Modulating the activity of a kinase in motor neurons may help mitigate mitochondrial defects and other symptoms of spinal muscular atrophy, offering a new therapeutic avenue for the devastating disease, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Browsing: Neuroscience
A pair of recent studies from the laboratory of Evangelos Kiskinis, PhD, have uncovered novel cellular mechanisms that are involved in two types of genetic ALS, providing support for future development of targeted therapies to treat the disease.
Northwestern scientists have discovered the cause of the ‘punch-drunk’ feeling associated with sleep deprivation, and have found that it also increased dopamine and synaptic plasticity in the brain.
Investigators have discovered a new subtype of interneurons in the retina that allows the eye to see and identify objects better in both the light and in the dark, dismantling previous notions about the inner workings of the retina, according to a Northwestern Medicine study.
Today, more than 50 million adults in the U.S. suffer from chronic pain — pain lasting longer than three months — and is the most common reason why people seek medical attention, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A new Northwestern University-led study published in Nature Neuroscience has discovered that dopamine neurons are more diverse than previously thought, opening new research directions for further understanding and potentially even treating Parkinson’s disease.
Scientists have discovered that antipsychotic drugs – which inhibit the overactive dopamine causing the symptoms of schizophrenia – interact with a completely different neuron than originally thought.
A Northwestern Medicine study has uncovered novel cellular mechanisms within the retina, findings that could help advance the development of targeted therapeutics for diseases and conditions impacting vision.
Investigators led by D. James Surmeier, PhD, the Nathan Smith Davis Professor and chair of Neuroscience, have uncovered previously unknown neuronal circuits that contribute to brain dysfunction in Huntington’s disease.
Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered novel sex-specific mechanisms that control how stress hormones impact dopamine transmission and motivation, findings that can inform new therapeutic strategies for treating major depressive disorder.