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The synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2C (SV2C) is part of a family of proteins involved in regulating the release of neurotransmitters in the brain. Dopamine depletion is a well-known feature of Parkinson's disease and the research shows that SV2C controls the release of dopamine in the brain. The team generated mice lacking the protein SV2C , which resulted in less dopamine in the brain and reduced movement. The mice had a blunted response to nicotine, the chemical in cigarette smoke thought to protect people from PD. In addition, when brains from patients who had died of PD, Alzheimer's disease, and several other neurodegenerative diseases were examined they found that SV2C was altered only in the PD brains. "Our research reveals a connection between SV2C and dopamine and suggests that drug therapies aimed at SV2C may be beneficial in PD or other dopamine-related disorders." says Gary W. Miller, PhD, professor and associate dean for research at the Rollins Sch...

To help her with her symptoms, Mohamad El Haj, a psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Lille, proposed Google Calendar, a time-management and scheduling calendar service developed by Google. The patient accepted as she was already comfortable using her smartphone. She also declared that she preferred the application as it offers more discrete assistance than a paper-based calendar. With the patient and her husband, Dr. El Haj and his colleagues defined several prospective omissions in the patient, such as forgetting her weekly medical appointment, forgetting her weekly bridge game in the community club, and forgetting to go to weekly mass at the church. These omissions were targeted by sending automatic alerts, prompted by Google Calendar, at different times before each event (e.g., the medical appointment). The researchers compared omissions before after the use of Google Calendar, they observed less omission after implementing the application. The study ...

The targeted enzyme's primary purpose is to eliminate excess cholesterol from the brain. But the researchers hypothesized it could also help remove another cholesterol-like molecule -- cholestanol. Cholestanol is normally found in very low levels in the body, at least 500 times less often than cholesterol, but spikes in people with a rare, uncurable genetic disease called cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis. Patients with the disease slowly accumulate cholestanol in areas of the brain responsible for muscle coordination, causing seizures, involuntary movements, and cognitive decline. With help from the right enzymes, the debilitating accumulations could be eliminated. "We found that an enzyme called CYP46A1 not only eliminates cholesterol but also cholestanol from the brain," said Irina Pikuleva, PhD, study lead and Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "CYP46...

The targeted enzyme's primary purpose is to eliminate excess cholesterol from the brain. But the researchers hypothesized it could also help remove another cholesterol-like molecule -- cholestanol. Cholestanol is normally found in very low levels in the body, at least 500 times less often than cholesterol, but spikes in people with a rare, uncurable genetic disease called cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis. Patients with the disease slowly accumulate cholestanol in areas of the brain responsible for muscle coordination, causing seizures, involuntary movements, and cognitive decline. With help from the right enzymes, the debilitating accumulations could be eliminated. "We found that an enzyme called CYP46A1 not only eliminates cholesterol but also cholestanol from the brain," said Irina Pikuleva, PhD, study lead and Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "CYP46...

Examples of gene networks within the hippocampus affected by mind trauma. UCLA researchers report that the “grasp regulator” genes (in pink) affect many different genes liable for the results of mind trauma. Credit score: Qingying Meng/UCLA Head accidents can hurt a whole lot of genes within the mind in a means that will increase folks's danger for a variety of neurological and psychiatric issues, UCLA life scientists report. The researchers recognized for the primary time grasp genes that they consider management a whole lot of different genes that are linked to Alzheimer's illness, Parkinson's illness, post-traumatic stress dysfunction, stroke, consideration deficit hyperactivity dysfunction, autism, despair, schizophrenia and different issues. Figuring out what the grasp genes are might give scientists targets for brand new prescribed drugs to deal with mind il...

Adam Sachs (left) and Julio Martinez-Trujillo (proper) have found that nerve cells within the mind work collectively to retailer and retrieve short-term reminiscence. Credit score: Western College Nerve cells in our brains work collectively in concord to retailer and retrieve short-term reminiscence, and should not solo artists as beforehand thought, Western-led mind analysis has decided. The analysis activates its head many years of research assuming that single neurons independently encode info in our working reminiscences. "These findings recommend that even neurons we beforehand thought have been 'ineffective' as a result of they did not individually encode info have a function when working in live performance with different neurons," stated researcher Julio Martinez-Trujillo, based mostly on the Robarts Analysis Institute and the Mind and Thoughts Instit...