Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: neuroscience – Page 725

Microglia-mediated inflammation of the amygdala in autism

According to a new study1, an anti-inflammatory protein called interleukin-38, or IL-38, is decreased in the brains of people with autism.

To help protect the brain from injury and infection, the immune cells in the brain, called microglia, usually produce inflammatory molecules2. But it is a tough balance – an inappropriate, or too large, inflammatory response can harm the health of the brain.

Research has shown that there may be changes in the structure and function of microglia in the brains of people with autism. This suggests that atypical inflammatory responses may play a role in autism3, 4, 5.

Could mitochondria be the key to a healthy brain?

Some researchers suspect these bacterial ancestors living within our cells may contribute to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders.

By Diana Kwon.

Long before the earliest animals swam through the water-covered surface of Earth’s ancient past, one of the most important encounters in the history of life took place. A primitive bacterium was engulfed by our oldest ancestor — a solo, free-floating cell. The two fused to form a mutually beneficial relationship that has lasted more than a billion years, with the latter providing a safe, comfortable home and the former becoming a powerhouse, fueling the processes necessary to maintain life.

Longevity, National Security, Pandemic Prevention, And More!

- Progress, Potential, And Possibilities has had another busy month, with another awesome set of guests from academia, industry, and government, all focused on building a better tomorrow — Please come subscribe and enjoy all our current and future guests — Much more to come! # Health # Longevity # Biotech # SpaceExploration # ArtificialIntelligence # NeuroTechnology # RegenerativeMedicine # Sports # Environment # Sustainability # Food # NationalSecurity # Innovation # Future # Futurism # AnimalWelfare # Equity # IraPastor.

Experimental brain implant instantly detects and relieves pain

Researchers from the New York University School of Medicine have developed a brain implant designed to detect pain sensations in real-time and deliver bursts of pain-relieving stimulation. The device is still deeply experimental but a new proof of concept study demonstrates it working effectively in rodent models.

In the world of brain implants the chasm between science fiction and reality is still quite vast. Apart from some exciting human tests showing paralyzed individuals with implants regaining a sense of touch or controlling computers with their mind, most research in the field is still nascent.

Animal tests have demonstrated incremental technological advances, such as pigs broadcasting neural activity or monkeys playing Pong. Now, an interface that can detect pain signals in one part of the brain and immediately respond with stimulation to another part of the brain targeted to relieve that pain has been developed.

Brain imaging study shows defining traits are forged the moment were born

There are still many unsolved mysteries about the human brain and its development. Now, a novel study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry sheds new light on the neurobiological origins of our individual traits.

Functional connectivity is the coordinated activity – activation or deactivation – through time between separate brain regions, regardless of their physical closeness or the type of neural connections between them. Changes in functional connectivity can be a sign of mental health disorders such as depression, eating disorders, and schizophrenia, and are thought to have developmental origins.

Bone, not adrenaline, drives fight or flight response

When faced with a predator or sudden danger, the heart rate goes up, breathing becomes more rapid, and fuel in the form of glucose is pumped throughout the body to prepare an animal to fight or flee.

These physiological changes, which constitute the “fight or flight” response, are thought to be triggered in part by the hormone adrenaline.

But a new study from Columbia researchers suggests that bony vertebrates can’t muster this response to danger without the . The researchers found in mice and humans that almost immediately after the brain recognizes danger, it instructs the skeleton to flood the bloodstream with the bone-derived hormone osteocalcin, which is needed to turn on the fight or flight response.