Stopping a receptor called 'nogo' boosts the synapses
New findings about a protein called the nogo receptor are offering fresh ways to think about keeping the brain sharp. Scientists have found that reducing the nogo receptor in the brain results in stronger brain signaling in mice, effectively boosting signal strength between the synapses, the co...Novel Protein, Staufen2 Important In Maintenance Of Nerve Synapses
Researchers from Max Plank Institute of Developmental Biology have uncovered some of the molecular mysteries associated with synaptic connections between the neurons, that represent the structural and functional unit of the brain. // In simple terms, the junction between two neurons is refer...Memory test and PET scans detect early signs of Alzheimer's
...rain scans. A low rate of glucose metabolism in a particular brain region is considered a sign of poor neural function, most likely due to the loss of synapses in that area. "What's really novel about our study is that we evaluated all of these biomarkers in the same subjects, so we could more easily compa...Dynamic molecular mechanism to keep brain activity stable
... of neurons. In contrast, DHHC2 are located mainly in dendrites of neurons. Dendritically localized DHHC2 mediates dynamic palmitoylation of PSD-95 at synapses upon extracellular signals. When synaptic activity decreases, DHHC2 translocates to the synaptic site to facilitate palmitoylation of synaptic protein...Science Zeroes In on New Alzheimer's Drug Target
... much poorer at learning than unaffected littermates, mice engineered to lack HDAC2 learned better. At the cellular level, overexpressors had fewer synapses and dendritic spines -- that is, fewer connections from one neuron to another -- and less synaptic plasticity overall. On the other hand, mice without...UCSF, Stanford Study Reveals Neural Networks Targeted in Brain Diseases
...roteins, which result in neuritic plaque and neurofibrillary tangle formation in medial temporal memory structures. In all neurodegenerative diseases, synapses between nerve cells falter, and damage spreads to new regions, accompanied by worsening clinical deficits. In most cases, however, scientists have...Brain Cells Give New Clues to Alzheimer's
...uncovering a mechanism that causes damage to brain synapses during Alzheimer's disease, researchers might have...hen mitochondria break apart, the reaction damages synapses leading to nerve cell death. As brain synapses are vital for learning and memory, any damage or m...CSHL neuroscientists propose project to comprehensively map mammalian brain circuits
...iption of the overall wiring diagram. Some scientists have argued that it would be best to map mouse brain structure at the micro-level of individual synapses the myriad gaps across which individual neurons communicate, with the help of neurotransmitters and modulators such as glutamate, GABA, acetylcholine...Scientists Capture HIV Transfer Among T-Cells on Video
...ogy discovered that HIV moves between T-cells through structures called virological synapses. "Direct T-cell-to-T-cell transfer through virological synapses is a highly efficient avenue of HIV infection. Our recent experiments show that the viral structural protein moves with surprising speed in infected c...Stress may cause the brain to become disconnected
... depression and PTSD, stress-related reductions in synapses in the hippocampus are directly related to the eme... findings is derived from the well-known fact that synapses have a great potential for rapid changes, which ma...importantly, it is feasible to restore hippocampal synapses in a very short period of time (hours or even minu...VIRxSYS to Host a Web Conference to Announce Clinical Trial Update
...adhesion molecule known as integrin alpha 4 beta 7 that is found to direct CD4 T cell traffic to GALT and enhance cellular interaction through forming synapses between T cells. This was interesting and welcome news for VIRxSYS because VRX-496 transduced CD4 T cells have a high expression of the same receptors...Micromet Shows Feasibility of Subcutaneous Delivery of BiTE Antibody in Preclinical Primate Study
... induce an immunological synapse between a T cell and a tumor cell in the same manner as observed during physiological T cell attacks. These cytolytic synapses enable the delivery of cytotoxic proteins from T cells into tumor cells, ultimately inducing a self-destruction process in the tumor cell referred to ...Depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition
... 1;19(11):4544-58. Kreitzer AC, Regehr WG. (2001a). Retrograde inhibition of presynaptic calcium influx by endogenous cannabinoids at excitatory synapses onto Purkinje cells. Neuron. 29(3):717-27 Kreitzer AC, Regehr WG. (2001b) Cerebellar depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition is mediate...Scientists capture the first image of memories being made
...o needs to be highly flexible. For this reason, research has focused on synapses which are the main site of exchange and storage in the brain. They form a v...that meet at the synapse. Thus highly regulated local translation occurs at synapses during long-term plasticity and requires trans-synaptic signals." Long-...UC Davis researchers visualize formation of a new synapse
... one of the first molecules to be recruited to new synapses and that it also acts as Velcro to strengthen thos... to directly visualize the process. That's because synapses are less than 1 micron wide 100 times narrower t...rites (the branched projections of neurons) before synapses form and can accumulate very soon after contact be...Protein regulates movement of mitochondria in brain cells
...lar structure that consist of a main cell body and dendrites and axons that project out from the cell core and transmit signals to adjoining cells via synapses at their terminus. "Neurons are at a disadvantage in terms of their anatomy," said Rempe. "They put out enormous arms of axons and dendrites and ...Protein linked to mental retardation controls synapse maturation, plasticity, CSHL team finds
...ude from a neuron's branch-like dendrites, typically receive signals across synapses from the axons of other neurons. Those spines were found to be abnormally ...1 protein was found to play a key role in both the maturation of excitatory synapses and in their plasticity, or ability to vary in strength. Two things are ...Capturing the birth of a synapse
...locking mechanism that allows some neurons to form synapses to pass along essential information. Mutations of ... linked to autism in the last decade. "Chemical synapses are the primary means for transmitting information...f the nervous system, and formation of appropriate synapses is crucial for establishing neuronal circuits that...Protein identified as critical to insulating the body's wiring could also become treatment target
...nd inhibition of brain cells. Their studies published in Neuron in 2007 showed neuregulin-1 and ErbB4, promote inhibition at the site of inhibitory synapses in the brain by increasing release of GABA, a major inhibitory neurotransmitter. In 2000, the researchers showed the pair also are at excitatory sy...Computer simulations explain the limitations of working memory
...r their project, the researchers used techniques from different scientific fields, applying them to previously known data on how nerve cells and their synapses function biochemically and electrophysiologically. They then developed, using mathematical tools, a form of virtual or computer simulated model brain....Lehigh researcher awarded $1.8 million NIH grant
...ger says that current prosthetic devices don't take into account any such feedback. "We're investigating basic principles of brain physiology how synapses and neural circuits function as well as how they are regulated," says Burger. "But without a long history of this kind of research, devices like cochl...Independent Study Corroborates Prana's Strategy to Treat Alzheimer's Disease Patients.
...Abeta and brain metals, such as zinc, that damages synapses and cause cognitive loss. The study, publis... Neuroscience showed that the release of zinc from synapses is critical for Abeta to form oligomers and to agg..., targets a toxic form of the Abeta protein in the synapses of the brain by inhibiting the interaction between...Revealing the regulating mechanism behind signal transduction in the brain
...housand Belgians. In this particular syndrome, the synapses are not well-formed. So, it is no surprise that FM...at complexes of FMRP and CYFIP1 are located at the synapses and together suppress the local production of a nu... Napoli and Bagni are shedding a bit more light on synapses in the brain − giving us more insight into l...JCI table of contents: Dec. 3, 2007
...ntinual gentle handling) of 24 hours in mice, long-term potentiation of the synapses between hypocretin/orexin neurons was detected. The authors therefore sugge...nsin, Madison, suggest that This increase in [long-term potentiation of the synapses between hypocretin/orexin neurons] may be one of the mechanisms that help u...