Category: News
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Researchers get a closer look at how the Huntington’s gene works
Huntington’s disease is caused by a mutation in the Huntington’s disease gene, but it has long been a mystery why some people with the exact same mutation get the disease more severely and earlier than others. A closer look at the DNA around the Huntington’s disease (HD) gene offers researchers a new understanding of how…
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How your brain reacts to emotional information is influenced by your genes
Your genes may influence how sensitive you are to emotional information, according to new research by a UBC neuroscientist. The study, recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience, found that carriers of a certain genetic variation perceived positive and negative images more vividly, and had heightened activity in certain brain regions.
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Every bite you take, every move you make, astrocytes will be watching you
Chewing, breathing, and other regular bodily functions that we undertake “without thinking” actually do require the involvement of our brain, but the question of how the brain programs such regular functions intrigues scientists. A team lead by Arlette Kolta, a professor at the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Dentistry, has shown that astrocytes play a…
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The α6 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor determines variability in chronic pain sensitivity
Dr. Jeffrey Mogil from McGill University led an important study published recently in Science Translational Medicine showing that expression levels of the α6 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), is highly associated with allodynia, a prominent symptom of chronic pain.
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How the blood-brain barrier is maintained
A study on a protein that helps maintain the blood-brain barrier and ameliorated the effects of a multiple sclerosis-like disease in an animal model. The brain is a privileged organ in the body. So vital to life, the brain is protected from alterations elsewhere in the body by a highly regulated gateway known as the…
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Montréal discovery could impact the study of chronic pain conditions
Researchers at the IRCM led by Artur Kania, Professor in the Department of Medicine at the Université de Montréal, uncovered the critical role in pain processing of a gene associated with a rare disease. Their breakthrough, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, paves the way for a better understanding of chronic pain conditions.
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Researchers halt brain swelling at the source
A team of researchers has made a significant discovery in the mechanism of brain swelling, paving the way to preventative treatment for severe to fatal brain damage following stroke, head injury or cardiac arrest. Their research, published today in Cell, paves the way for a preventative drug treatment for severe brain damage following stroke, infection,…
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Neuroscientists at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute find key channel in prominent inhibitory response of the brain
Calcium ion-gated slow after-hyperpolarization (sAHP) is one of the most prominent inhibitory responses in the brain, with sAHP amplitude linked to a host of circuit and behavioral functions, yet the channel that underlies the sAHP has defied identification for decades.
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Cancer drug shows promise for treating stroke
A drug used to treat cancer may be a useful tool for improving recovery from a stroke in certain patient populations, a University of Victoria researcher has found. “A big challenge in treating stroke is understanding how other health conditions affect recovery,” says Craig Brown, a neuroscientist in UVic’s Division of Medical Sciences “Many diseases…
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An important scientific breakthrough by Michel Cayouette’s team in the fight against blindness
A team of researchers at the IRCM led by Michel Cayouette, PhD, identified one of the genes responsible for producing a type of cell required for vision. The breakthrough, published in the scientific journal Neuron, could eventually help overcome obstacles associated with treatments to prevent blindness.