A new technique reveals cells’ precise locations and functions in the brain. Its developers have already used it to identify a previously unknown neuron type.
A research group argues that a species’ number of neurons, rather than brain volume, should serve as indicator of cognitive capacity when studying brain evolution, but some experts voice doubts.
Some nerve cells in the brains of macaques respond selectively to particular numbers, hinting at a specialized pathway for extracting information about numerical quantity.
When researchers injected mice with antibodies from fibromyalgia patients, the animals developed symptoms of the disease—suggesting that it may be controlled by the immune system, not the nervous system.
So-called mossy fiber synapses in the hippocampus can meter the amount of neurotransmitter they receive by sending glutamate against the usual direction of synaptic flow.
In an unexpected twist in neuroscience dogma, the cells on the receiving end of neurotransmission appear to be able to release glutamate to regulate the transmitting cell’s activity.
In mice, epigenetic marks made on histones during infancy influence depression-like behavior during adulthood. A drug that reverses the genomic tags appears to undo the damage.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham neuroscientist aims to determine which cells are most important in prompting the disease’s initiation and progression.
The results are a proof-of-concept that the novel coronavirus can replicate in neurons, but it’s too soon to say whether this occurs in people with COVID-19.
The activation of young brain cells in adult mice is necessary not just for forming memories, but consolidating them during rapid eye movement sleep, a study shows.
The symptoms suggest SARS-CoV-2 might infect neurons, raising questions about whether there could be effects on the brain that play a role in patients’ deaths, but the data are preliminary.
Organelles isolated from two types of neurons and a nonneuronal astrocyte in the mouse cerebellum showed varying levels of proteins, hinting at functional differences.
