A willowy pair of pyramidal cells engage in an intricate dance with a dense mass of basket cells on the cover of the September 14, 2011 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. This exquisite image illustrates recent work by Columbia University researchers Dr. Adam M. Packer and Dr. Rafael Yuste, who used Neurolucida to study circuit connectivity in the mammalian neocortex. According to the paper "Successfully filled...
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Helmet, neck roll, shoulder pads, thigh pads, knee pads, mouth guard...
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No two trees are exactly alike, in the forest or in the brain. Though despite the diversity of dendritic arborizations, when it comes to branching out different types of neurons do have a couple things in common, say researchers at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Okazaki, Japan. Led by longtime MBF Bioscience customer Dr. Yoshiyuki Kubota, the research team identified two organizational principles common...
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Journeying along axons, microscopic powerhouses known as mitochondria provide cells with the energy they need to function. When something goes wrong with the axonal transport and mitochondria isn't delivered, the system fails, and the cell body dies. Scientists in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis study the cellular bases of neurological disorders. Their recent research focuses...
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Long before a newborn baby takes its first breath, oxygen plays an integral role in its development. Oxygen-rich blood fed through the placenta facilitates the growth of a healthy fetus, powering cells to form organs and biological systems so that a healthy human emerges after nine months in utero. However, when a fetus doesn't receive enough oxygen, birth defects such as cerebral palsy can occur. Scientists...
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A stroke can leave its victim mentally and physically devastated. Recovery is demanding, and takes drive and determination. If the patient doesn't receive medical attention within the small, critical window of time after the stroke occurs, chances of a quick recovery are slim. Developments in stem cell research find doctors optimistic about new possibilities for stroke rehabilitation. Scientists at the Stanford Stroke Center, one of the...
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When Pavlov's dogs started salivating in response to a ringing bell, something happened in their brains—a memory was encoded. Over a century later scientists are still figuring out how memories are physically represented in the brain. One lingering question has been whether or not the same set of neurons is activated when a particular memory is formed. Researchers at the Johnson Lab at the Uniformed...
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During pregnancy, the uterus grows to accommodate the increasing size of the fetus within. Makes sense. But what is it exactly that compels the uterus to get bigger? If you said pregnancy hormones, you're right. And if you said the growing fetus, stretching the uterine walls, you're right too. Researchers attribute the growth of the uterus during pregnancy to both hormones and mechanical stretch (the fetus...
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What would you do with a neuron if you could activate its synapses in any combination you wanted? Tiago Branco, Beverley A. Clark and Michael Hauser created a chance to do just that (Branco, 2010). The authors, using in-vitro brain slices containing layer II/III pyramidal cells in visual or somatosensory cortex of rats, were able to excite identified spines in any order and with whatever...
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You could have the best hearing aids on the market, but if there is damage to the central auditory system, you're still not going to hear. Comprised of a sophisticated network that includes the auditory cortex and the inferior colliculi, the central auditory system is the part of the brain responsible for processing sound. Scientists at the Instituto de Neurociencias de Castilla y León and...
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