BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: Brain (Page 3 of 6)

Tickle, Tickle!

You might be wondering, why am I ticklish? Or, why do I laugh if somebody else tickles me, but not when I try to tickle myself? The mystery of ticklishness has been sought after for decades, including by Darwin and Aristotle.

A recent study tested ticklishness on rats, and the results were astonishing! The rats reacted to human tickles with ultrasonic “laughter cells” and emitted various calls. While many humans are most ticklish on their armpits and stomachs, rats were found to be most ticklish on their bellies and underneath their feet. They performed “joy jumps” after being tickled, which is a behavior associated with joyful subjects in various mammals.

 

fyesqjl3xzq

 

Researchers continued searching for answers, and sought to discover how being ticklish relates to the brain and whether or not it is a trick of the brain that rewards interacting.

When researchers Shimpei Ishiyama and Michael Brecht investigated the response of the rat’s brain to tickling, they observed nerve cells that responded strongly to tickling and they found very similar responses during play behaviors as during tickling- even without the scientist touching the rat. These nerve cells also worked in reverse. For example, if the rats were made anxious, they were less ticklish and the activity in these cells were reduced. It was discovered that activity in the trunk somatosensory cortex is what led to ticklishness.

The discovery of the connection between brain responses to tickling and play was incredible.

 

Other Articles About This Topic:

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/10/501447965/brain-scientists-trace-rat-ticklishness-to-play-behavior

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/11/11/watch-rats-giggle-and-jump-for-joy-at-being-tickled/

Number of strokes increased in children!

Sean Maloney stroke brainscan

Intel Free Press Image Link

Statistics 

According to new studies, strokes have been affecting younger generations more than ever. The average age for people having a first stroke has dropped from  71.1 in 2000 to 69.3 in 2012.What’s interesting is that in general, the number of strokes in the U.S. has actually gone down over the last few decades, according to Chengwei Li, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. However, Li’s study, shows that the rate of strokes in people under the age of 65 have not gone down, and that the rate of strokes in people under the age of 55 has actually increased.

Treatment

According to a study on WebMD, it is in some ways easier to treat the younger patients affected. People who get to the hospital within 4 and a half hours of their episode, or attack, can receive a drug that breaks up the clot in the brain and restores the blood flow. However, studies have shown that this treatment is more likely to benefit younger patients opposed to elder patients. Although this may be the case, young adults and females in particular, are often not eligible for the treatment because they ignore early symptoms or wait until the symptoms get severe, before they seek help.

As stated in an article from Live Science  and a journal from NCBI, the increase in stroke incidents at younger ages has great significance because strokes in younger patients carry out for a greater lifetime burden of disability.

While the total number of strokes in the U.S. has decreased, the number and severity of strokes in younger generations has increased. As a result, researchers, doctors, and medical staff continue to work together in order to seek ways to treat the newer generation of stroke patients.

Obesity Related to the Brain

Lauri Nummenmaa has done research the connects obesity to the brain.  This research shows that people struggling with obesity have a lower amount of μ-opioid receptors available for binding in the brain.  (To learn more about μ-opioid receptors click here.)  Due to evolution, our brains are still “wired” to search for food and nutrients.  Since eating gives off a sensation in the brain, related to the opioid receptors, people with fewer receptors that are able to bind will therefore eat more to make up for the loss in sensation.  This reaction is the same as a reaction to an addiction would be, causing more neurotransmitters to be secreted.  The next step that scientists are taking is to discover whether being obese causes a lack in opioid receptors, or if a lack in opioid receptors, caused by another source, is what causes obesity.  One test that scientists did was testing μ-opioid receptors in people that had bariatric surgery.  Bariatric surgery causes more receptors to work again, shown by the fact that scientists could not distinguish between the μ-opioid receptors or healthy people and the μ-opioid receptors of people who had the surgery.

Some body fat, however, is helpful to the brain.  This article describes that “fat tissue in the bodies of mice releases an extracellular form of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (eNAMPT), an enzyme that travels to the hypothalamus, and gives animals energy during fasting.”  (To learn more about eNAMPT click here.)

This photo shows how a neurotransmitter is sent from neuron to neuron generally.

unknown

(Link to Photo Page and Link to Licensing Page)

Yawning and Brain Size

macaca_fuscata_juvenile_yawning

Recently, scientists discovered a correlation between yawning and brains: the longer the average duration of a specie’s yawn, the bigger that specie’s brain size,  as measured by brain weight and total number of cortical neurons.

