Journeying along axons, microscopic powerhouses known as mitochondria provide cells with the energy they need to function. When something goes wrong with the axonal transport and mitochondria isn't delivered, the system fails, and the cell body dies. Scientists in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis study the cellular bases of neurological disorders. Their recent research focuses...
Read MoreDr. Edward G. “Ted” Jones, distinguished neuroscientist died Monday 6 June 2011 at the age of 72. Dr. Jones collapsed while talking with colleagues at a scientific meeting at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. He suffered sudden cardiac death. Jack Glasser, president of MBF Bioscience said, “Ted was an outstanding neuroanatomist. Among many of his accomplishments, his work on brainmaps.org was a great contribution to...
Read MoreAsk any parent—when a teenage boy hits puberty, the transformation can be astounding. His voice deepens. His height skyrockets. The sex hormones surge. But what about the brain? It's changing too. Dr. Bradley Cooke of the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State University studies sex-specific neural circuitry in the amygdala. His past investigations showed increases in regional volume and soma size of the medial amygdala (MeA), a...
Read MoreWho: Harvey Karten, M.D., Professor of Neurosciences Where he works: The University of California, San Diego Research focus: The evolution of the organization of avian brains. MBF Bioscience software used: Neurolucida Major scientific contributions: Neuroscientists use the bird brain model to better understand the organization and evolution of the human brain thanks to Dr. Karten's research on nonmammalian vertebrates. In addition, Dr. Karten is a brain-mapping pioneer. He is...
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Patients suffering from Parkinson's disease may have a new way to manage their illness: gene therapy. Scientists at seven leading gene therapy centers across the US saw improvements in patients when a gene that helps produce the inhibitory transmitter GABA was introduced to quiet the subthalamic nucleus, an overactive region of the brain in Parkinson's patients. Twenty-two subjects from a group of 45 patients aged 30-75...
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To a child with autism the world is an intense place. Strangers unnerve. Surprises unsettle. To cope, the autistic child creates his own internal world. It's placid, secure, and void of extremes. Though autism is one of the most common childhood developmental disorders in existence, affecting an estimated one in 110 children, we know little about how it works. Most theories suggest a deficiency in the...
Read MoreName: Geoff Greene Position: Chief Scientific Applications Officer What does your job entail? When I’m not traveling, I spend most of my time in the office helping our existing or prospective customers to better understand how our systems can help them with their specific research projects. Most of what I do is work in a pre-sales technical support or consulting role. This involves working with customers to...
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Long before a newborn baby takes its first breath, oxygen plays an integral role in its development. Oxygen-rich blood fed through the placenta facilitates the growth of a healthy fetus, powering cells to form organs and biological systems so that a healthy human emerges after nine months in utero. However, when a fetus doesn't receive enough oxygen, birth defects such as cerebral palsy can occur. Scientists...
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A stroke can leave its victim mentally and physically devastated. Recovery is demanding, and takes drive and determination. If the patient doesn't receive medical attention within the small, critical window of time after the stroke occurs, chances of a quick recovery are slim. Developments in stem cell research find doctors optimistic about new possibilities for stroke rehabilitation. Scientists at the Stanford Stroke Center, one of the...
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When Pavlov's dogs started salivating in response to a ringing bell, something happened in their brains—a memory was encoded. Over a century later scientists are still figuring out how memories are physically represented in the brain. One lingering question has been whether or not the same set of neurons is activated when a particular memory is formed. Researchers at the Johnson Lab at the Uniformed...
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