Synapse News and Research

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Inhibiting astrocyte hyperactivity can reverse cognitive deficits associated with social deprivation

Here is an important reason to stay in touch with friends and family: social isolation causes memory and learning deficits and other behavioral changes.

15 Feb 2023

Employing molecular anchor for more effective CAR immunotherapies

Researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital discovered that immune cells with the attached protein boosted the killing of cancer, irrespective of the kind of cancer cell or the type of cancer being targeted.

3 Feb 2023

UO research in zebrafish shows a gut-brain link that influences social behavior

To learn to socialize, zebrafish need to trust their gut. Gut microbes encourage specialized cells to prune back extra connections in brain circuits that control social behavior, new UO research in zebrafish shows.

10 Nov 2022

Many proteins share important roles in the formation and function of synapses, study finds

Not just three, but even five proteins share important roles in the formation and function of synapses and can substitute for each other. This discovery was made by a team of the research focus "Mental Health & Neuroscience" of the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences Krems (KL Krems) and the CavX PhD program of the Medical University of Innsbruck.

26 Oct 2022

Novel molecular mechanism of focal adhesion kinase inhibition in HD

Principal researchers at the Brain Science Institute (BSI) of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology were said to have discovered substantially decreased activity of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) proteins that play a significant role in neurite motility and proper synapse formation in HD patients’ brain tissues.

19 Sep 2022

Characterizing the transcription profile of microglia in a mouse model

Researchers from Tohoku University have now shown that the consolidation and extinction of contextual fear conditioning alter the microglial genes connected to the synapse—structures that permit neurons to communicate with one another.

13 Sep 2022

Research reveals how two RNA-binding proteins interact with each other

Neurons are continually adapting to changing conditions. The biochemical basis for memory and learning is this plasticity.

5 Jul 2022

Study reveals possibility of changing the identity of synapses through enzymatic means

As you're reading this sentence, the cells in your brain, called neurons, are sending rapid-fire electrical signals between each other, transmitting information.

14 Jun 2022

Researchers determine small protein’s structure, likely to pave the way for advanced treatments

For the first time, researchers have deciphered the atomic structure of a protein that transports one of the body’s most vital neurotransmitters into neurons.

9 Jun 2022

Study uncovers how CD8+ T cells can divide and produce two distinct daughter cells

An immunological problem has been addressed by scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Despite being genetically identical, a CD8+ T cell can divide and produce two functionally different daughter cells.

27 May 2022

Researchers discover how new techniques may alter the synaptic connection of neurons

The brain has the potential to change the way neurons communicate with one another. That is how it prevents out-of-control brain activity. Scientists have discovered a mechanism that plays a key role in this.

21 Apr 2022

Transcriptomic analysis of Alzheimer's patients reveals early organelle dysfunction in astrocytes

An international group of researchers led by the UAB analyzed the genes that are expressed in neurons and astrocytes based on data from 800 individuals and compared what happens in Alzheimer's patients and in people without diagnosed dementia.

21 Mar 2022

Microglia help neurons grow synapses critical to cognitive functioning, research finds

Microglia, the immune cells of the brain, are known for eating up unwanted items like germs and debris, much as their counterparts do in the rest of the body.

8 Mar 2022

Study takes a deep dive into the molecular biology of the brain in bipolar disorder patients

In a comprehensive study involving one of the largest-ever samples of post-mortem brains, scientists at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, in collaboration with researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, have pinpointed significant differences in gene expression in two specific regions of the brains of hundreds of patients who had bipolar disorder.

8 Mar 2022

Researchers develop artificial organic neuron capable of integration with living plant

Researchers, for the first time, establish an artificial organic neuron, or a nerve cell, which can be combined with an artificial organic synapse and a living plant.

24 Feb 2022

Revealing a Cell's Components through Artificial Intelligence

We speak to Professor Trey Ideker and Yue Qin about their latest in cell biology and how artificial intelligence could be used to discover new components within cells.

From UC San Diego 23 Dec 2021

Novel tool provides an unprecedented view of brain cell activity

To decipher the mysteries behind memory and learning, researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine developed a system to trace millions of connections amongst brain cells in mice.

22 Dec 2021

New insight into how neurons and astrocytes work together to form healthy synapses

Brain cells called astrocytes play a key role in helping neurons develop and function properly, but there's still a lot scientists don't understand about how astrocytes perform these important jobs.

26 Oct 2021

Study reveals neurotransmitter releases impairments in schizophrenia patients

A research team revealed that neurotransmitter release in the brain is impaired in patients with schizophrenia who possess a rare, single-gene mutation.

16 Jul 2021

Making memories necessitates a lot of DNA breakage

The urgency to remember a dangerous experience requires the brain to make a series of potentially dangerous moves: Neurons and other brain cells snap open their DNA in numerous locations--more than previously realized, according to a new study--to provide quick access to genetic instructions for the mechanisms of memory storage.

7 Jul 2021