The study was conducted on 109 individuals from across 19 different species, including cats, humans, mice, camels, and more. The investigators found that the duration of yawns was shortest in mice, who averaged 0.8 seconds, and longest in humans, who averaged 6.5 seconds. The scientists plan on investigating whether this correlation holds true amongst individual members of a species.

The study was created in response to the ideas set forth in Gallup’s 2007 paper on the thermoregulatory theory of yawning, one of the strongest theories about why we yawn (we do not yet definitively know the biological purpose of yawning). The thermoregulatory theory indicates that yawning cools down the brain in homeotherms via three potential mechanisms. But whether or not this brain-cooling is simply a side effect or the primary function of yawning is up for debate.

Based on Gallup’s paper, the investigators of this study hypothesized that longer yawns would produce greater physiological responses, in terms of blood flow and circulation to the brain– which would be evolutionarily necessary for species with larger, more complex brains.

There are other theories about why we yawn, such as a 2014 paper stating that yawning stimulates cerebrospinal fluid circulation, which in turn increases species’ alertness. A common theory that yawning increases blood oxygen levels has largely been disproved. How would such alternate theories have different implications for the discovered correlation between yawning and brain size?

How Did Our Baby Learn That Word?!?!

Jason Sudeikis’ character is hosting a nice dinner party with his wife played by Jennifer Aniston, and all seems to be going great. Then, all of a sudden, their 12- month-old baby blurts out a curse word! “How could our baby learn such a thing?” In a flashback 8 months earlier, we see the less-experienced parenting pair blurt out some pretty R-rated things in a fit of frustration on the road with their baby in the backseat. And so the punch line sinks in.

In modern day parenting comedies, scenes like this fabricated one are a dime a dozen. But these humorous takes on life always get at least one thing right: babies are sponges. Let’s take a look at why on a cellular level.

image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AComplete_neuron_cell_diagram_en.svg

Prior to birth, most neurons migrate to the frontal lobe of the brain where, during postnatal development, they link together and forge connections, allowing a baby to learn proper responses to stimuli. The “circuits” formed by the neural connections are incredibly flexible during the early months of development (roughly the first 6 months) and can quickly be formed or severed, resulting in a remarkable neonatal human ability to rapidly pick up new knowledge about our surroundings. But how are they so malleable?!

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco may have the answer! In a study coauthored by neuropathologist Eric Huang, they found neurons forming a chain moving towards the frontal lobe from the sub ventricular zone, a layer inside the brain where nerve cells are formed, in infants up to 7 months old!

This research seems to point to the idea that these new brain cells form connections with the pre-existing neurons in the frontal lobe later in the infant’s development, resulting in more cognitive flexibility for a longer period of time.

To quote the original article by Laurel Hamers, what the new neurons are doing is analogous to “replenishing the frontal lobe’s supply of building blocks midway through construction”.

Huang’s team observed postmortem infant brain tissue under an electron microscope and discovered a group of neurons synthesizing migration proteins, but the real major discovery came with the observation of rare tissue acquired moments after death. The team injected viruses tagged with glowing proteins into the neurons (thus making the nerve cells glow) in the sample and tracked their movement. While infants up to 7 months old were observed with migrating neurons, the researchers recorded the number of migrating cells at its highest at 1.5 months old and saw it diminish thereafter. The migrating neurons usually become inhibitory interneurons which, to quote the original article, are “like stoplights for other neurons, keeping signaling in check”.

So there you have it! To make sure your baby doesn’t learn that bad word, just suck up all the migrating neurons from its brain!

All jokes aside, this research presents an amazing window into the brain development of the most intelligent species on earth! It’s fascinating how it breaks down psychological mysteries using cellular evidence. And it raises new questions about these mobile neurons: When are they created and how long does it take them to move to the frontal lobe?

How do you think this new research will influence our understanding of the creation of social biases? Do you think this will lead to breakthroughs in research on the foundation of Autism spectrum disorders?  Do you have any funny baby stories? Let me know in the comments.

Lead Leads to Neurotoxitity

Have you ever heard of using bottled water to shower? Sounds ridiculous right, but the people of Flint, Michigan need to do this to save their lives. The city of Flint switched their water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River in April 2014. The river was later discovered to be contaminated. Since the changeover, scientists have linked the high lead levels in children’s blood to the contaminated water. This is a serious problem.

