Stanford Medicine research reveals that adaptive myelination, a process crucial for learning and skill acquisition, can also promote opioid addiction by enhancing the brain's reward circuitry. In mice, a single dose of morphine triggered myelination of dopamine-producing neurons, leading to drug-seeking behavior. Blocking myelination prevented addiction, suggesting potential strategies for treating opioid dependence.
Researchers at Stanford have discovered that adaptive myelination, a form of brain plasticity, contributes to drug addiction by reinforcing drug-seeking behavior. A single dose of morphine in mice triggered myelination in reward-related brain circuits, but blocking this myelination prevented addiction. This finding opens potential new avenues for addiction treatment.
Scientists have discovered a crucial link between ancient viruses and the development of myelination, a process essential for advanced nervous system functioning in vertebrates. The study reveals that a genetic element derived from retroviruses, called "RetroMyelin," is vital for myelin production in a wide range of vertebrates, including mammals, amphibians, and fish. This finding suggests that viral sequences integrated into early vertebrate genomes played a pivotal role in the evolution of myelination, enabling the development of complex brains and diverse vertebrate life. The research sheds light on the molecular mechanisms of myelin production and its evolutionary origins, opening new avenues for understanding the role of retroviruses in directing evolution.
A recent study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester found that the speed of neuronal transmission in the brain continues to increase throughout adolescence and early adulthood, with long-range fibers connecting distant brain regions showing the greatest increases in transmission speed. The study, which used electrical stimulation to measure the timing of responses in adjacent areas of the brain, suggests that brain maturation continues well into the third decade of life and could help explain why psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia tend to develop during this stage of life.
