Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a method involving artificial intelligence to visualize and track changes in the strength of synapses—the connection points through which nerve cells in the brain communicate—in ...
Jun 5, 2023
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Links have been reported between schizophrenia and proteins produced by the immune system that can act against one's own body, known as autoantibodies. In a study published in Brain Behavior and Immunity, Japanese researchers ...
May 31, 2023
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Scientists have long known that the cells' "protein destruction machine," the proteasome, plays a crucial role in protein clearance within the brain. However, a new study published in Science has revealed that its essential ...
May 25, 2023
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The mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of epilepsy, a neurological disorder characterized by excessive electrical activity in the brain, remain unknown. Now, using a novel radiotracer ([11C]K-2, the first technology to ...
May 18, 2023
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Fresh insights into the spread of damaging proteins that build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease could hold the key to stopping the condition from progressing, a study says.
May 15, 2023
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Although bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are diagnosed as distinct psychiatric conditions, both are considerably heritable with molecular roots that are poorly understood. Some people diagnosed with one disorder have symptoms ...
May 12, 2023
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A new study led by researchers at Brown University's Carney Institute for Brain Science offers a blueprint to help scientists prevent and reverse motor deficits that occur in old age.
May 11, 2023
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Brains are like puzzles, requiring many nested and co-dependent pieces to function well. The brain is divided into areas, each containing many millions of neurons connected across thousands of synapses. These synapses, which ...
Apr 12, 2023
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A brimming inbox on Monday morning sets your head spinning. You take a moment to breathe and your mind clears enough to survey the emails one by one. This calming effect occurs thanks to a newly discovered brain circuit involving ...
Apr 4, 2023
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Microglia are primary immune cells that safeguard the mammalian brain, partly by devouring or 'phagocytosing' pathogens and toxic debris. Recent genetic studies have consistently highlighted the role of microglia in the development ...
Chemical synapses are specialized junctions through which neurons signal to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in muscles or glands. Chemical synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the central nervous system. They are crucial to the biological computations that underlie perception and thought. They allow the nervous system to connect to and control other systems of the body.
The adult human brain is estimated to contain from 1014 to 5 × 1014 (100-500 trillion) synapses.[citation needed] Each mm3 of cerebral cortex contains roughly a billion of them.
The word "synapse" comes from "synaptein", which Sir Charles Scott Sherrington and colleagues coined from the Greek "syn-" ("together") and "haptein" ("to clasp"). Chemical synapses are not the only type of biological synapse: electrical and immunological synapses also exist. Without a qualifier, however, "synapse" commonly means chemical synapse.
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