The loss of cholinergic neurons is one of the earliest pathological events of Alzheimer’s disease. Cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain supply the cerebral cortex with acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter that plays a role in learning, memory, and attention. Details about the function and organization of basal forebrain (BF) neurons are not well understood, but Dr. Laszlo Zaborszky has recently uncovered new information about the...
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Gaunt facial features and a frighteningly thin figure are physical hallmarks of anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder that predominantly affects adolescent girls. But in addition to extreme weight loss, changes take place that aren't as visually apparent. For the first time, scientists in New York have found evidence of brain plasticity in the activity-based anorexia (ABA) mouse model. Led by Dr. Chiye Aoki of New York...
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Humans and gorillas are approximately 98% identical on a genetic level, however there is little published research exploring Alzheimer's disease pathology in gorillas. A new paper reports that gorillas display similarities in advanced age to humans ̶ including the presence of Alzheimer's disease precursors like amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques and tau lesions. The study, published in the Journal of Comparative Neurology, provides evidence of Alzheimer's disease precursors in the western...
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Scientists hypothesize that during puberty, experiences influence brain development in ways that shape brain structure and even behavior in adulthood. One type of experience that often arises in the minds of pubescent teens and adolescents is sex. But a study published in the journal Hormones and Behavior suggests engaging in sexual activity too soon could be detrimental to the adult brain, and may lead to...
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A new optical clearing agent developed by scientists in Japan clears brain tissue samples with greater transparency and less time than other clearing agents, according to a paper published in Nature Neuroscience. “Combined with two-photon microscopy, SeeDB allowed us to image fixed mouse brains at the millimeter-scale level,” say the authors, who after clearing the brain tissue with SeeDB, captured images with a multiphoton Olympus microscope,...
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Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found that formoterol ̶ an FDA-approved drug for treating asthma and similar respiratory disorders ̶ improves cognitive function in mice genetically altered to exhibit symptoms of Down syndrome including cognitive disability. Formoterol was chosen for the study because it activates β2 adrenergic receptors (β2ARs) on neurons, a task also carried out by norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter with a...
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In spring, days grow long, and the white-footed mouse looks for a mate. For some mammals, day length prompts behaviors like breeding or camouflaging, and scientists say it's not just the arc of the sun that kicks off these seasonal events; substances in the brain also play a part. One important element is melatonin, a hormone that the mammalian brain secretes at night. According to a...
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Drugs affect different people in different ways. Take cocaine for example. Not only does the drug have a stronger impact on the behavior of individuals with a particular genetic makeup, it also initiates more profound changes in their brains. Researchers at the University of Michigan are studying brain plasticity in cocaine-treated rats after a period of abstinence. They're studying how abstinence from the drug affects different...
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Sensory stimuli are all around us. Street traffic zooms by. A neighbor waves “hello.” A co-worker taps away at his keyboard. Each sight, sound, and motion ignite action within our brains. But even without all these stimuli, the brain is always active. Known as “spontaneous activity,” the activity happening inside the brain in the absence of direct stimuli follows a pattern of up and down states...
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Life's little pleasures often elude those suffering from depression, including rats, who show little interest in sugar water after experiencing stress. This behavior leads scientists to speculate that the illness might be characterized by a defect in the brain's neural reward circuit. Recent research focuses on a key element of this circuit – the nucleus accumbens (NAc), part of the brain region known as the ventral...
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