This Week on NeuroScientistNews: 16 March – 20 March
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Memory consolidation and sleep; new stroke research; brain networks in schizophrenia, and more.
♦ Implanting rewarding memories during sleep
Sleep is thought to contribute to memory consolidation, and observed patterns of neural activity are known to repeat as sharp wave ripples (SPW-Rs) during slow wave sleep. However, it is unknown if these SPW-Rs during sleep actually reflect a replay of spatial information or not. In a recent publication in Nature Neuroscience (de Lavilleon et al., 2015), the authors investigate this by dissociating neural activity from the physical location of mice and demonstrating causally that place cell activity is representative of location.
♦ Surprising finding made in stroke research
Scientists at The University of Manchester have made an important new discovery about the brain’s immune system that could lead to potential new treatments for stroke and other related conditions.
Mayo Clinic research finds direct evidence of gadolinium deposition in neuronal tissues following intravenous administration of gadolinium-based contrast agents used in MRI exams. The findings were recently published online in the journal Radiology.
♦ Brain networks differ among those with severe schizophrenia, study shows
People with a severe form of schizophrenia have major differences in their brain networks compared to others with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and healthy individuals, a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada shows.
♦ Fatal uncoupling in the epileptic brain
Epilepsy is a very prevalent neurological disorder. Approximately one-third of patients are resistant to currently available therapies. A team of researchers under the guidance of the Institute of Cellular Neurosciences at the University of Bonn has discovered a new cause to explain the development of temporal lobe epilepsy: At an early stage, astrocytes are uncoupled from each other. This results in the extracellular accumulation of potassium ions and neurotransmitters, which cause hyperexcitability of the neurons.
