All articles tagged with #brain neurons
Scientists discovered that Lac-Phe, a molecule produced during exercise, suppresses appetite by acting on specific brain neurons, offering potential new avenues for weight management treatments.
A study from the University of Michigan found that specific hypothalamic neurons, VMHCckbr, actively regulate blood glucose during routine conditions by promoting fat breakdown and glycerol production, which supports glucose stability overnight. Overactivity of these neurons may contribute to prediabetes, highlighting the brain's nuanced role in metabolic health.
A study in mice suggests that fewer than 500 neurons in the medial orbitofrontal cortex act as an 'off switch' for binge drinking, potentially leading to new treatments for alcohol use disorder if similar mechanisms are found in humans.
Researchers have used advanced Neuropixels probes to uncover neurons in the brain that can predict speech sounds before they are spoken, shedding light on the pre-verbal planning of speech. This breakthrough could lead to the development of speech prosthetics and improved treatments for language disorders, offering insights into the brain's language production capabilities and potential therapies for speech and language impairments. The study, published in Nature, demonstrates the intricate neural circuitry involved in speech production and the possibility of predicting spoken words before they are articulated, paving the way for artificial prosthetics and brain-machine interfaces for synthetic speech.
Researchers at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem have found a link between the level of nitric oxide in brain neurons and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study investigated both mice and humans and found that higher levels of nitric oxide correlate with brain changes and higher levels of autistic behaviors. The findings could open the door to drugs to treat people with autism and other neurological conditions, but drug development is a long and challenging process that will take years at best.