may be useful as survival/growth factor
...he surface of neurons that appears to promote both neuron development and protection. The finding is a first step in defining the role of CD40 in the brain at different stages of life and evaluating its usefulness in helping neurons survive. The study is published in the latest March issue of the journal Eu...Studies of genes in mice and common worm may accelerate research on blood diseases, cancers
...ation resulted in a failure of the worm to develop neuron cells controlling forward and backward mobility. Worms with the mutated pag-3 do not move well, Cameron said. The worms uniform genetic patterns from egg to mature adult provide clues to uncovering the counterpart but more complex genetic patterns in...