Lead is a highly toxic substance that permanently affects humans’ brains by killing nerve cells. Not only does lead harm kids’ brain processes, it also may cause various future mental diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Schizophrenia. Throughout U.S. history, people have been exposed to lead poisoning through basic everyday mediums, such as paint, water (from lead-contaminated water pipes), and dust. Children who eat paint chips or lick their fingers after coming in contact with products that have a lead component are poisoning themselves. The lead enters into the bloodstream and travels throughout the body, stealthily making itself at home, poisoning the body.

So how does lead poisoning work? Basically, lead disguises itself as zinc. Zinc is needed to anchor proteins that switch genes on and off. When zinc is replaced with lead, the switches cannot function properly, eventually leading to mental diseases.

Lead Poisoning

Scientists have been researching the possibility that lead is transferable in DNA to offspring. This could be devastating to a population of a town like Flint, Michigan, where the mothers who have lead poisoning could pass this on to their babies. The worst part is that there is no cure for lead poisoning.

Because of the devastating effects of lead in bloodstream, governments have debated the topic of legalizing contaminated water as a bioweapon, using lead as the contaminant. Governments in the past have used poisoned water as an assassination method, proving the effectiveness of this strategy.

Preventing lead exposure and poisoning is critical for children’s health and for future generations.

 

Source Article

For more info on the biowarfare, click here.

Possible Connections between the Gut Microbiome and the Brain

It is not a new concept that gut bacteria affects a person’s health. But this article published in The Atlantic explains how they may even affect the human brain. Some researchers believe that the microbiome may play a role in regulating how people think and feel. Scientists have found evidence that this community of bacteria (trillions of cells that together weigh between one and three pounds) could play a crucial role in autism, anxiety, depression, and other disorders.

500px-E_coli_at_10000x,_original

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_bacteriotherapy#/media/File:E_coli_at_10000x,_original.jpg

Much of the most intriguing work has been done on autism. For years, it has been noted that about 75 percent of people with autism also have some gastrointestinal abnormality, like digestive issues or food allergies. This has prompted scientists to search for potential connections between the gut microbiome and autism; recent studies find that autistic people’s microbiome differs significantly from those of control groups. Caltech microbiologist Sarkis Mazmanian specifically focuses on a species called Bacteroides fragilis, which is seen in smaller quantities in some children with autism.  Mazmanian and several colleagues fed B. fragilis from humans to mice with symptoms similar to autism. The treatment altered the makeup of the animals’ microbiome, and more importantly, improved their behavior: They became less anxious and communicated more with other mice.

Perhaps the most well-known human study was done by Emeran Mayer, a gastroenterologist at UCLA. He recruited 25 subjects (all healthy women) for four weeks. He had 12 of them eat a cup of commercially available yogurt twice a day, while the rest didn’t. Yogurt is a probiotic, meaning it contains live bacteria. In this case it contained four species: bifidobacterium, streptococcus, lactococcus, and lactobacillus. Before and after the study, subjects were given brain scans to gauge their response to a series of images of facial expressions—happiness, sadness, anger, and so on.

To Mayer’s surprise, the results showed significant differences between the two groups. The yogurt eaters reacted more calmly to the images than the control group. “The contrast was clear,” says Mayer. “This was not what we expected, that eating a yogurt twice a day for a few weeks would do something to your brain.” He thinks the bacteria in the yogurt changed the makeup of the subjects’ gut microbes, and that this led to the production of compounds that modified brain chemistry.

As scientists learn more about how the gut-brain microbial network operates, they think it could be manipulated to treat psychiatric disorders. And because these microbes have eons of experience modifying our brains, they are likely to be more precise and subtle than current pharmacological approaches, which could mean fewer side effects. “I think these microbes will have a real effect on how we treat these disorders,” neuroscientist John Cryan says. “This is a whole new way to modulate brain function.”

Just Because My D1 Neurons Are Excited, Doesn’t Mean My Risk of Alcoholism Increases…Does it?!

Alcoholism can now not only be studied and analyzed at the psychological level, but also at the molecular level, thanks to researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. They recently conducted a study that found how alcohol influences the dorsomedial striatum, the part of the brain that participates in decision-making and goal-driven behaviors.

The dorsomedial striatum is composed of medium spiny neurons, neurons that have many branches, or spines, protruding off their dendrites.

(Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Confocal_image_of_spiny_neuron_-_1.jpg)

Spiny neurons have receptors for dopamine, which is further categorized into dopamine D1 and D2 neurotransmitters. D1 neurons have receptors for D1 neurotransmitters. They send excitatory postsynaptic potentials and encourage the action potential/signal to continue. D2 neurons counteract D1 neurons; they send inhibitory postsynaptic potentials and discourage further actions. In this study, D1 neurons prove to be a major part of alcoholism and addiction.

