No-one knows what connects awareness — the state of consciousness — with its contents, i.e. thoughts and experiences. Now researchers propose an elegant solution: a literal, structural connection via 'L5p neurons'. The group offers evidence – and caveats. Their challenge to experimentalists: if consciousness requires L5p neurons, all brain activity without them must be unconscious.
Read moreA new study now shows that if telomeres change in their length, that change is also reflected in our brain structure.
Read moreResearchers have developed a superior method to describe the very earliest effects that Alzheimer's Disease proteins have on the properties of brain cells.
Read moreInflammation increases neuronal activity, gene expression and sensory nerve (neurite) outgrowth in neurons involved in thermal — but not physical- sensations in mice.
Read moreIn response to seizures, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a network of flattened tubes in the cell that packages and transports proteins, triggers a stress response that reduces brain activity and seizure severity. The new findings may have important implications for the development of new epilepsy therapies.
Read moreInvestigators have pinpointed a molecular defect that seems almost universal among patients with Parkinson's disease and those at a high risk of acquiring it.
Read moreA new imaging method follows young neurons in a developing embryo as they progress from a messy jumble of cells into a coordinated control center. The approach lets scientists track development and emerging cell function simultaneously across entire circuits.
Read moreSuccess is no accident: To reach your goal you need perseverance. But where does the motivation come from? Scientists have now identified the neural circuit in the brain of fruit flies which makes them perform at their best when searching for food.
Read moreScientists have discovered how temporal fluctuations in the levels of two transcription factors can push embryonic stems cells into becoming different cell types.
Read moreResearchers have devised a new way to rapidly image synaptic proteins at high resolution. Using fluorescent nucleic acid probes, they can label and image as many as 12 different proteins in neuronal samples containing thousands of synapses.
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