Posts tagged neuroscience
Articles and news from the latest research reports.
"I feel like the Terminator": One-armed man’s life transformed by advanced robot hand
A one-armed man’s life has been transformed by a robot hand so accurate it can grip an egg without cracking it.
Nigel Ackland’s advanced bionic limb has given him back the ability to do everyday tasks such as peeling vegetables, tying laces and typing.
The 53-year-old lost his right arm below the elbow after it was crushed in an industrial accident six years ago.
He struggled with NHS prosthetic parts and was selected to take part in a trial of the pioneering limb – controlled by him twitching muscles in his upper arm.
Nigel said: “I have been blown away by the robotic hand. I could sit and watch it all day. I feel like the Terminator.
"The fingers even move when I yawn and stretch.
“I am slowly becoming more at one with it. Tying a shoe lace and chopping a vegetable are now much easier.”
The former precious metals smelter said: “It has made a massive difference to my life and health. Losing a limb can take you into a dark place.”
Right-handed Nigel, who lives with wife Vanessa, 50, and son Conor, 19, in Royston, Cambridgeshire, was one of seven amputees around the world picked by British prosthetics firm RSLSteeper to try out the bebionic3 hand that costs between £8,000 and £12,000.
How bacteria talk to each other and our cells
Bacteria can talk to each other via molecules they themselves produce. The phenomenon is called quorum sensing, and is important when an infection propagates. Now, researchers at Linköping University in Sweden are showing how bacteria control processes in human cells the same way.
The results are being published in PLOS Pathogens with Elena Vikström, researcher in medical microbiology, as the main author.
Functional maps within a single neuron
The presence and plasticity of dendritic ion channels are well established. However, the literature is divided on what specific roles these dendritic ion channels play in neuronal information processing, and there is no consensus on why neuronal dendrites should express diverse ion channels with different expression profiles. In this review, we present a case for viewing dendritic information processing through the lens of the sensory map literature, where functional gradients within neurons are considered as maps on the neuronal topograph. Under such a framework, drawing analogies from the sensory map literature, we postulate that the formation of intraneuronal functional maps is driven by the twin objectives of efficiently encoding inputs that impinge along different dendritic locations and of retaining homeostasis in the face of changes that are required in the coding process. In arriving at this postulate, we relate intraneuronal map physiology to the vast literature on sensory maps and argue that such a metaphorical association provides a fresh conceptual framework for analyzing and understanding single-neuron information encoding. We also describe instances where the metaphor presents specific directions for research on intraneuronal maps, derived from analogous pursuits in the sensory map literature. We suggest that this perspective offers a thesis for why neurons should express and alter ion channels in their dendrites and provides a framework under which active dendrites could be related to neural coding, learning theory, and homeostasis.
Photographer Volker Gutgessell has spent the last four years visiting Frankfurt Zoo capturing these sensitive images of bonobos, gorillas and orangutans. Standing for several hours a day, the 58-year-old has documented the behaviours and expressions of his subjects - despite suffering chronic back pain caused by a severe slipped disc. Volker also developed tinnitus as a result of his injury, causing a constant ringing in his ears. But despite his condition, he has found a way of communicating through his pictures and picks up on the body language of his ape “models” while shooting them.
(Source: telegraph.co.uk)
Humans, Chimpanzees and Monkeys Share DNA but Not Gene Regulatory Mechanisms
Humans share over 90% of their DNA with their primate cousins. The expression or activity patterns of genes differ across species in ways that help explain each species’ distinct biology and behavior.
DNA factors that contribute to the differences were described on Nov. 6 at the American Society of Human Genetics 2012 meeting in a presentation by Yoav Gilad, Ph.D., associate professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Gilad reported that up to 40% of the differences in the expression or activity patterns of genes between humans, chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys can be explained by regulatory mechanisms that determine whether and how a gene’s recipe for a protein is transcribed to the RNA molecule that carries the recipe instructions to the sites in cells where proteins are manufactured.
In addition to improving scientific understanding of the uniqueness of humans, studies such as the investigation conducted by Dr. Gilad and colleagues could have relevance to human health and disease.