High consumption of alcohol, scientists learned, excites D1 neurons. The more excited they become, the more compelled one feels to perform an action…in this case, the action is drinking another alcoholic beverage.

More drinking induces more D1 neuron excitement, which leads to even more drinking.

Not only does it affect a D1 neuron’s excitability, alcohol also makes physical changes to the neuron itself at the molecular level, and consequently affects the neuron’s function.

In their study, researchers divided their test subjects into two groups: one that’s exposed to alcohol and one that’s not. Analyzing their spiny neurons, scientists saw that though the number of spines in the neurons of the individuals of each group didn’t change, the ratio of the difference between mature and immature spines was dramatic. The subjects that drank alcohol had notably longer branches and a high number of mature mushroom-shaped spines. The abstainers’ neurons had shorter branches and more immature mushroom-shaped spines. Mature, mushroom-shaped spines are involved in long-term memory; activation of long-term memory through alcohol underlies addiction.

However, there’s promising news! The study also showed results that blocking, or at least partially blocking, D1 receptors via a drug can inhibit and reduce the desire for consumption of another drink.

This is a huge step towards finding a cure for alcoholism. Alcoholism is a disease that affects not only the individual, but also his or her family, relatives, friends, etc…With this study, the scientific community has more of an understanding of how to go about creating new drugs and combating alcoholism.

If we suppress this activity, we’re able to suppress alcohol consumption. This is the major finding. Perhaps in the future, researchers can use these findings to develop a specific treatment targeting these neurons.

-Jun Wang, M.D., Ph.D., the lead author on the paper and an assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics at the Texas A&M College of Medicine.

What do you think? Do you think this study promotes a viable option towards curing alcoholism and addiction, or is there another method out there that we should be pursuing? Leave a comment below!

 

Original Article

The Not-So-Sweet Truth

Trick-or-treaters excitedly hoard candy every Halloween, aware of its dangers to the extent that sugar causes cavities. However, sugar’s stealth effects extend far beyond tooth decay. Research shows that consuming high-concentrations of sugar slows down brain function and is detrimental to both physical and mental health. Continuing overindulgences in sugar-laden products may even lead to Alzheimer’s disease. Children, teenagers, and adults need to understand the damages that a high-fructose diet could cause in order to avoid sugar.

For consumers, sugar is extremely difficult to avoid since it is found in most processed foods in the form of honey, sucrose, and high fructose corn syrup. As soon as sugar is consumed and absorbed into the body, it causes the brain to release hormones, such as dopamine, that generate good feelings. The good feelings from the release of dopamine are temporary. Once the high sugar level in the bloodstream drops, feelings of depression, irritability, or fatigue take over. Sugar thus stimulates the body to intensely crave for more sugar intake.

In addition to affecting the hormones, research shows that sugar-heavy diets causes changes in gut bacteria, which makes the brain’s ability to adapt and switch to new concepts more difficult to comprehend. The gut bacteria influences the way the brain functions, so any change in this type of bacteria is unhealthy for neurological health. The level of sugar intake and cognitive abilities are interconnected; therefore, restricting sugar from entering the bloodstream is an intelligent dietary choice.

The negative consequences of diets high in sugar have been studied and the conclusive evidence shows that sugar is toxic to good health. Scientists conducted experiments on a group of rats to prove that sugar consumption hinders the ability to effectively think. One group was given normal water to drink, while the other group was given a fructose-infused water to drink for six weeks. After the six weeks, the rats were timed to see how fast they could escape a maze. The group that drank the sugar water took thirty percent longer than the group that drank plain water. The researchers ultimately concluded that fructose disrupts plasticity: the brain’s ability to retain short-term and long-term memories and generate new ideas using new information.

It is important for everyone to be aware of the harmful effects that sugar has on the human body. Cavities should not be the thing people worry about when they eat candy, as they are petty compared to the dangers sugar has on the brain. Sugar weakens mental and physical health, and should be avoided like the death it could cause.

