Tag Archives: Brain research

In a special issue of the Cell Press journal Neuron, experts debated the challenges associated with “translational neuroscience,” and the efforts that should be made to commercialize advances made in the laboratory so that patients can benefit from them.

Despite the major advances that science is making in understanding how the human brain works, several neurodegenerative disorders and psychiatric conditions are on the rise and are becoming more frequent, outpacing diagnostic and treatment approaches.

Dr. Katja Brose, Neuron Editor, explained: “A variety of global impact studies have identified brain disorders as a leading contributor to disabilities and morbidity worldwide with a critical economic, public health, and societal impact (…) There is resounding agreement that we need new approaches and strategies, and there are active efforts, discussion, and experimentation aimed at making the process of therapeutic development more efficient and effective.”

The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has honored three neuroscientists.

John O’Keefe, along with May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser, discovered cells that form a positioning system in the brain — our hard-wired GPS. Those cells mark our position, navigate where we’re going and help us remember it all, so that we can repeat our trips, the Nobel Assembly said in a statement.

Their research could also prove useful in Alzheimer’s research, because of the parts of the brain those cells lie in — the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex.

Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, which lie in the inner core of the bottom of the brain and are responsible for memory and orientation. The entorhinal cortices share these functions and connect the hippocampi with the huge neocortex, the bulk of our gray matter.

In Alzheimer’s patients, those two brain components break down early on, causing sufferers to get lost more easily. Understanding how the brain’s GPS works may help scientists in the future understand how this disorientation occurs.

The research is also important, because it pinpoints “a cellular basis for higher cognitive function,” the Nobel Assembly said.

The scientists conducted their research on rats, but other research on humans indicates that we have these same cells.

Trinity College Dublin in Ireland played host to the launch event for a new campaign called “Hello Brain” on 22nd of September, 2014

Hello Brain is a campaign that promotes brain health through easy-to-understand scientific information.

A website containing entertaining short videos, top tips for brain health and a free app to use on smartphone is hoped to help people to improve their brain health in an enjoyable yet educational manner.

The “Hello Brain Ambassadors” hope the campaign will reach as many people as possible and that their free resources will can be used to promote active and healthy ageing.