"Through inter-species’ comparisons at the DNA sequence and expression levels, we hope to identify the genetic basis of human specific traits and in particular the genetic variations underlying the higher susceptibility to certain diseases such as malaria and cancer in humans than in non-human primates," said Dr. Gilad.
Dr. Gilad and his colleagues studied gene expression in lymphoblastoid cell lines, laboratory cultures of immortalized white blood cells, from eight humans, eight chimpanzees and eight rhesus monkeys.
They found that the distinct gene expression patterns of the three species can be explained by corresponding changes in genetic and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms that determine when and how a gene’s DNA code is transcribed to a messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule.
Dr. Gilad also determined that the epigenetics process known as histone modification also differs in the three species. The presence of histone marks during gene transcription indicates that the process is being prevented or modified.
"These data allowed us to identify both conserved and species-specific enhancer and repressor regulatory elements, as well as characterize similarities and differences across species in transcription factor binding to these regulatory elements," Dr. Gilad said.
Among the similarities among the three species were the promoter regions of DNA that initiated transcription of a particular gene.
In all three species, Dr. Gilad’s lab found that transcription factor binding and histone modifications were identical in over 67% of regulatory elements in DNA segments that are regarded as promoter regions.
The researchers presentation is titled, “Genome-wide comparison of genetic and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms in primates.”
(Source: sciencedaily.com)
Primates teach us about society
A Swiss primatologist who arrived at The University of Western Australia in April to work in the School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology probably won’t mind too much if his students start ‘monkeying around’ occasionally in class.
Assistant Professor Cyril Grueter is used to it, having spent almost two years in Yunnan - a remote mountainous region of China - studying a group of 400 black and white snub-nosed monkeys.
The monkeys - never seen outside China - live in similar social groups to humans and Assistant Professor Grueter observed them in their wild state to investigate the evolutionary pathways that lead to our multilevel societies. His study was recently published in the International Journal of Primatology.
Cat brain surgery: the story of an operation – in pictures
Harry, a 12-year-old maine coon, has a tumour on his pituitary gland, causing uncontrolled diabetes. In an attempt to save his life, his owners have opted for cutting-edge brain surgery at the Royal Veterinary College’s Queen Mother hospital for animals.
Science Explains Instant Attraction
How do you know when you’re attracted to a new face? Thank your medial prefrontal cortex, a brain region now discovered to play a major role in romantic decision-making.
Different parts of this region, which sits near the front of the brain, make a snap judgment about physical attraction and about whether the person is Mr. or Ms. Right — all within milliseconds of seeing a new face, a new study from Ireland finds.
The research is the first to use real-world dating to examine how the brain makes fast romantic judgments.
Research by scientists from the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland has uncovered new information about the mechanisms underlying autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), to be published in the next issue of the prestigious Journal of Neuroscience.
Principal investigator, Dr Johanna Montgomery, says the findings are highly significant: “We’re moving beyond simply what happens in ASDs and starting to understand how it happens.”
The behavioural manifestations of ASDs are well documented and include impaired communication and socialisation, learning difficulties, and repetitive or stereotyped behaviours. These behavioural characteristics are in turn associated with a wide range of gene mutations. Many of these mutated genes are responsible for the production of specific proteins in the neurons of the brain.
Dr Montgomery and her team took a close look at parts of these neurons – the synapses, which are the structures that enable brain cells to communicate with each other. This cell to cell communication is vital for a healthy brain, and underlies how we learn, remember, move and sense.
In a complex cascade of chemical and electrical signalling, information is transmitted from one neuron to another at the synapses. This process is mediated by several families of protein, some of which form the bedrock of the synapse on the ‘listening’ side. Dr Montgomery’s team chose to investigate one of these proteins, known as Shank3, because it has been identified as vital to the communication process between two neurons, and because it is known to be mutated in ASDs.
Early treatment sparks striking brain changes in autism
When given early treatment, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) made significant improvements in behavior, communication, and most strikingly, brain function, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in a new study.
The study was published in the current issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders by Yale Child Study Center researchers Dr. Fred Volkmar, Kevin A. Pelphrey, and their colleagues.
The results suggest that brain systems supporting social perception respond well to an early intervention behavioral program called pivotal response treatment. This treatment includes parent training, and employs play in its methods.