Claudin 11 stops the leaks in neuronal myelin sheaths
Devaux and Gow demonstrate how a tight junction protein called claudin 11 makes the neuronal myelin sheath a snug fit. view more (2008-12-01)
Role of noise in neurons
Addressing a current issue in neuroscience, Aldo Faisal and Simon Laughlin from Cambridge University investigate the reliability of thin axons for transmitting information. They show that noise effects in ion channels in the brain are much larger than previously assumed - meaning the fidelity of transmission is compromised. view more (2007-05-04)
What makes an axon an axon?
Inside every axon is a dendrite waiting to get out. Hedstrom et al. converted mature axons into dendrites by banishing a protein crucial for neuron development. view more (2008-11-10)
Rutgers University Scientist's Research Reveals Critical Knowledge About the Nervous System
Uncover the neural communication links involved in myelination, the process of protecting a nerve's axon, and it may become possible to reverse the breakdown of the nervous system's electrical transmissions in such disorders as multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, diabetes and cancers of the nervous system. view more (2007-11-07)
Brain cells work differently than previously thought
Scientists know that information travels between brain cells along hairlike extensions called axons. For the first time, researchers have found that axons don't just transmit information - they can turn the signal up or down with the right stimulation. view more (2007-08-20)
Adult brain cells are movers and shakers
It's a general belief that the circuitry of young brains has robust flexibility but eventually gets "hard-wired" in adulthood. As Johns Hopkins researchers and their colleagues report in the Nov. 8 issue of Neuron, however, adult neurons aren't quite as rigidly glued in place as we suspect. view more (2007-11-09)
Finding the right connection after spinal cord injury
In a major step in spinal cord injury research, scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have demonstrated that regenerating axons can be guided to their correct targets and re-form connections after spinal cord injury. view more (2009-08-03)
MDC researchers discover molecule responsible for axonal branching
The human brain consists of about 100 billion (1011) neurons, which altogether form about 100 trillion (1014) synaptic connections with each other. view more (2009-09-22)
Weizmann scientists discover a new line of communication between nervous system cells
In a host of neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and several neuropathies, the protective covering surrounding the nerves - an insulating material called myelin - is damaged. view more (2007-06-27)
Maintaining the brain's wiring in aging and disease
Researchers at the Babraham Institute near Cambridge, supported by the Alzheimer's Research Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), have discovered that the brain's circuitry survives longer than previously thought in diseases of ageing such as Alzheimer's disease. view more (2008-12-08)
Identification of a key molecular pathway required for brain neural circuit formation
The research group of Dr. Frédéric Charron, a researcher at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), has made a discovery which could help treat spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative diseases. view more (2009-05-18)
Prostate cancer spurs new nerves
Prostate cancer - and perhaps other cancers - promotes the growth of new nerves and the branching axons that carry their messages, a finding associated with more aggressive tumors, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in the first report of the phenomenon that appears today in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. view more (2008-12-01)
Penn researchers engineer first system of human nerve-cell tissue
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that living human nerve cells can be engineered into a network that could one day be used for transplants to repair damaged to the nervous system. They report their findings in the February issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery. view more (2008-02-27)
Promising new nanotechnology for spinal cord injury
A spinal cord injury often leads to permanent paralysis and loss of sensation below the site of the injury because the damaged nerve fibers can't regenerate. The nerve fibers or axons have the capacity to grow again, but don't because they're blocked by scar tissue that develops around the injury. view more (2008-04-03)
Cancer-causing protein may heal damaged spinal cord and brain cells
Cancer researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have found that a protein known for driving the growth of cancer also plays a surprising role in restoring the ability of neurons to regenerate, making it an important target for addressing spinal cord damage or neurological diseases like Alzheimer's. view more (2006-06-29)
Salk and Stanford teams join forces to reveal two paths of neurodegeneration
Wiring the developing brain is like creating a topiary garden. Shrubs don't automatically assume the shape of ornamental elephants, and neither do immature nerve cells immediately recognize the "right" target cell. Abundant foliage, either vegetal or neuronal, must first sprout and then be sculpted into an ordered structure. view more (2006-06-15)
Stem cell therapy for spinal injury
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have shown how the transplantation of stem cells improves recovery from spinal injury. However, a painful condition can also develop, which can be prevented if the stem cells are supplemented with a certain gene that controls their maturing process. The results are important for planning of stem cell therapy... view more... (2005-02-13)
Pular antidepressants boost brain growth, Hopkins scientists report
The beneficial effects of a widely used class of antidepressants might be the result of increased nerve-fiber growth in key parts of the brain, according to a Johns Hopkins study being published in the January 2006 issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry. view more (2005-12-20)
Microsurgery on the brain of the fruit fly leads to new insights into irreparable nerve injuries
Every year, one million Europeans are confronted with potentially irreparable brain or spinal cord injuries resulting from traffic accidents. view more (2008-06-04)
Growth hormone found to have new role in development of brain's smell center
A human hormone known to stimulate the growth of cells throughout the body has a new role - helping to set up the proper nerve connections in the odor center of the brain, according to University of California, Berkeley, scientists. view more (2008-03-27)
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