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Category: neuroscience

A clearer understanding of how a type of brain cell known as astrocytes function and can be emulated in the physics of hardware devices, may result in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning that autonomously self-repairs and consumes much less energy than the technologies currently do, according to a team of Penn State researchers.

Astrocytes are named for their star shape and are a type of glial cell, which are support cells for neurons in the . They play a crucial role in brain functions such as memory, learning, self-repair and synchronization.

“This project stemmed from recent observations in , as there has been a lot of effort and understanding of how the brain works and people are trying to revise the model of simplistic neuron-synapse connections,” said Abhronil Sengupta, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science. “It turns out there is a third component in the brain, the astrocytes, which constitutes a significant section of the cells in the brain, but its role in machine learning and neuroscience has kind of been overlooked.”

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A new type of magnetic brain stimulation brought rapid remission to almost 80% of participants with severe depression in a study conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The , known as Stanford accelerated intelligent neuromodulation therapy (SAINT) or simply Stanford neuromodulation therapy, is an intensive, individualized form of transcranial magnetic stimulation. In the study, remission typically occurred within days and lasted months. The only side effects were temporary fatigue and headaches.

“It works well, it works quickly and it’s noninvasive,” said Nolan Williams, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. “It could be a game changer.” Williams is the senior author of the study, which was published Oct. 29 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

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For the first time, researchers have used human data to quantify the speed of different processes that lead to Alzheimer’s disease and found that it develops in a very different way than previously thought. Their results could have important implications for the development of potential treatments.

The international team, led by the University of Cambridge, found that instead of starting from a single point in the brain and initiating a chain reaction that leads to the death of brain cells, Alzheimer’s disease reaches different regions of the brain early. How quickly the disease kills cells in these regions, through the production of toxic protein clusters, limits how quickly the disease progresses overall.

The researchers used post-mortem brain samples from Alzheimer’s patients, as well as PET scans from living patients, who ranged from those with mild cognitive impairment to those with late-stage Alzheimer’s disease, to track the aggregation of tau, one of two key proteins implicated in the condition.

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A commonly available oral diuretic pill approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may be a potential candidate for an Alzheimer’s disease treatment for those who are at genetic risk, according to findings published in Nature Aging. The research included analysis showing that those who took bumetanide — a commonly used and potent diuretic — had a significantly lower prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease compared to those not taking the drug. The study, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, advances a precision medicine approach for individuals at greater risk of the disease because of their genetic makeup.

The research team analyzed information in databases of brain tissue samples and FDA-approved drugs, performed mouse and human cell experiments, and explored human population studies to identify bumetanide as a leading drug candidate that may potentially be repurposed to treat Alzheimer’s.

“Though further tests and clinical trials are needed, this research underscores the value of big data-driven tactics combined with more traditional scientific approaches to identify existing FDA-approved drugs as candidates for drug repurposing to treat Alzheimer’s disease,” said NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D.

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Barely-alive creatures, such as the slime mold pictured, are able to produce “memories” — they just store them in their physical surroundings rather than a brain. “A slime mould is not a fungus or mould, but is in fact a protist, which is really the odds and ends of the natural world that don’t fit in with the rest of our taxonomic grouping system,” said PhD student Christopher Reid who led the study.

Is it possible to know where you’ve been when you don’t have a brain? Depending on your definition of “know,” the answer may be yes. Researchers have shown that the slime mold, an organism without anything that resembles a nervous system (or, for that matter, individual cells), is capable of impressive feats of navigation. It can even link food sources in optimally spaced networks. Now, researchers have shown it’s capable of filling its environment with indications of where it has already searched for food, allowing it to “remember” its past efforts and focus its attention on routes it hasn’t explored.

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𝙈𝙍𝙄 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙐𝙡𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙎𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧 𝘿𝙧𝙪𝙜𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙-𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧

𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 t𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝-𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧.

A new way to usher treatments through the protective blood-brain barrier.

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It seems insurmountable today. Digital consumption is rampant. Harms from misinformation to breaches to online bullying to manipulative targeting is spawning an environment of political and societal polarization, increased mental anxiety and even suicides. Without inadequate laws to regulate these digital services, the very rules and policies that have continued to govern the physical world are not able to keep pace with the speed of technology, and properly reflect what is happening in our digital spaces.

Can we have a future where creators of technology can build towards responsibility despite the constant allure of monetization and profits? I had a chance to speak to David Ryan Polgar, Founder & Director of the non-profit, All Tech Is Human (ATIH) to dive into discussing this critical juncture where heightened consumer awareness has the potential to drive a different story.

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There is no cure for the disease, for which Alzheimer’s is the most common form (about 75% of dementia cases).

But finding out what raises the risk can help people try and prevent it.

A new study has offered more clues about the type of people who typically get Alzheimer’s.

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No. Eventually billionaires will run out of OUR money, NOT the other way around. I love the things and companies he’s created. I love the industries he’s revolutionized and the massive Kickstart he has given to our entire species and it’s extrasolar future. He is INARGUABLY a brilliant man. But he’s also a shitty human being. He’s like so many other brilliant people that enjoy public life and the sound of his own voice who can all too often forget that they are NOT experts in EVERYTHING ELSE just because experts on something else. Musk is just another example of that kind of ego overspill. It’s not the first time he’s done it, and it will NOT be the last or worst occurrence of… Let’s call it the “Big brain on Brad golden suitcase of indeterminate origin syndrome.”

💦🤯💦

☝🙄💼

💥🙏💥

Elon Musk is among those finding fault with a proposed annual tax on billionaires’ unrealized capital gains by Democratic lawmakers, with the world’s richest man agreeing with the view that this type of tax eventually would hit others as well.

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A drug used to treat agitation in people with dementia is no more effective than a placebo, and might even increase mortality, according to a new study. A drug used to treat agitation in people with dementia is no more effective than a placebo, and might even increase mortality, according to a ne.

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