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Category: neuroscience

Taking a daily multivitamin for 3 years is associated with a 60% slower cognitive aging, with the effects particularly pronounced in patients with cardiovascular (CVD) disease, new research suggests.

In addition to testing the effect of a daily multivitamin on cognition, the COSMOS-Mind study also examined the effect of cocoa flavonols, but showed no beneficial effect.

The results “may have important public health implications, particularly for brain health, given the availability of multivitamins and minerals and their low cost and safety,” said research researcher Laura D. Baker, PhD, professor, Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

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Unusual clusters on neurons are calcium-signaling “hotspots” that activate gene transcription, allowing neurons to produce crucial proteins.

For 30 years, mysterious clusters of proteins found on the cell body of neurons in the hippocampus, a part of the brain, both intrigued and baffled James Trimmer.

Now, the distinguished professor of physiology and membrane biology at the UC Davis School of Medicine may finally have an answer. In a new study published in PNAS, Trimmer and his colleagues reveal these protein clusters are calcium signaling “hotspots” in the neuron that play a crucial role in activating gene transcription.

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The Neuro-Network.

𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚

𝙋𝙨𝙮𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩:

𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰… See more.

“Our results essentially showed the children who grew up in disadvantaged neighborhoods had brains that looked older than was typical for their age during early adolescence… What’s more, these associations held true even when we accounted for household socioeconomic status and other adversities (such as childhood abuse and neglect), which suggests that neighborhood disadvantage has a unique role to play in brain development.

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Phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are currently underway in the USA, Canada, and Israel.

These trials, led by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), are the last step in figuring out if this treatment is safe and effective enough for MDMA to be legally prescribed to treat PTSD.

If there’s a positive result from the trials, this could happen in the USA as soon as 2022.

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Uncovering the mechanisms of learning via synaptic plasticity is a critical step towards understanding how our brains function and building truly intelligent, adaptive machines. Researchers from the University of Bern propose a new approach in which algorithms mimic biological evolution and learn efficiently through creative evolution.

Our brains are incredibly adaptive. Every day, we form , acquire new knowledge, or refine existing skills. This stands in marked contrast to our current computers, which typically only perform pre-programmed actions. At the core of our adaptability lies . Synapses are the connection points between neurons, which can change in different ways depending on how they are used. This synaptic plasticity is an important research topic in neuroscience, as it is central to learning processes and memory. To better understand these processes and build adaptive machines, researchers in the fields of neuroscience and (AI) are creating models for the mechanisms underlying these processes. Such models for learning and plasticity help to understand biological information processing and should also enable machines to learn faster.

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This Perspective explores the potential of an approach to neuromorphic electronics in which the functional synaptic connectivity map of a mammalian neuronal network is copied using a silicon neuro-electronic interface and then pasted onto a high-density three-dimensional network of solid-state memories.

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The degradation and regeneration of myelin sheaths characterize neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Cholesterol is an indispensable component of myelin sheaths. The cholesterol for the regenerated myelin sheaths must therefore either be recycled from damaged myelin or produced again locally.

In a recent study, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen, led by Gesine Saher, found that in the case of chronic damage, unlike in acute damage, hardly any cholesterol is recycled. Instead, the new production of cholesterol determines the efficiency of the repair. Unexpectedly, not only the myelin-forming cells themselves but also nerve cells make an important contribution to regeneration.

Cholesterol synthesis in nerve cells ensures the replenishment of newly myelin-forming cells. This could impact the therapeutic success for myelin disorders such as multiple sclerosis.

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