Credit: Cedars-Sinai
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 3, 2021) For the first time in humans, investigators at Cedars-Sinai have identified the neurons responsible for canceling planned behaviors or actions a highly adaptive skill that when lost, can lead to unwanted movements.
Known as stop signal neurons, these neurons are critical in powering someone to stop or abort an action they have already put in process. We have all had the experience of sitting at a traffic stop and starting to press the gas pedal but then realizing that the light is still red and quickly pressing the brake again, said Ueli Rutishauser, PhD, professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology and Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai and senior author of the study published online in the peer-reviewed journal
Scientists unravel the workings of a mysterious protein implicated in movement disorders
Scientists at Scripps Research have clarified the workings of a mysterious protein called Gαo, which is one of the most abundant proteins in the brain and, when mutated, causes severe movement disorders.
The findings, which appear in
Cell Reports, are an advance in the basic understanding of how the brain controls muscles and could lead to treatments for children born with Gαo-mutation movement disorders. Such conditions known as GNAO1-related neurodevelopmental disorders were discovered only in the past decade, and are thought to affect at least hundreds of children around the world. Children with the disease suffer from severe developmental delays, seizures and uncontrolled muscle movements.
Neuroscience has a new home. On Friday, January 29, Caltech hosted a virtual dedication for The Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Neuroscience Research Building.
Credit: NYU/NYU Abu Dhabi Global TIES for Children
Abu Dhabi, UAE, February 2, 2021: Adolescent mothers often fall through the cracks of educational programming. This is highly problematic given that globally an estimated 12 million girls between the ages of 15-19, and 777,000 girls under the age of 15, give birth each year. In populations affected by conflict and displacement, adolescent girls have an increased likelihood of becoming mothers due to various factors, such as disruptions to schooling, the loss of family members, poverty, gender-based violence, and poor access to healthcare and sexual and reproductive services and resources. There is a lack of support programs for these young mothers, and a continuing need for educational programming.
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Researchers Demonstrate How Defects in Mitochondria May Lead to Autism Spectrum Disorder
Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have demonstrated that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be caused by defects in the mitochondria of brain cells. The findings were published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Multiple studies have revealed hundreds of mutations associated with autism spectrum disorder, but there is no consensus as to how these genetic changes cause the condition. Biochemical and physiological analyses have suggested that deficiencies in mitochondria, the “batteries” of the cell that produce most of the body’s energy, might be a possible cause. Recent studies have shown that variants of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are associated with autism spectrum disorder.