Neuroscience

Nerve-insulating cells more diverse than previously thought

Oligodendrocytes, a type of brain cell that plays a crucial role in diseases such as multiple sclerosis, are more diverse than have previously been thought, according to a new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet ...

Medical research

Narcotic painkillers prolong pain in rats, study finds

The dark side of painkillers - their dramatic increase in use and ability to trigger abuse, addiction and thousands of fatal overdoses annually in the United States is in the news virtually every day.

Neuroscience

Myelin cells swing along blood vessels to traverse the brain

The cells that create myelin, a fatty material that insulates nerve fibers in the brain's white matter, migrate into the developing brain by climbing and swinging on blood vessels, according to new research led by UC San ...

Neuroscience

Drug 'cocktail' could restore vision in optic nerve injury

Research from Boston Children's Hospital suggests the possibility of restoring at least some visual function in people blinded by optic nerve damage from glaucoma, estimated to affect more than 4 million Americans, or from ...

Genetics

Gene could hold key to treating Parkinson's disease

Researchers at King's College London have identified a new gene linked to nerve function, which could provide a treatment target for 'switching off' the gene in people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease.

Medical research

Pain is in the brain

Chronic pain results from disease or trauma to the nervous system. Damaged nerve fibres with heightened responses to normal stimuli send incorrect messages to pain centres in the brain. This phenomenon, called "peripheral ...

Neuroscience

Brain FM: Purkinje cells sing different tunes

All of us have our moods when we like to whistle an old melody or feel like tapping our feet to the latest hit. It turns out that cells in our brains can be equally moody, changing the tune of their electrical signals from ...

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