Category Biology/Biotechnology

Image of a rodent brain cell, with insulin receptors (seen as many green dots) that when activated spur release of dopamine (In background in pink is neuron nucleus.) Credit: Courtesy of Nature Communications

Insulin, essential for controlling blood sugar levels and feeling of being full after eating, plays a much stronger role than previously known in regulating release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers, new studies by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center show.

“We found that when there’s more insulin in the brain, there will be more dopamine released, not less,” says study senior investigator and NYU Langone neuroscientist Margaret Rice, PhD...

Depiction of the vOICe encoding scheme. A camera mounted on glasses records video that is converted to sound by a computer and transmitted to headphones in real time. Credit: Shimojo Lab/Caltech

Caltech researchers have now discovered that intrinsic neural connections- crossmodal mappings -can be used by assistive devices to help the blind detect their environment without requiring intense concentration or hundreds of hours of training. This new multisensory perspective on such aids (called sensory substitution devices) could make tasks that were previously attention-consuming much easier, allowing nonsighted people to acquire a new sensory functionality similar to vision.

“.. 99% of our daily life depends on multisensory- also called multimodal processing...

A new study in mice reveals that increased body weight and high blood sugar as a result of consuming a high-fat diet may cause anxiety and depressive symptoms and measurable changes in the brain.

Fluorescence in the brain of a living mouse: The emanating beams of light can be measured through the top of the skulls. The degree of fluorescence is reflected through colors, whereby the intensity decreases from red to violet. Credit: © Image: Karen von Loo/Laboratory of Albert Becker

If they blocked a central switch in epileptic mice, the frequency and severity of the seizures decreased. Using a novel technology, it was possible to observe the processes prior to the occurrence of epileptic seizures in living animals. About 1 of 20 people in the course of his or her life suffers an epileptic attack, during which the nerve cells get out of their usual rhythm and fire in a very rapid frequency. This results in seizures...