Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Researchers have created a new technique that can rapidly “print’ two-dimensional arrays of cells and proteins that mimic a variety of cellular environments in the body.
 

People who develop Parkinson’s disease before age 50 may have been born with disordered brain cells that went undetected for decades, according to new research. The research points to a drug that potentially might help correct these disease processes.

A new substance named Lu AF60097 may help reduce side effects from tricyclic antidepressants in those with severe depression.

Researchers have uncovered a key role of medial prefrontal cortex corticotropin-releasing factor interneurons for bidirectionally controlling motivated behavioral styles under stress. The findings could help in the development of new treatments for PTSD.

MIT researchers have identified a protein fragment that may inhibit COVID-19’s ability to enter human lung cells. 

Researchers have developed a new method to record brain activity at scale. The new technique could help in the development of new neuroprosthetic devices to help amputees and those with movement restricting neurological conditions.

New research suggests that eye movements may come before hand movements in actions that require a two-step decision-making process. 

A new method to accurately record brain activity at scale has been developed by researchers. The technique could lead to new medical devices to help amputees, people with paralysis or people with neurological conditions such as motor neuron disease.

Stress, loneliness, and sleep loss can weaken the immune system, leaving people more susceptible to COVID-19.

Finally this week. using robotics, researchers have uncovered mechanisms in the cerebellum and spinal cord that determine how the nervous system responds to induced changes in step length. The findings could have implications for physical rehabilitation programs for people with movement disorders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anatomy Of A Migraine Attack #BrainAwarenessWeek

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Scientists have learned a lot in recent years about what happens in the brain to explain the throbbing pain, nausea, heightened sensitivity to light or sound felt during a migraine headache and the mysterious ‘aura’ that both doctors and scientists use to describe the telltale period, starting up to an hour before a migraine attack, when a person sees dots, wavy lines, flashing lights, blind spots or difficulty with speech, sensation, or movement.

What triggers a migraine attack? 

Although researchers don’t understand exactly what triggers migraine attacks, they do know that certain foods, lack of sleep, changes in weather, and even stress can trigger a migraine attack in 1 in 200 people.

The anatomy of a migraine attack

Neuroscientists now see migraine as firstly a disturbance in nerve function rather than a disorder of the brain’s blood vessels. It is believed that in most patients, a wave of electrical activity passing through a major nerve that collects and transmits signals to the face – the trigeminal nerve – and stimulates the release of chemicals such as CGRP and other substances that cause inflammation, makes the nerves more sensitive to pain, and causes blood vessels near the brain to expand (dilate). This nerve irritation often progresses as an electrical wave from the skin to nerves located centrally in the brain.

The key to treatment is to act quickly to stop the irritation spreading.  In fact, anti-migraine drugs can offer relief only in the earlier stages of the attack, but not later, when the pain neurons in the brain have become sensitized. For this reason, patients are advised to take medication within 20 minutes of an attack and while migraine pain is still mild.

The wave that turns into a flood

A migraine attack is triggered when a wave of electrical activity that starts in the trigeminal nerve on the side of the face enters the brain and ripples across the surface of the brain. In fact, researchers have been able to demonstrate a possible link between this wave and the experience of ‘aura’ particularly as it spreads across the visual part of the brain. Several drugs used to prevent migraine attacks work by preventing this wave from spreading.

 

Notes

Migraine is a complex neurological condition that is classified by the World Health Organisation as the 7th most disabling disease worldwide, the 4th for women.

Migraine is the most common neurological condition in the world, affecting about 12 – 15% of people. It is three times more common in women than it is in men and is usually inherited. It is a very individual condition. Some people experience only one or two attacks per year while others suffer on a weekly basis. An attack can last from 4 to 72 hours.

For more information and support visit https://migraine.ie

Weekly Neuroscience Update

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A baby next to fMRI scanning images of its brain. Understanding how an infant’s brain is typically organized may help answer questions when something goes awry. The image is credited to Cory Inman.

A newborn’s brain is more adult-like than previously assumed. Neuroimaging revealed much of the visual cortex scaffolding is in place, along with patterns of brain activity at 27 days of age, although it is not quite as strong as seen in adult brains.

New research uses the mating songs of birds to show how intrinsic properties of cells are closely tied to the complex processes of learning.

People with a life-long history of antisocial behavior had decreased mean surface area of the brain and lower mean cortical thickness than those with no history of antisocial behavior. Much of the cortical thinning was in areas associated with emotional regulation, motivation, and goal-directed behavior.

Two separate studies display the fascinating relations between AI and neuroscience.

Low-intensity exercise triggers brain networks associated with cognitive control and attention processing, while high-intensity exercise activates networks involved in emotional processing.

Following a stroke, dysfunction in the glymphatic system causes cerebrospinal fluid to flood the brain, drowning neurons, and triggering cerebral edema.

An unexpected research finding is providing new information that could lead to new treatments of certain neurological diseases and disorders, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and spinal cord injury.

Male patients on the autism spectrum who were given oxytocin for four weeks experienced improvements in social attachment behaviors for up to 12 months.

Finally this week, new brain networks come ‘online’ during adolescence, allowing teenagers to develop more complex adult social skills, but potentially putting them at increased risk of mental illness, according to new research.

Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Researchers have developed a new method of measuring axons using MRI neuroimaging.

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) appear to suffer malfunctions in a cell that produces a special coating around nerve fibers that facilitates efficient electrical communication across the brain. 

New findings about dopaminergic neurons in the striatum could have implications for treating Parkinson’s disease and Tourette syndrome.

