The brains of people under anesthesia respond to stimuli as they do in the deepest part of sleep — lending credence to a developing theory of consciousness and suggesting a new method to assess loss of consciousness in conditions such as coma.
The compound 7,8-dihydroxyflavone mimics BDNF, one of the brain’s own growth factors, and can protect brain cells against damage in animal models of seizure, stroke and Parkinson’s disease. 7,8-dihydroxyflavone is a member of a family of antioxidant…
Caltech biologist David Anderson and his colleagues identify a brain chemical involved in promoting aggression in fliesRecently, biologist David Anderson set out to learn whether flies, like bees, can get angry–part of a broader effort to study how an…
Draw a map of the brain when fear and anxiety are involved, and the amygdala looms large. But scientists have now extended the brain’s fear map to include the prelimbic cortex. Researchers found that mice lacking a critical growth factor in the prel…
An anti-inflammatory drug that keeps brain cells coming could be the key to treating some kinds of stress and depression
Mature mouse tissue has been transformed directly into working brain cells, an advance that could lead to treatments for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease
Image 1: The red objects are former mouse embryonic fibroblasts to which three genes have been applied, prompting them to turn from skin cells into neurons. Credit: Tommy VierbuchenImage 2: This image shows neurons in culture growing on top of mouse em…
A new brain-based computational model is helping to understand how Parkinson’s disease and dopamine medications — used to treat motor symptoms caused by the disease — can affect learning and attention.
HIV infection or the treatments used to control it are prematurely aging the brain, researchers have found. Blood flow in the brains of HIV patients is reduced to levels normally seen in uninfected patients 15 to 20 years older.
The structure of a protein that helps relay electrical pulses between neurons has been fully mapped using the Advanced Light Source. This much-anticipated milestone could lead to new treatments for neurological diseases and a better understanding of…