Latest Molecular neuroscience Stories
New research provides strong support for the idea that one of the key functions of sleep is the consolidation of memories. The study, published by Cell Press in the February 12th issue of the journal Neuron, provides fascinating insight into the cellular mechanisms that govern the sleep-dependent consolidation of experiences that occur while we are awake.Although sleep is thought to facilitate memory and learning, the molecular links between sleep and synaptic plasticity are not well...
Discovery could lead to drugs targeting gene interactionsBy pinpointing two genes that cause autism-like symptoms in mice, researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have shown for the first time that multiple, interacting genetic risk factors may influence the severity of autistic symptoms.The study, reported in the Feb. 9 advance online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), lends support to researchers' long-suspected belief that in...
Findings Could Lead to More Personalized Alcohol Treatment MethodsNew research from the University of Virginia Health System could help explain why some alcoholics are more severe drinkers than others.  A UVA team has found strong evidence that the serotonin transporter gene, SLC6A4, plays a significant role in influencing drinking intensity among alcohol-dependent individuals.The study, published in the February 2009 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, analyzed...
Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have found a surprising link between brain iron levels and serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in neuropsychiatric conditions ranging from autism to major depression.Appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, the study by Randy Blakely, Ph.D., and colleagues also demonstrates the utility of a powerful in silico approach for discovering novel traits linked to subtle genetic variation.The serotonin...
DNA plays a role in the amount of alcohol you drink, researchers say.Among alcohol-dependent (AD) individuals, DNA variations in the brain's serotonergic system influence drinking intensity. Specifically the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) contributes to a person's inclination to drink.Researchers analyzed the associations between 275 AD patients seeking treatment and six variations of SLC6A4. Of the six variations, those who carried two T alleles were found to drink more intensely than...
U.S. biophysicists say they have clarified the mysterious interaction between cholesterol and the brain's neurotransmitter receptors. University of Pennsylvania scientists said they have provided a new model of behavior for the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, a well studied protein involved in inflammation, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, epilepsy, the effect of general anesthetics and addiction to alcohol, nicotine and cocaine. As a result of the study,...
Canadian researchers have found they can use positron emission tomography, or PET scans, to detect seasonal variations in brain chemical transport. Dr. Jeffrey Meyer of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto led a team of researchers who determined the variations in how much serotonin -- a brain chemical involved in regulating physical functions such as eating and energy balance -- is removed via serotonin transporter binding in the living brain can be correlated with the...
UCLA cellular neuroscientists are providing new insights into the mechanisms that underlie long-term memory "” research with the potential to treat long-term memory disorders."The more we know about how long-term memory is induced in the brain and how our memories are maintained in the brain, the more we are going to be able to treat long-term memory loss," said David Glanzman, UCLA professor of physiological science and neurobiology, whose new research appears June 19 in the...
Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MIPI) today announced three presentations at the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) 55th Annual Meeting on preclinical data supporting its Trofex program for the detection, staging and monitoring of prostate cancer. The presentations described the synthesis, production and preclinical profile of two lead candidate compounds, MIP-1072 and MIP-1095. These compounds provide the foundation for the Company's recently initiated clinical program and...
Neurons spoke to Dr. Joe Z. Tsien when he was a sophomore college student searching for some meaningful extracurricular activity.He had stopped by the lab of a brain researcher at Shanghai's East China Normal University. The room was dark except for a light shining on the brain. "You could hear this pop, pop, pop, pop," says Dr. Tsien, brain scientist who recently came to the Medical College of Georgia from Boston University. "At that moment, I got interested in the brain."We study the...
