NIH funds study of ultrasound with genetics to treat brain disorders

Researchers have developed methods to study and manipulate areas of the brain, though many of those methods are restricted by the limited depth that light can reach within the brain. A multidisciplinary team at Washington University in St. Louis plans to overcome that limitation by integrating ultrasound with genetics to precisely modify neurons in the brain.

Mount Sinai Launches Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Institute, including three new centers, will lead research to foster novel discoveries and explore new treatments for a range of diseases from leukemia to Alzheimer’s disease.

Tufts University Researchers Discover New Function Performed by Nearly Half of Brain Cells

Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine have discovered a previously unknown function performed by a type of cell that comprises nearly half of all cells in the brain.

The scientists say this discovery in mice of a new function by cells known as astrocytes opens a whole new direction for neuroscience research that might one day lead to treatments for many disorders ranging from epilepsy to Alzheimer’s to traumatic brain injury.

What’s It All About? Alfy and Aggregates: A Free Webinar from the Hereditary Disease Foundation

The Hereditary Disease Foundation is hosting a free webinar “What’s It All About? Alfy and Aggregates” on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, from 12pm to 1pm ET. Dr. Ai Yamamoto, associate professor in the departments of Neurology and of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and recipient of the 2020 Leslie Gehry Brenner Prize for Innovation in Science, will be the keynote speaker.

New study provides insights into architecture of abnormal protein deposits in brain disorders

Scientists at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have determined the structure of protein “fibrils” linked to Lou Gehrig’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders—findings that provide clues to how toxic proteins clump and spread between nerve cells in the brain.

Dopamine Surge Reveals How Even for Mice, ‘There’s No Place Like Home’

“There’s no place like home,” has its roots deep in the brain. Using fiber photometry, scientists are the first to show that home evokes a surge of dopamine in mice that mimics the response to a dose of cocaine. The study demonstrates how dopamine rises rapidly in mice moved from a simple recording chamber to their home cage, but less so when they return to a cage not quite like the one they knew.