How the brain works and how the brain is affected by disease are mysteries in large part because neurons are so dynamic, numerous, and complex. Neurolucida 360, a revolutionary, new software product from MBF Bioscience, enables neuroscientists to uncover more information about neurons at a faster rate. “Neurolucida 360 is a technological revolution” says Jack Glaser, President of MBF Bioscience. “It is the state-of-the-art tool for neuroscientists to analyze...
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[caption id="attachment_5635" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Representative dendrites of dentate gyrus neurons of Siberian hamsters injected with melatonin (stained with Cresyl violet). Ikeno et al found hamsters injected with melatonin displayed decreased spine density on neurons in the dentate gyrus. Image courtesy of Tomoko Ikeno, Ph.D.[/caption] Night falls and a powerful hormone called melatonin kicks in. The gears of the circadian clock are turning as you get ready...
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[caption id="attachment_5745" align="aligncenter" width="307"] Golgi-stained human brain tissue from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.[/caption] Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are very different mental illnesses, but researchers are discovering evidence that the two disorders have some common pathologies. According to a recent study, a shared characteristic appears to be dendritic spine loss. The researchers used Neurolucida to study pyramidal cells in human brain tissue from individuals with schizophrenia (n=14), individuals with bipolar...
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[caption id="attachment_5670" align="aligncenter" width="210"] Drs. May-Britt and Edvard Moser Image from GEIR MOGEN / NTNU[/caption] Drs. May-Britt and Edvard Moser were awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the cells that form a network for spatial navigation in the brain, and we're proud to say they are MBF Bioscience customers and used Neurolucida in their research. In 2006, the Norwegian husband and wife...
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[caption id="attachment_5617" align="alignnone" width="700"] This image stack was used in the study to analyze spine density. Image courtesy of Tara Chowdhury, Ph.D. first author of the study.[/caption] To find out how anorexia nervosa changes the brain, scientists at New York University are studying a rat model of the disease called activity-based anorexia (ABA). Previously, they discovered that ABA rats develop unusually robust dendritic branching of neurons...
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When neuroscientists started studying neurons in 3D, it revolutionized brain science. Now, for the first time, scientists are using this same technology to study the human placenta, and they've made some fascinating new discoveries about its structure. Using Neurolucida to create 3D reconstructions of villous trees – three-dimensional structures in the placenta that facilitate gas and nutrient exchange between the fetus and mother – researchers in...
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A baby laughs at an elephant at the zoo. A toddler runs across a beach. Small children make memories all the time, but how many will they recall as the years pass? Maybe none at all. The phenomenon is called “infantile amnesia,” and scientists may have pinpointed a reason for why it occurs – neurogenesis. Researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto say that...
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With some exceptions, humans and animals prefer to live in an environment free of filth. We clean our bodies and our homes so we can live healthy and productive lives. It turns out, the brain does too. Researchers at the University of Rochester discovered that the brain cleans itself during sleep—explaining one of the major reasons we partake in a nightly ritual that has mystified scientists...
Read More Scientists discovered that inactivity makes brain cells grow, but not in a good way. In a study published in the Journal of Comparative Neurology, researchers found more neuronal branching in sedentary rats compared to active rats. The growth occurred in a region of the brain that controls blood pressure, leading the scientists to hypothesize that these changes may be part of the reason inactivity is...
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The loss of cholinergic neurons is one of the earliest pathological events of Alzheimer’s disease. Cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain supply the cerebral cortex with acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter that plays a role in learning, memory, and attention. Details about the function and organization of basal forebrain (BF) neurons are not well understood, but Dr. Laszlo Zaborszky has recently uncovered new information about the...
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