Original Article 

 

Epigenetics and Dopamine Activity

Researchers at the University of California in Irvine have correlated erratic dopamine activity as an underlying cause of complex neuropsychiatric disorders, specifically because of the epigenetic alterations caused by low levels of dopamine. This study, overseen by Emiliana Borelli, a UCI professor of microbiology & molecular genetics, provides clues to the possible causes of complicated disorders like schizophrenia.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (and hormone) that fuels our daily life, acting as our prime motivator and pleasure inducer, while also being linked to memory, and cognitive function. Many addictive drugs increase the amounts of dopamine released to exhausting levels, eventually wearing out the neurotransmitters notwithstanding the negative effects of the drugs themselves. High dopamine levels can also be achieved via everyday pleasures like exercise or sex, which can also spur addiction.

Dopamine_3D_ball

Dopamine, therefore, has an irrefutable role in our everyday lives, and according to Borelli, “Genes previously linked to schizophrenia seem to be dependent on the controlled release of dopamine at specific locations in the brain. Interestingly, this study shows that altered dopamine levels can modify gene activity through epigenetic mechanisms despite the absence of genetic mutations of the DNA.”

In short, it is quite likely that Dopamine is an epigenetic hub of sorts, that can cause powerful changes in gene regulation when functioning in a disrupted or excessive manner. Borelli, knowing the consequences of excess dopamine release, tested the opposite effect on mice, hindering dopamine release by turning off mid brain dopamine receptors in rats, leading to mild dopamine synthesis. The results were profound, as Borelli found there to be decreased expression in approximately 2,000 genes in the prefrontal cortex. This epigenetic surge of decrease in genetic expression was reinforced by the increase in change of DNA proteins called histones, which are associated with reduced gene activity. The now mutated mice suffered from ranging psychotic behavior and episodes, and were then treated with dopamine activators for a duration of time before seeing their behavior normalize.

Borelli’s and others’ work will provide useful clues for understanding these complex neurological disorders, while serving to reinforce the newfound importance of comprehending gene regulation and expression. These studies seem to point to a new era in which it is not just your genetic make up that determines your future, but also the regulation of your genes.

 

 

Editing the Brain Using Epigenetic Tools

Epigenetics is a huge part of our life and influences us in ways we may not be aware of. Did you know that it is impossible to create and save new memories without epigenetic tags? The brain is heavily reliant on Epigenetics to do its functions, and this makes it a huge topic of research to figure out the ways in which the epigenetics of the brain could affect certain diseases or memory. Recently special epigenetic molecular tools have been created that can erase specific epigenetic markers throughout the genome. The possible effects these tools could have on the curing of diseases of the brain or psychological ailments are tremendous.

These “epigenetic editing” procedure use either CRISPR (clustered, regularly interspaced, short, palindromic repeats) or TALE (Transcription activator-like effector) systems of modification. These systems can carry an Epigenome modifying enzyme and deliver it a specific site they are programmed to go to. This allows researchers to target very specific epigenetic changes and either shut them down or turn them on and possibly determine their correlation with certain ailments of the brain. “We’re going from simply being able to observe changes to being able to manipulate and recapitulate those changes in a controlled way,” Day said. This quote from Day, one of the researchers of this project, shows that we advance from only being able to observe epigenetic influences on the brain, to being able to manipulate and control them to potential aid us in combating diseases.

Researchers can catalog all of the epigenetic changes involved in forming and preserving a new memory. If we are able to track these epigenetic changes, then could we implant memories in to a person’s mind, by copying similar epigenetic changes? These researchers where also able to trigger not only the place where epigenetic change happens, but also the exact time using optogenetics. This form of using light to control neurons allows researchers to use the TALE system and a light switch apply epigenetic change to very specific brain regions or cell types.

One of the final goals of this research is to eventually be able to use epigenetic as a form of therapy to benefit PTSD, depression, schizophrenia, and cognitive function using the ability to alter epigenetic marks. This can also be used in a similar way to silence mutated genes that are damaging the cells or the body as whole. This form of using TALE and CRISPR to alter epigenetic tags creates a lot of hope for PTSD, depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and other similar disease treatment options.

Epigenetics and Brain Development

Pre-natal human brain development helps determine many major qualities a person may have in life. Research at the University of Exeter found that a type of Epigenetics, DNA methylation, helps us understand the differences between male and female brains. They studied that this type of gene regulation in pre-natal brain development may help us grasp more information about “sex differences in behavior, brain function, and disease.”

