Researchers visualize memory formation for the first time in zebrafish
In our interaction with our environment we constantly refer to past experiences stored as memories to guide behavioral decisions. But how memories are formed, stored and then retrieved to assist...
View ArticleNeurochemical traffic signals may open new avenues for the treatment of...
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have uncovered important clues about a biochemical pathway in the brain that may one day expand treatment options for schizophrenia. The...
View ArticleResearchers discover two-step mechanism of inner ear tip link regrowth
A team of NIH-supported researchers is the first to show, in mice, an unexpected two-step process that happens during the growth and regeneration of inner ear tip links. Tip links are extracellular...
View ArticleResearchers find key to blood-clotting process
Researchers, including Professor Alastair Poole and Dr Matthew Harper from the University of Bristol's School of Physiology and Pharmacology, have uncovered a key process in understanding how blood...
View ArticleVisualizing a memory trace
In mammals, a neural pathway called the cortico-basal ganglia circuit is thought to play an important role in the choice of behaviors. However, where and how behavioral programs are written, stored and...
View ArticleUltrasensitive calcium sensors shine new light on neuron activity
Every time you say a word, take a step, or read a sentence, a collection of neurons sends a speedy relay of messages throughout your brain to process the information. Now, researchers have a new way of...
View ArticleA faster vessel for charting the brain
Princeton University researchers have created "souped up" versions of the calcium-sensitive proteins that for the past decade or so have given scientists an unparalleled view and understanding of...
View ArticleAmplifying communication between neurons
Neurons send signals to each other across small junctions called synapses. Some of these signals involve the flow of potassium, calcium and sodium ions through channel proteins that are embedded within...
View ArticleRole of calcium in familial Alzheimer's disease clarified, pointing to new...
In 2008 researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania showed that mutations in two proteins associated with familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) disrupt the flow of...
View ArticleProtective proteins reduce damage to blood vessels
Researchers have uncovered how proteins found in our blood can reduce damage caused to blood vessels as we age, and in conditions such as atherosclerosis and arthritis.
View ArticleScientists cast light on the brain's social cells
Picture yourself hovering over an alien city with billions of blinking lights of thousands of types, with the task of figuring out which ones are connected, which way the electricity flows and how that...
View ArticleMechanism behind age-dependent diabetes discovered
Ageing of insulin-secreting cells is coupled to a progressive decline in signal transduction and insulin release, according to a recent study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The...
View ArticleScientists pioneer microscopy technique that yields fresh data on muscular...
Scientists at USC have developed a new microscopy technology that allows them to view single molecules in living animals at higher-than-ever resolution.
View ArticleA mechanism that alters the regulation of calcium in cells could be involved...
The calcium ion Ca2+ regulates an enormous number of cellular processes. Control of Ca2+ is therefore crucial and is achieved by precise regulation of proteins that allow the ion to move between...
View ArticleReadying the neural network
Synapse, the name for the signal-receiving site on a neuron, comes from the Greek word for contact. Neuroscientists used to maintain that neurons form one-to-one relationship to contact one another....
View ArticleThe ryanodine receptor—calcium channel in muscle cells
Whenever muscles contract, so-called ryanodine receptors come into play. Calcium ions, which are ultimately responsible for the contraction of muscle cells, are released from storage organs and flow...
View Article'Radiogenetics' seeks to remotely control cells and genes
It's the most basic of ways to find out what something does, whether it's an unmarked circuit breaker or an unidentified gene—flip its switch and see what happens. New remote-control technology may...
View ArticleHere's how the prion protein protects us
The cellular prion protein (PrPC) has the ability to protect the brain's neurons. Although scientists have known about this protective physiological function for some time, they were lacking detailed...
View ArticleTackling neurotransmission precision
Behind all motor, sensory and memory functions, calcium ions are in the brain, making those functions possible. Yet neuroscientists do not entirely understand how fast calcium ions reach their targets...
View ArticleMuscle weakness studies suggest possible therapeutic strategies
A recently published study by a University of Colorado School of Medicine researcher and her colleagues suggests potential therapies for central core disease, a condition that can delay development of...
View Article