Study identifies the key genes in the brain involved in encoding memories
UT Southwestern scientists have identified key genes involved in brain waves that are pivotal for encoding memories. The findings, published online this week in
Nature Neuroscience, could eventually be used to develop novel therapies for people with memory loss disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
Making a memory involves groups of brain cells firing cooperatively at various frequencies, a phenomenon known as neural oscillations. However, explain study leaders Bradley C. Lega, M.D., associate professor of neurological surgery, neurology, and psychiatry, and Genevieve Konopka, Ph.D., associate professor of neuroscience, the genetic basis of this process is not clear.
E-Mail
IMAGE: Above illustration shows a neuron (green) ensheathed by an oligodendrocyte (purple) with activated genetic material (DNA) in each cell s nucleus. Differences in each cell type s active DNA may underlie human. view more
Credit: Melissa Logies
DALLAS - March 10, 2021 - UT Southwestern scientists have identified key genes involved in brain waves that are pivotal for encoding memories. The findings, published online this week in
Nature Neuroscience, could eventually be used to develop novel therapies for people with memory loss disorders such as Alzheimer s disease and other forms of dementia.
Making a memory involves groups of brain cells firing cooperatively at various frequencies, a phenomenon known as neural oscillations. However, explain study leaders Bradley C. Lega, M.D., associate professor of neurological surgery, neurology, and psychiatry, and Genevieve Konopka, Ph.D., associate professor of neuroscience, the genetic basis of this process is
Study offers a new way to treat children with bow hunter syndrome
Fusing the neck s top two vertebrae can prevent repeat strokes in children with bow hunter syndrome, a rare condition that affects a handful of U.S. pediatric patients each year, UT Southwestern researchers suggest in a recent study. The finding, published online in
Child s Nervous System, offers a new way to treat these children and protect them from potentially lifelong neurological consequences.
Bow hunter syndrome - so named because of the head s position when a person is shooting an arrow - is a condition affecting children and adults in which turning the head compresses blood vessels supplying the back of the brain from the vertebral artery. In adults, this condition is usually caused by a bone spur on the neck and presents with temporary symptoms of fainting, dizziness, headache, or tinnitus that resolve when the head turns back to a neutral position.
Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center
DALLAS - Feb. 11, 2021 - A study led by UT Southwestern has identified a mechanism that controls the activity of proteins known as chaperones, which guide proteins to fold into the right shapes. The findings, published online today in
Nature Communications, could shed light on hundreds of degenerative and neurodegenerative diseases caused by protein misfolding, such as Alzheimer s, Parkinson s, and Huntington s, potentially leading to new treatments for these devastating conditions.
Every protein in the body is originally produced in a linear chain, with amino acid building blocks strung together one after another. But to fulfill their roles in cells, explains study leader Lukasz Joachimiak, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Center for Alzheimer s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Southwestern, these chains need to fold into precise shapes. Chaperones help proteins accomplish this by protecting their vulnerable portions while they shift i
Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center
DALLAS - Feb. 11, 2021 - Fusing the neck s top two vertebrae can prevent repeat strokes in children with bow hunter syndrome, a rare condition that affects a handful of U.S. pediatric patients each year, UT Southwestern researchers suggest in a recent study. The finding, published online in
Child s Nervous System, offers a new way to treat these children and protect them from potentially lifelong neurological consequences.
Bow hunter syndrome - so named because of the head s position when a person is shooting an arrow - is a condition affecting children and adults in which turning the head compresses blood vessels supplying the back of the brain from the vertebral artery. In adults, this condition is usually caused by a bone spur on the neck and presents with temporary symptoms of fainting, dizziness, headache, or tinnitus that resolve when the head turns back to a neutral position.