In the womb, as organs are developing, the brain has extreme plasticity. Professor Jonathan Mill of the University of Exeter explains how it is extremely vulnerable to changes because the brain is creating the structures that “control neurobiological function across life.” The research consisted of measuring genomic patterns of DNA methylation in the womb between 23 and 184 days after conception. DNA methylation is a chemical modification to one of the 4 nitrogen bases that helps create one’s unique genetic code. By studying the DNA methylation, or turning on of selected genes, in the pre-natal period when the brain is being developed, it helps scientists understand the susceptibility of different neurological diseases based on one’s sex. Helen Spiers from King’s College London explains how male and females have unique differences with certain disorders, such as Autism. She says how “autism affects five males to every female.”

The molecular switches that regulate genes were found to be gender specific. They also help differentiate brain cells from other cells in the body. This research gained traction in understanding the unique qualities of the DNA “blueprint” of males and females in their developing stages. The genetic switches that are turned on in pre-natal development for each gender are unique, and a deep topic of study. By doing so, in the future, scientists can research deeper into neurological diseases that are unique to males or females, and how they may be created in the womb.

 

Original Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150203190223.htm

Link to picture:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brain_01.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Brain_01.jpgBrain_01

The New Source of Mental Illness

a three dimensional recreation of DNA methylation

a three dimensional recreation of DNA methylation

For years scientists were convinced that the root cause of diseases such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia lay somewhere hidden in the human genome. But the particular genetic sequence that would supposedly be linked to these illnesses remained elusive.  So researches turned to the developing theory of Epigenetics.  Studies from King’s College in London and related in this article have shown that Epigenetic (changes in gene activity caused by the environment) changes might be responsible for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.  Jonathan Mill and colleagues scanned the genome of 22 pairs of identical twins.  For each pair of twins, one of the twins was diagnosed with either bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. With the understanding that chemical methyl groups attached to particular sites on a genome are responsible for the “turning of” and “turning on” of genes, Mill and his team “scanned for differences in the attachment of methyl groups at 27,000 sites in the genome.”  The researches found variations in the amount of methylation of up to 20 percent in the gene ST6GALNAC1 (which has been connected with schizophrenia) and differences in the amount of methylation of up to 25% in the gene GPR24 (which had previously been linked to bipolar disorder).  Interestingly Mill’s team found that “a gene called ZNF659, showed over methylation in people with schizophrenia and under-methylation in those who were bipolar, suggesting that the conditions might result from opposing gene activity.  These findings certainly support the theory of Epigenetic’s being a real factor in behavior and mental illness.  They also serve to confirm that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are related disorders.  This relates to our unit in the sense that Epigenetics deals with the expression of the DNA and genetic sequence we are learning about.  While we read about how the nucleotides are sequenced, Epigenetics could potentially be responsible for how DNA is expressed.

Related reading:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/health/09brain.html?_r=0

http://bipolarnews.org/?tag=epigenetics

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/bipolar-disorder/psychiatric-epigenetics-key-molecular-basis-and-therapy-psychiatric-disorders

Do Viruses Make Us Smarter?

5284032560_4812d29f9f_o

Sanofi Pasteur

A study conducted at the Lund University shows that “inherited viruses” that are millions of years old play an important role in building up the complex networks that characterize the human brain.” It is well known that retroviruses are make up about five percent of our DNA. Research under Johan Jakobsson indicate that retroviruses may play a critical role in the basic functions of the brain, “in the regulation of which genes are to be expressed, and when.”

Studies of neural stem cells show that these cells use a particular molecular mechanism to control the activation processes of the retroviruses. Findings have shown to have increasingly gained control in our cellular machinery. Because tumors are unable to form in nerve cells, different from other teachers, viruses are activated specifically in the brain. The results open up potential for new research paths concerning brain diseases linked to genetic factors.

“I believe that this can lead to new, exciting studies on the diseases of the brain. Currently, when we look for genetic factors linked to various diseases, we usually look for the genes we are familiar with, which make up a mere two per cent of the genome. Now we are opening up the possibility of looking at a much larger part of the genetic material which was previously considered unimportant. The image of the brain becomes more complex, but the area in which to search for errors linked to diseases with a genetic component, such as neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric illness and brain tumors, also increases”.

Original Article: http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2015/01/12/do_viruses_make_us_smarter.html

For More Info:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150112093129.htm

Human Brain Gene Implant Greatly Effects Mice

A study conducted at MIT tested the effect of human Foxp2 gene on mice and observed their ability to navigate through a maze. Foxp2 is found in both mice and humans, but the human form of the gene is related to  learning and language but it has been hypothesized by neuroscientist Ann Graybiel of MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research that perhaps the human gene is related to sub-conscious actions based on environmental cues.

