Brain | Page 701 | Science Codex

Cell transplants may be a novel treatment for schizophrenia

SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 9, 2013) — Research from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio suggests the exciting possibility of using cell transplants to treat schizophrenia.

Cells called "interneurons" inhibit activity within brain regions, but this braking or governing function is impaired in schizophrenia. Consequently, a group of nerve cells called the dopamine system go into overdrive. Different branches of the dopamine system are involved in cognition, movement and emotions.

Combined treatment shows a better curative effect on spinal cord contusion

Following spinal cord injury, astrocyte proliferation and scar formation are the main factors inhibiting the regeneration and growth of spinal cord axons, leading to motor and sensory function loss below the level of spinal cord injury. Cell transplantation, bioengineering technology, drugs and other methods can reduce voids of injured spinal cord and suppress glial scar formation, but clinical application results show these methods used alone have no obvious effects.

Capturing brain activity with sculpted light

This news release is available in German.

A major aim of today's neuroscience is to understand how an organism's nervous system processes sensory input and generates behavior. To achieve this goal, scientists must obtain detailed maps of how the nerve cells are wired up in the brain, as well as information on how these networks interact in real time.

MRI spectroscopy is highly sensitive for lipid-soluble metabolites from UC-MSCs

The water-soluble metabolite profile of human mesenchymal stem cells is known, but the lipid profile remains unclear. Haiyang Dai and colleagues from Shantou University Medical College used methanol-chloroform and perchloric acid to extract lipid-soluble metabolites and water-soluble metabolites, respectively. Furthermore, a dual phase extraction method using methanol-chloroform and water was used to obtain both water and lipid fractions simultaneously.

Role of autophagic and lysosomal pathways in ischemic brain injury

Previous studies by Shaohua Gu and team from Shanghai Pudong New Area Zhoupu Hospital showed that rapamycin-induced autophagy decreased the rate of apoptosis, but the rate of apoptosis was increased after the autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine, was used, indicating autophagy may be involved in mediating neuronal death in cerebral ischemia.

Fruit flies demonstrate that diet experience can alter taste preferences, USCB study shows

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — If you've ever wondered how you learn to like a food you dislike, a new study conducted by UC Santa Barbara's Craig Montell, Duggan Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, may offer an answer. The work addresses a central question in neurobiology — how experience can alter animal behavior. The research, just published in Nature Neuroscience, was conducted by Montell's team, which includes lead author Yali Zhang, Rakesh Raghuwanshi, and Wei Shen.

Report calls on policy makers to make happiness a key measure and target of development

As heads of state get ready for the United Nations General Assembly in two weeks, the second World Happiness Report further strengthens the case that well-being is a critical component of economic and social development. The report is published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), under the auspices of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and was launched at an international workshop on September 8. The World Happiness Report 2013 will be available at http://unsdsn.org/.

Explaining why so many cases of cardiac arrest strike in the morning

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 8, 2013 — Evidence from people with heart disease strongly supports the existence of the molecular link first discovered in laboratory mice between the body's natural circadian rhythms and cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death (SCD) — the No. 1 cause of death in heart attacks, a scientist said here today.

Study suggests fish oil could help protect alcohol abusers from dementia

MAYWOOD, Il. – A Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study suggests that omega-3 fish oil might help protect against alcohol-related dementia.

Previous studies have shown that long-term alcohol abuse increases the risk of dementia. The Loyola study found that in the brain cells of rats exposed to high levels of alcohol, a fish oil compound protected against inflammation and cell death.

The study by Michael A. Collins, PhD, and colleagues was reported Sept. 8 at the 14th Congress of the European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism in Warsaw.

Scene gist: The role of scene context on object processing

Researchers from the University of Trento replicated 'scene-context' effect in two experiments by showing that participants identified pictures of objects more accurately when presented in a consistent scene background (a barbecue in a garden) compared to when presented in an inconsistent scene background (barbecue in a living room).

Using digital SLRs to measure the height of Northern Lights

Scientific research doesn't often start from outreach projects. Yet, Ryuho Kataoka from the National Institute of Polar Research in Tokyo, Japan, came up with an idea for a new method to measure the height of aurora borealis after working on a 3D movie for a planetarium. Kataoka and collaborators used two digital single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras set 8 km apart to capture 3D images of Northern Lights and determine the altitude where electrons in the atmosphere emit the light that produces aurora.

Salk scientists and colleagues discover important mechanism underlying Alzheimer's disease

LA JOLLA, CA—Alzheimer's disease affects more than 26 million people worldwide. It is predicted to skyrocket as boomers age—nearly 106 million people are projected to have the disease by 2050. Fortunately, scientists are making progress towards therapies. A collaboration among several research entities, including the Salk Institute and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, has defined a key mechanism behind the disease's progress, giving hope that a newly modified Alzheimer's drug will be effective.

Why can Shuyusan treat corticosterone-induced impairment?

Synthetic antidepressants present a narrow spectrum and side effects following long-term application. Recently, medical practitioners have shown interest in the use of Chinese medicines for the treatment of diseases and in the adjustment of the human response to stress. Liping Chen and colleagues from Hainan Branch of Chinese PLA General Hospital have found in their preliminary studies that the Chinese herb Shuyusan, whose main constituent is jasminoidin, has been shown to protect SH-SY5Y cells against corticosterone-induced damage.

Hydrolyzed or non-hydrolyzed collagen: which one is suitable for nerve cell culture?

In the central nervous system, nerve cells adhere to the extracellular matrix. Type I collagen is the major class of insoluble fibrous proteins in the extracellular matrix. A previous study has shown that neural stem and progenitor cells, cultured on collagen matrices, are able to expand actively and generate neurons. Collagens can be classified into hydrolyzed and non-hydrolyzed collagens, or two-dimensional and three-dimensional collagens. Which form of collagen is suitable for nerve cell culture? Dr.

Basic fibroblast growth factor protects injured spinal cord motor endplates

In current studies, the degeneration and protection measures in the distal end of the injured spinal cord and target organ muscle effector have scarcely been investigated. The distal end of the spinal cord and neuromuscular junction may develop secondary degenera-tion and damage following spinal cord injury because of the loss of neural connections. The effect of basic fibroblast growth factor on motor neurons in the anterior horn of the injured spinal cord, and on the number of neuromuscular junctions in target organs, remains elusive.