AI SummaryNeurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease affects different brain regions unequally, with one of the first regions to show damage being the mammillary body in the hypothalamus. MIT researchers have identified a subset of neurons in the mammillary body that are most susceptible to neurodegeneration and hyperactivity, which leads to memory impairments. The findings suggest that… Continue reading Neuroscientists identify cells especially vulnerable to Alzheimer’s
Tag: Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience
A new peptide may hold potential as an Alzheimer’s treatment
AI SummaryMIT neuroscientists have discovered a peptide that can reverse neurodegeneration and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease by interfering with an enzyme called CDK5 that is overactive in Alzheimer’s patients. In mice, the peptide led to reductions in neurodegeneration, DNA damage, and improvements in cognitive abilities, leading researchers to believe it could serve as a… Continue reading A new peptide may hold potential as an Alzheimer’s treatment
Astrocyte cells critical for learning skilled movements
AI SummaryResearchers at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT have discovered that astrocytes, a type of brain cell, play an essential role in motor learning. Astrocytes interact with ensembles of neurons in the motor cortex, helping them encode the timing, trajectory, and performance of movements. The findings suggest that astrocytes are crucial… Continue reading Astrocyte cells critical for learning skilled movements
“Spatial computing” enables flexible working memory
AI SummaryA recent study conducted by scientists at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, the Karolinska Institute, and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden explains how the brain manages general and specific components of working memory tasks. The study reveals that the brain creates distinct spaces in the cortex for general… Continue reading “Spatial computing” enables flexible working memory
3 Questions: Mriganka Sur on the research origins of the first approved drug to treat Rett syndrome
AI SummaryThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first-ever treatment for Rett syndrome, a devastating developmental disorder caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene. The approval of the drug Trofinetide, based on the natural protein IGF-1, offers hope to patients and their families. Researchers, including Mriganka Sur at MIT, discovered the potential of… Continue reading 3 Questions: Mriganka Sur on the research origins of the first approved drug to treat Rett syndrome
Studies of unusual brains reveal critical insights into brain organization, function
E.G. (a pseudonym) is an accomplished woman in her early 60s: She is a college graduate and has an advanced professional degree. She has a stellar vocabulary — in the 98th percentile, according to tests — and has mastered a foreign language (Russian) to the point that she sometimes dreams in it. She also has,… Continue reading Studies of unusual brains reveal critical insights into brain organization, function
Sparse, small, but diverse neural connections help make perception reliable, efficient
AI SummaryThe thalamus, a region in the brain, plays a crucial role in communication with the cerebral cortex, but little is known about how this process works due to the lack of observed connections between the two regions. However, a new study by researchers at MIT has discovered that while the connections between the thalamus… Continue reading Sparse, small, but diverse neural connections help make perception reliable, efficient
Portable cap can measure cognition with pulsed laser light
AI SummaryTo address the challenges of measuring brain activity, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and Boston University are developing a high-performance brain imaging method called time-domain diffuse correlation spectroscopy (TD-DCS) that uses fiber optics to transmit laser light to and from the brain. By measuring the rate of fluctuation of the returning… Continue reading Portable cap can measure cognition with pulsed laser light
How Huntington’s disease affects different neurons
AI SummaryIn patients with Huntington’s disease, neurodegeneration of two distinct cell populations in the striatum, the striosomes and the matrix, contribute to motor impairments and mood disorders, respectively. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, researchers at MIT have mapped these cell populations and their vulnerability to Huntington’s disease, hoping to develop new treatments that target specific cells.… Continue reading How Huntington’s disease affects different neurons
New technologies reveal cross-cutting breakdowns in Alzheimer’s disease
After decades of fundamental scientific and drug discovery research, Alzheimer’s disease has remained inscrutable and incurable, with a bare minimum of therapeutic progress. But in a new review article in Nature Neuroscience, MIT scientists write that by employing the new research capability of single-cell profiling, the field has rapidly achieved long-sought insights with strong potential for both… Continue reading New technologies reveal cross-cutting breakdowns in Alzheimer’s disease