The maze lead to a pile of food, and throughout the maze the scientists placed visual and sensory cues that lead to the end of the maze and to the food. At the end of the study, the results showed that the genetically modified mice would complete the maze 3 days faster than the wild, control mice when visual and sensory cues were both involved.

The significance of the study is the potential connection between specialized learning and the Foxp2 gene. Although the difference between learning how to run a maze and leaning how to speak is massive, tests like this one are the beginnings to analyzing the true significance of Foxp2.

Mice

How to stick with your New Years Resolutions

 

bicycling  In Tracy Cutchlow’s article “How to Trick Yourself into Exercising” she talks about the difficulty of sticking to your new years resolutions.  Year after year peoplecreate resolutionsthat involve things such as consistent exercise, but they struggle to actually act on their resolution.  So Tracy spoke with a psychologist about possible techniques that would enable her to “trick herself into exercising.”  The psychologist’s technique involved a relatively simple three step procedure.  The first step is to create a “ridiculously realistic goal.”  For example, rather than say you are going to exercise everyday, start off with three days a week.  The next step involves accountability.  This could mean writing notes in your phone or putting a calendar up on the fridge to remind you about your resolution and to help you keep track of your progress.  The final, and most important step, is to create a “painful consequence.”  For Tracy this meant that if she ever failed to maintain her three days a week resolution, she would have to give $500 dollars to an organization that she “hates” (Comcast).  The purpose of the painful consequence is to essentially make breaking your resolution so unappealing that it eventually becomes a rule.  In his book How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, author Paul Tough describes thegeneral science behind how creating rules for yourself is an effective method for maintaining discipline. He writes, “When you’re making rules for yourself, you’re enlisting the prefrontal cortex as your partner against the more reflexive parts of your brain. … Rules are a metacognitive substitute for willpower. By making yourself a rule (“I never eat fried dumplings”), you can sidestep the painful internal conflict between your desire for fried foods and your willful determination to resist them.”  So Tracy Cutchlow’s article provides a means through which we can create rules for ourselves and in turn, successfully adhere to our resolutions.

Image URL: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Exercise_motivation#mediaviewer/File:Cycling_Time_Trial_effort.jpg

Related Reading:

http://www.paultough.com/the-books/how-children-succeed/

http://www.ballyfitness.com/trick-yourself-into-exercising.aspx

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/resolution.aspx

The Rise of NFL Brain Injuries and Possible Solutions

tackling leading to brain injuries

tackling leading to brain injuries

Brain-injury treatment program that was created for military veterans hurt on the battlefield has now been updated to include professional athletes. Eisenhower Center’s representatives announced that it will be the main facility used by the NFL Players Association to treat brain and neurological issues. This will be facilitated through the After the Impact program.

Residential neuro-rehab facility is located in Ann Arbor. The program has intense treatment for athletes recovering from concussions, mild traumatic brain injury, or PTSD. It came from Eisenhower Center’s transitional treatment program to serve military soldiers dealing with brain injuries.

The NFL expects 28% of retired players to suffer Alzheimer’s or moderate dementia; this has caused former players to sue. About a third of all retired NFL players will suffer long-term cognitive problems and the After the Impact program has helped some reach the path to recovery.

NFL provoked a judge to approve a $1 billion settlement of concussion lawsuits ignoring concerns raised by former players. The 65-year fund will resolve thousands of lawsuits on the NFL, accusing them of hiding their knowledge of concussions and brain injuries in an attempt to keep players.

I picked this topic because I watch football every weekend and have wondered about the impact of the hitting on the players. It is nice to see that there have been efforts made to fix this.

Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/16/braininjury-program-worki_n_6337018.html?utm_hp_ref=brain

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11905362/nfl-urges-judge-approve-estimated-1-billion-settlement-concussion-lawsuits

http://www.eisenhowercenter.com/neurobehavioral

 

Trust Your Eyes?

How do illusions deceive people into seeing false perceptions of what is actually in front of them? Illusions are caused from a misunderstanding between eyes and the brain. All illusions start with the eyes. The light that bounces off an object enters the cornea of the eye. The cornea refracts the light through the pupil. The light rays then go through the lens towards the retina where the nerve cells are present. The cells, commonly called rods or cones, which are the two types of cells that  send the light through the optic nerve for the brain to interpret. Illusions are set up in a particular way with patterns, images or colors that trick the brain.