Researchers have found that it is possible to assess a person’s ability to feel empathy by studying their brain activity while they are resting rather than while they are engaged in specific tasks.

Boys who exhibit inattention-hyperactivity by age 10 have an increased risk for traumatic brain injury later in life.

Combining fMRI and behavioral data, researchers examined gender identity in cisgender and transgender individuals using a new machine learning algorithm. The AI identified at least nine dimensions of brain-gender variation.

New research has provided insights into why people often make unrealistic plans that are doomed to fail.

Finally this week, a new study has found that dopamine — a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in our cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning — plays a direct role in the reward experience induced by music. The findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Effect of Social Media on the Brain

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Slide-deck from presentation: The Effect of Social Media on the Brain – at the Safety and Wellbeing on CyberMedia Conference hosted by the Tipperary Children and Young People’s Services Committee. The Conference provided a forum to discuss social media and its impact on children and young people and marked International Safer Internet Day.

Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Is music really a “universal language”? Two articles in Science support the idea that music all around the globe shares important commonalities, despite many differences.

Researchers studying six adults who had one of their brain hemispheres removed during childhood to reduce epileptic seizures found that the remaining half of the brain formed unusually strong connections between different functional brain networks, which potentially help the body to function as if the brain were intact. 

Excessive exposure to certain antibiotics can predispose a person to Parkinson’s disease, with a delay of onset of up to 15 years.

Findings debunk the common theory that attention is the only cognitive function affected by sleep deprivation. Lack of sleep also hinders a person’s ability to complete activities that require following multiple steps.

A new study reveals how the insular cortex helps assess and predict physiological states of the body. The findings shed light on the neural basis for interoception.

Finally this week, neuroscientists have discovered how the listening brain scans speech to break it down into syllables. The findings provide for the first time a neural basis for the fundamental atoms of language and insights into our perception of the rhythmic poetry of speech. 

Weekly Neuroscience Update

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A holographic image of the human brain. The image is credited to Case Western Reserve.

Researchers have used the HoloLense software to create an interactive holographic mapping system for axonal pathways in the human brain.

Does Parkinson’s disease (PD) start in the brain or the gut? In a new contribution published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, scientists hypothesize that PD can be divided into two subtypes: gut-first, originating in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) of the gut and spreading to the brain; and brain-first, originating in the brain, or entering the brain via the olfactory system, and spreading to the brainstem and peripheral nervous system.

In the largest study of its kind, researchers identified similarities in the brain activity of people with major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders.

A new theory, inspired by thermodynamics, takes a high-level perspective of how neural networks in the brain transiently organize to give rise to memories, thought and consciousness.

For the first time, researchers have extracted and isolated amyloid beta (Aβ) fibrils from the brains of three people who had died of Alzheimer’s disease.

A new study has revelled that deep sleep restores the medial prefrontal cortex mechanisms that restore emotion. This lowers emotional and physiological reactivity, preventing the escalation of stress and anxiety.

The largest brain imaging study of its kind may have found the reason why people with anxiety and mood disorders so often feel unable to escape negative thoughts and emotions.

Finally this week, researchers have now developed a novel computational approach to accelerate finding optimal stimuli, by building deep artificial neural networks that can accurately predict the neural responses produced by a biological brain to arbitrary visual stimuli.

Weekly Neuroscience Update

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This image shows the developing brain visualized with fluorescence laser scanning microscopy. It illustrates the neurons (blue) and growing axons (red and green). Image INc-UAB.

Researchers have identified a new cell mechanism that connects Alzheimer’s disease and cancers.

The human brain can recognise a familiar song within 100 to 300 milliseconds, highlighting the deep hold favourite tunes have on our memory, a UCL study finds.

A new method allows researchers to detect serotonin at extremely low concentrations in serum.

New research shows for the first time that patients with mood and anxiety disorders share the same abnormalities in regions of the brain involved in emotional and cognitive control. The findings hold promise for the development of new treatments targeting these regions of the brain in patients with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and anxiety disorders.

Artificial intelligence is helping shed light on how people’s brains, bodies, and emotions react to listening to music. 

Researchers have identified a set of neurons, located in a region of the hypothalamus, that may be the switch that turns the brain off, allowing for sleep. The neurons are also tied to body temperature regulation.

According to new research, musical intervention can help to improve mood and decrease agitation in those with dementia.

Performance on two quick tests ― a cognitive screen and an olfactory test ― may rule out future dementia, including Alzheimer disease (AD), for patients with mild memory problems, results of a large follow-up study show.

Features of the functional connectome are present in the fetal brain during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

Finally this week, a new study reveals how acetate, a byproduct of alcohol breakdown, travels to the brain’s learning system and alters proteins that regulate DNA function.

Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Oxford University researchers have discovered that learned knowledge is stored in different brain circuits depending on how we acquire it.

Neuroscientists say they have identified how people can have a “crash in visual processing” — a bottleneck of feedforward and feedback signals that can cause us not to be consciously aware of stimuli that our brain recognized.

A new study shows that an innovative strategy for treating Parkinson’s disease has proven successful in neurons that derive from people living with the condition.

A new study reveals the gut has a much more direct connection to the brain through a neural circuit that allows it to transmit signals in mere seconds. The findings could lead to new treatments for obesity, eating disorders, and even depression and autism—all of which have been linked to a malfunctioning gut.

New research shows musical improvisation improves cognitive flexibility and increases inhibitory control.

A UCLA-led study has found that MRI scans can help doctors distinguish whether a person’s memory loss is being caused by Alzheimer’s disease or by traumatic brain injury.

A new study suggests a longer duration of estrogen exposure hormone therapy was associated with better cognition in older adult women.