November 17, 2010
Pre-injury exercise may mitigate the effects of traumatic brain injury in mice
Being physically fit before a traumatic brain injury (TBI) might improve recovery, preliminary findings suggest. After TBI, mice bred for running behavior exhibited smaller brain lesions and engaged in more extensive post-injury activity than did mice that had been sedentary before the injury.
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September 18, 2010
Gene limits learning and memory in mice
Deleting a certain gene in mice can make them smarter by unlocking a mysterious region of the brain considered to be relatively inflexible, scientists have found. Mice with a disabled RGS14 gene are able to remember objects they'd explored and learn to navigate mazes better than regular mice, suggesting that RGS14's presence limits some forms of learning and memory.
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10 Vote(s)
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July 29, 2010
Aging and longevity tied to specific brain region in mice
The protein SIRT1 in the brain is tied into a mechanism that allows animals to survive when food is scarce, according to a new study. The research suggests that SIRT1 may be involved with the life span-increasing effect of low-calorie diets, they report.
13 Vote(s)
13 Vote(s)
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July 16, 2010
Secret to sniffing out a safe supper
When mice smell the scent of food on the breath of their fellow mice, they use that experience to decide what's safe to eat in the future. Key in that learning process is the pairing of a particular odor with a chemical ingredient found in mouse breath, scientists knew. What they didn't know was how mice manage to sniff that connection out. According to new study, now they do.
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10 Vote(s)
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July 6, 2010
July 3, 2010
June 28, 2010
When One Neurotransmitter Is Not Enough
Important news from San Francisco neuroscientists Stuber et al: Dopaminergic Terminals in the Nucleus Accumbens But Not the Dorsal Striatum Corelease Glutamate.The finding's right there in the title: dopamine is a neurotransmitter, and so is glutamate. Stuber et al found (in mice) that many of the cells that release dopamine also simultaneously release glutamate - specifically, almost all of the
19 Vote(s)
19 Vote(s)
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February 24, 2010
Gene mutation is linked to autism-like symptoms in mice, researchers find
When a gene implicated in human autism is disabled in mice, the rodents show learning problems and obsessive, repetitive behaviors, researchers have found.
14 Vote(s)
14 Vote(s)
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February 21, 2010
What model organisms can teach us about emotion
Studies of model organisms such as mice and fruit flies can improve scientists' understanding of the neural basis of emotion, according to one researcher.
5 Vote(s)
5 Vote(s)
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January 15, 2010
Why mice develop ‘knots’ while exploring a new environment
During exploration of a new environment, mice establish "knots" -- preferred places visited sporadically and marked by the performance of twists and turns, according to a new study. The research provides evidence that the formation of these places is increased by stress, and suggests that the tortuous movements improve the interpretation of the visual scene, enhance the memory of the place and pr
7 Vote(s)
7 Vote(s)
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