Illusions sometimes occur due to familiarity of the situation we are falsely perceiving. The whole process of interpreting information takes fractions of a second, so often times the brain quickly notices a familiar situation and is hard wired into coming to a conclusion. The link below displays a picture providing an example of this phenomena. The second picture consists of what seems to be simply a nature photo, but with a closer look actually shows the outline of a women’s face. Naturally the brain quickly perceives just trees becasue it is the “normal” understanding of the photo.

http://opticalillusionshowtheywork.blogspot.com

Another type of illusion, called a physiological illusion, occurs from a certain type of light, color, and position. This type of illusion occurs when the stimuli that are sent to the brain are so intensive or repetitive that it causes some sort of jam that creates a misperception. The picture below seems to be moving side to side. The reason this illusion works is becasue the repetition that the eyes can’t fully digest and an over stimulation occurs.

274762242_aa232fa71b_m

 

Sometimes simply context can confuse the mind. The illusion below shows two groups of circles. The middle ones on both sides are surprisingly the same size. It is extremely shocking because the one on the left looks much bigger than the one on the right. This happens becasue the brain groups each part of the image separately and compares those circles. The circle on the left is big compared to the others while the one on the right is smaller than the others. This shows how the brain analyses some situations. The brain simply compares each circle to the other and gives it a general big or small association.

3410035358_8ca84a0d63_m

Essentially illusions come from the false information and trickery our eyes send to the brain. Our eyes and brain work to process information in fractions of a second. Because of this optimization and simplicity is key. Rather than fully grasping all of the information many comparisons and quick conclusions can be made. The brain is forced to take shortcuts with comparisons such as light and dark, big and small, and shape to quickly adapt and react to what the eyes see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_illusion

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/EyeHealth/optical-illusions-eye-brain-agree/story?id=8455573

http://theweek.com/article/index/258473/how-optical-illusions-trick-your-brain-according-to-science

Videogames aren’t that bad for your brain after all

An exciting new study at the University of Rochester, has given way to a new theory regarding the benefits of playing video games on the brain. According to brain professor Daphne Bavelier, “…playing action video games can foster better templates in our brains. The better the template, the better the performance.” To test her theory, Bavelier compared perceptual learning skills of individuals playing action video games such as Call of Duty for 50 hours and others who played non action video games like Sims in pattern discrimination tasks. Her research revealed that those who played action video games were far quicker at completing these tasks than non action game players, leading Bavelier to conclude that the action game players’ better performance is a direct result of their more developed brain templates.  When tested again a year later, the action gamers’ performance still succeeded other individuals, suggesting that video games are actually healthy for the brain and can make people better learners. While Bavelier’s results exemplify that more action packed games produce this effect, Bavelier continues to conduct research to determine which characteristics in video games are key to improving a players skills.

So, what do you think about this research and its implications? Should parents encourage their kids to play more video games?

"Tex playing video games" by R Pollard

“Tex playing video games” by R Pollard

Human skin cells reprogrammed directly into brain cells

Brain

 

Original article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141022123021.htm

Some key words:

Neurodegenerative diseases: Disease such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease that undergo a neurodegenerative process, specific neurons are targeted for degeneration.

Spiny brain cell: The desired end brain cell in this study, and a brain cell affected by Huntington’s disease

 

In a study by the researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, they demonstrate a way for human skin cells to be specifically converted to a type of brain cell. This study can help in the rehabilitation of people with Huntington’s disease by turning skin cells in to brain cells that are lost through this neurodegenerative disease. This is all accomplished without passing through the stem cell phase preventing other cell types forming.

This research involved adult skin cells that Yoo, the senior author, and his colleagues reprogrammed by using two microRNAs: miR-9, and miR-124. These micro RNAs open up the otherwise tightly packaged and inactive sections of the gene critical to the formation of brain cells. While the micro RNAs open up genes used for the creation and functionality of neurons, transcription factors taken from a part of the brain where medium spiny neurons are common directs the newly formed brain cells to a specific subunit of brain cells. The researchers then observed that the newly formed brain cells behave and function in a similar way to the native medium spiny neurons in mice, allowing this study to proceed in to further stages of experimentation, and hopefully result in a treatment practical for human use.

This study is very critical in the advancement of the treatment for neurodegenerative disease such as Huntington’s disease. Using different transcription factors from parts of the brain, alternate types of brain cells can be created to replace cells lost from neurodegenerative effects. This form of treatment will also prevent rejection of the transplant because the skin cells can be taken from the patient’s own body. This is a breakthrough in our pursuit of cures for these lethal neurodegenerative diseases.

Page 3 of 6

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén

Skip to toolbar