The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $4.8-million grant to support a project designed to discover how the ApoE4 gene variant, a known genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, induces neurodegeneration. The apolipoprotein E (ApoE) proteins encoded by the APOE gene…

A new screening assay has identified small molecules capable of protecting brain mitochondria from stress conditions that commonly occur in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. These preclinical results in mice support the therapeutic potential of these newly discovered compounds. The study, “Neuron-based high-content assay and screen for CNS…

This video from AP Digital Products takes viewers on a 360º virtual reality tour of the brain. The film shows how neurons are linked by thousands of pathways in the brain that control thought, emotions, memory and movement. It then explores the changes in the brain which lead…

It is widely accepted that exercise is good for your health, but can it even increase brain cells? That is the conclusion from several new reports published in the first issue of the journal Brain Plasticity. Overall, the publications presented several pieces of compelling evidence revealing that exercise benefits the brain,…

A study published in Cell Stem Cell journal entitled “Small Molecules Efficiently Reprogram Human Astroglial Cells into Functional Neurons” showed that treatment of astroglial cells with a cocktail of nine small molecules resulted in neuron-like cells with similar electrical and neurotransmitter activities as functional…

The electrically charged cells in the nervous system, called neurons, react differently compared to electrical signals at the molecular level, even though they are the same type of cell, according to new research conducted at the University of Missouri. The variability of the neurons, which are responsible for the interpretation and…