Lifeboat Foundation

Our ability to learn, move, and sense our world comes from the neurons in our brain. This information moves through our brain between neurons that are linked together by tens of trillions of tiny structures called synapses. Although tiny, synapses are not simple and must be precisely organized to function properly. Indeed, diseases like autism and Alzheimer’s are increasingly linked to defects in the organization and number of these tiny structures. Now researchers at Thomas Jefferson University have found a new way in which synapses organization is controlled, which could eventually lead to better treatments for neurological diseases.

Researchers who study how synapses grow and are lost have long focused on a molecule called PSD-95, which helps create and maintain the scaffolding around which a synapse is built. A new paper, publishing in Nature Neuroscience October 19th, reveals that a second protein interacts with PSD-95 and enables adaptive changes, such as changes in sensation, to be translated into changes in the synaptic scaffold, changing the amount of PSD-95 at the synapse.

“We can’t see or learn or talk without synapses working properly,” says senior author Matthew Dalva, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and the Farber Institute of Neuroscience at Jefferson and leader of the Theme Team for Synapse Biology. “We need a better understanding of how the brain works normally in order to develop a better sense of where to intervene to stop or cure diseases of the brain. It’s important to understand how these molecules interact.”

In this Review, Villeda and colleagues describe blood-to-brain communication from a systems physiology perspective, with an emphasis on blood-derived signals as potent drivers of both age-related brain dysfunction and brain rejuvenation.

Scientists who watched nerve cells connect inside the eyes of growing squid have uncovered a remarkable secret — the cephalopods’ brains independently evolved to develop in the same way ours do.

.The discovery, made using high-resolution cameras focused on the retinas of longfin squid (Doryteuthis pealeii) embryos, reveals that, in spite of 500 million years of divergent evolution, the basic blueprint for how complex brains and nervous systems evolve may be the same across a wide range of species.

The intelligence of cephalopods — a class of marine animals that includes octopuses, squid and cuttlefish — has long been a subject of fascination among biologists. Unlike most invertebrates, these animals possess remarkable memories; use tools to solve problems; excel at camouflage; react with curiosity, boredom or even playful malevolence to their surroundings; and can dream, if the ripples of colors that flash across their skin as they sleep are any indication.

Continue reading “Squid and human brains develop the same way despite diverging 500 million years ago” »

The inside of a person’s mouth can say a lot about their overall health. Studies have established links between poor oral health and conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure and pneumonia. Now, a new study shows there’s a connection to the brain. Researchers in the U.K. found certain bacteria in the mouth may cause deadly brain abscesses.

Scientists have developed a wireless, battery-free implant capable of monitoring dopamine signals in the brain in real-time in small animal models, an advance that could aid in understanding the role neurochemicals play in neurological disorders.

The device, detailed in a study published in ACS Nano, activates or inhibits specific neurons in the brain using light, a technique known as optogenetic stimulation. It also records dopamine activity in freely behaving subjects without the need for bulky or prohibitive sensing equipment, said John Rogers, Ph.D., the Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Neurological Surgery, and a co-author of the study.

“This device allows neuroscientists to monitor and modulate brain activity in real-time and in a programmable fashion, in mice—a very important class of animal model for neuroscience studies,” Rogers said.

Dr. Ryan Raut talks to us about some of his recent work on brain states and brain networks, linking them through synchronized traveling waves:
https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abf2709
https://www.pnas.org/content/117/34/20890.short.

This video is part of the SNAC Chat series organized by Mac Shine, Joe Lizier, Ben Fulcher, and Oliver Cliff (The University of Sydney).

Continue reading “Ryan Raut: Linking Brain States and Brain Networks through Traveling Waves” »

Mexico City.- At just eight years old, Adhara Perez is the girl who exceeded the IQ of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking with 162. She dreams of being an astronaut one day, but she came to think that this would be impossible.

When she was three years old, the little girl from the slums of Tlahuac, in Mexico City, was diagnosed with Asperger (autism spectrum). “I made a mockery at school”, she said.

Her classmates called her “weird” and the teachers came to think that she would not have much future in the academy. Nallely Sanchez, mother of the child, did not realize the situation and did not want her daughter to suffer.

A study by the HSE Centre for Language and Brain has confirmed the role of the corpus callosum in language lateralization, the distribution of language processing functions between the brain’s hemispheres. The authors came up with an innovative language task for their study subjects and applied advanced neuroimaging methods to the data collected. A paper on their findings has been published in PLoS ONE.

Functional asymmetry between the two cerebral hemispheres in performing higher-level cognitive functions is a major characteristic of the human brain. For example, the left hemisphere plays a leading role in language processing in most people. However, between 10% and 15% of the human population also use the right hemisphere to varying degrees for the same task.

Traditionally, language lateralization to the right hemisphere was explained by handedness, as it is mainly found in left-handed and ambidextrous (using both hands equally well) individuals. But recent research has demonstrated a genetic difference in the way language is processed by left-handed and ambidextrous people. In addition to this, some right-handed people also involve their right hemisphere in language functions.

It’s a hidden, lifelong process that’s tied to cancer, heart disease and dementia, but there’s plenty you can do to fix the damage In the past few years, a new buzzword has entered conversations about illness and disease. Doctors are increasingly talking about “inflammation” – a term which describes the automatic response – or flaring up – of the body when it tries to fight infections, toxins and trauma.