Study Suggests that Alzheimer’s Disease Spreads Through the Brain

February 13, 2012 | by

Scientists have long debated whether Alzheimer’s disease starts in separate regions of the brain independently and at different times, or if it begins in one region and then spreads. Data from researchers at Columbia University Medical Center supports the latter model, showing that abnormal tau protein — a key feature observed in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease — propagates along anatomically connected networks, between connected and vulnerable neurons. The study was published earlier this month in the online journal PLoS ONE [1].

Neural network in human brainImage credit: Neurons network in human brain via Shutterstock

Memories are Made of This: Differences in Working Memory with Age are Linked to Memory Strategies Used

January 23, 2012 | by

It seems to be a fact of life that memory performance decreases as we age, but new research helps to understand what precisely is decreasing, why and points towards strategies that might help. A study published in the journal Memory suggests that older adults perform less well on working memory tasks as they do not forget information that is no longer relevant [1]. This might sound like a good thing, but it leads to overload of memory processes, damaging memory performance.

Images in the mindImages in the mind image via Shutterstock

Schizophrenia and Epilepsy May be Linked, Shared Cause Not Yet Known

September 28, 2011 | by

A recent study published in the journal Epilepsia indicates that there is a bidirectional relationship between schizophrenia and epilepsy [1]. This means that people with schizophrenia are at a higher risk of developing epilepsy, and those with epilepsy face a higher risk of developing schizophrenia. The fact that each disorder acts as a risk factor for the other indicates that the two may share some underlying causative factors, be they genetic, environmental, or neurological in origin.

Schizophrenia and epilepsy

New ALS Model is Based on Human Cells from Autopsied Tissue

August 16, 2011 | by

By isolating cells from patients’ spinal tissue within a few days after death, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new model of the paralyzing disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). They found that during the disease, cells called astrocytes become toxic to nerve cells — a result previously found in animal models but not in humans. The new model could be used to investigate many more questions about ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Neurons

NIH Researchers Trace Early Journey of Modulating Cells in the Brain

August 2, 2011 | by

Key cells in the brain region known as the hippocampus are formed in the base of the brain late in fetal life and undertake a long journey before reaching their final destination in the center of the brain shortly after birth, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Interneuron cells in the mouse hippocampus