Neuroscience INSIGHTS

Unique in its complexity, the central nervous system (CNS) has long represented a challenge for biomedical research, in part because the definition and characterization of constituent cell types remains incomplete. Indeed, one of the major goals behind the 2013 National Institutes of Health (NIH) launch of The Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative was to "identify and provide experimental access to the different brain cell...  Read More

Psychiatric disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, are multifactorial and polygenic. The underlying risks for these diseases are increasingly linked in epidemiologic studies to the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. These risk factors can act cumulatively throughout a patient's lifetime, with adverse life events being strong risk predictors1. This likely occurs by combined effects of adversity with genetic predispositions that together alter gene regulation...  Read More

Epigenetics of FLM, Stress, and NeuroDegenerative Disease The epigenetic post-translational modifications of histone (hPTMs) is a notable cellular response mechanism to environmental stimuli2. Emerging reports point to the sexual dimorphism of epigenetic hPTMs within the neurobehavioral context of fear, learning, and memory (FLM), in neurodegenerative diseases, as well as stress- and trauma- related disorders3,4. Developmental and Functional Roles of Cdk5 One important protein in cognitive functions is...  Read More

The glial cells play pivotal roles in the central nervous system (CNS) by supporting its development, maintaining homeostasis, producing myelin, and providing support and protection for neurons1. These cells are increasingly under scientific scrutiny in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders (ND). The activated microglia, a subset of glial cells, have been demonstrated to be the main determinant of neuroinflammation that contributes to neurodegeneration2. Increasing evidence supports the...  Read More

In preclinical neuroscience research, the brain's resident immune system and its role in a multitude of CNS diseases have generated a newfound focus on its therapeutic possibilities6. Classically, the CNS has been regarded as having a relatively weak immune surveillance, due to the lack of infrastructure — notably lymphatic vessels and presence of a blood brain barrier (BBB) — as compared to that of the periphery2-4. This...  Read More

Adult neurogenesis is the process of generating new neurons after embryonic and postnatal development have concluded. The creation of neural connections later in life has important implications for learning and memory, cognitive decline, and neurobiological diseases such as Alzheimer's. As a result, this topic has garnered a vast amount of attention in contemporary research. Despite such scrutiny, however, both the prevalence and significance of adult neurogenesis in...  Read More

In a recent manuscript by Musi and co-authors, a combinatorial approach was adopted to investigate the tauopathy-mediated mechanisms underlying human Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in post-mortem human brain tissue and transgenic mice1. Human neurodegenerative diseases comprise a heterogenous group of disorders, underpinned by complex interactions of cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic molecular mechanisms between multiple different neuronal and non-neuronal cell types. Understandably, the spatio-temporal isolation and investigation of specific pathogenic...  Read More

On August 27, 2018, researchers at University of Szeged, Allen Institute for Brain Science, J. Craig Venter Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Illumina, Inc., and University of California, San Diego published a paper titled, Transcriptomic and morphophysiological evidence for a specialized human cortical GABAergic cell type in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The research was featured on NPR and looks at newly discovered neurons named "rose hip neurons"...  Read More

More than 45 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD) or dementia. The costs are staggering, and no cure exists. Development of new therapies has been challenging, with many promising new drugs failing in late stage clinical trials. Inducing Immune Response in AD Mouse Models Interest in new therapeutic pathways was piqued in 2016, when Baruch et al. reported that PD-1 checkpoint inhibition induced an immune...  Read More

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a growing problem. An estimated 10 million people are affected annually worldwide by TBI, and the burden of mortality and morbidity that imposes on society makes TBI a pressing public health and medical problem1. The populations most at risk are children, teens, and the elderly and TBI contributes to numerous hospital emergency room visits. The Centers for Disease Control tracks epidemiological data...  Read More