This interaction could help explain both why quantum processes can occur within environments like the brain and why we lose consciousness under anesthesia.
Category: neuroscience
First map of nerve circuitry in bone helps physicians identify key signals for bone repair
When a house catches on fire, we assume that a smoke alarm inside will serve one purpose and one purpose only: warn the occupants of danger. But imagine if the device could transform into something that could fight the fire as well.
In a new study in Science, a multi-institutional team led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine has shown in mice that the body’s “pain alarms”―sensory neurons—actually have such a dual function. In the event of a bone fracture, these nerves not only report the trauma, but they also morph into “reconstruction commanders” that actively direct the cellular workforce to rebuild the skeleton.
Patient Information: Prostatitis
📄 This JAMA Patient Page describes the types of prostatitis and its risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment.
Prostatitis involves infection, inflammation, or pain in the prostate gland and affects about 9% of men during their lifetime.
Patients with acute prostatitis typically have fever, chills, pelvic pain, sudden onset of frequent urination, and pain or burning during urination.
📄 Risk Factors, Diagnosis, and Treatment of CP/CPPS
Approximately 267 000 men in the US are diagnosed with CP/CPPS each year. Risk increases after age 50 years. Although other risk factors for CP/CPPS are unclear, men with CP/CPPS are more likely to have chronic pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and irritable bowel syndrome and higher rates of depression, anxiety, and panic disorder than unaffected men.
Heart-brain connection via vagus nerve to keep the heart young
The secret to a healthier and “younger” heart lies in the vagus nerve. A recent study published in Science Translational Medicine has shown that preserving bilateral cardiac vagal innervation is an anti-aging factor. In particular, the right cardiac vagus nerve emerges as a true guardian of cardiomyocyte health, helping to preserve the longevity of the heart independently of heart rate.
‘When the integrity of the connection to the vagus nerve is lost, the heart ages more rapidly,’ explains the senior author.
‘Even partial restoration of the connection between the right vagus nerve and the heart is sufficient to counteract the mechanisms of remodelling and preserve effective cardiac contractility,’ adds another author.
‘We have developed an implantable bioabsorbable nerve conduit designed to promote and guide the spontaneous regeneration of the thoracic vagus nerve at the cardiac level,’ explains a co-author.
Treated adult male minipigs displayed improved global circumferential, longitudinal, and radial strains and reduced diastolic dyssynchrony. Histological analysis revealed partial repair with about 20% viable vagal fascicles, restoration of myocardial parasympathetic fibers, normalization of oxidative stress and aging markers, and prevention of interstitial fibrosis.
Semaglutide in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders
Semaglutide reduced HbA1c and body weight over 26 weeks in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and early glycemic abnormalities taking clozapine or olanzapine.
Question Can adjunctive semaglutide improve glycemic control and weight outcomes in individuals with early-stage prediabetes or diabetes and schizophrenia spectrum disorders who initiated clozapine or olanzapine within the past 5 years?
Findings In this randomized clinical trial including 73 participants, semaglutide was found to significantly reduce hemoglobin A1c level and body weight over a 26-week period. Approximately one-half of individuals treated with semaglutide achieved low-risk hemoglobin A1c levels, compared with the placebo group.
Meaning This study found that semaglutide can mitigate the early metabolic burden associated with second-generation antipsychotic use in schizophrenia and may support the prevention of long-term cardiometabolic complications when initiated during the early stages of metabolic dysregulation.
Researchers Discover Molecular Difference in Autistic Brains
A study co-led by Richard Carson and colleagues at the Yale School of Medicine has identified a measurable molecular difference in the brains of autistic adults – finding reduced availability of a key glutamate receptor involved in brain signaling balance.
Published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, the research offers new insight into the biological mechanisms of autism and could inform future diagnostic tools and targeted supports.
👉 Read the full story.
Brains of autistic individuals have fewer of a specific kind of glutamate receptor, supporting an idea that autism is driven by a signaling imbalance.
How neuron groups team up to embed memories in context
Humans have the remarkable ability to remember the same person or object in completely different situations. We can easily distinguish between dinner with a friend and a business meeting with the same friend. “We already know that deep in the memory centers of the brain, specific cells, called concept neurons, respond to this friend, regardless of the environment in which he appears,” says Prof. Florian Mormann from the Clinic for Epileptology at the UKB, who is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) Life & Health at the University of Bonn.
However, the brain must be able to combine this content with the context in order to form a useful memory. In rodents, individual neurons often mix these two pieces of information. “We asked ourselves: Does the human brain function fundamentally differently here? Does it map content and context separately to enable a more flexible memory? And how do these separate pieces of information connect when we need to remember specific content according to context?” says Dr. Marcel Bausch, working group leader at the Department of Epileptology and member of TRA Life & Health at the University of Bonn.
Bright light suppresses eating and weight gain in mice
Past research has found that exposure to bright lights and high levels of noise can alter both physiological processes and human behavior. For instance, an elevated or limited exposure to bright lights and noise has been found to influence people’s sleeping patterns, circadian rhythm, mood, metabolism, stress levels and mental performance.
Researchers at Jinan University and other institutes in China recently carried out a new study involving mice, exploring the possibility that the exposure to bright lights also influences eating behavior and body weight. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that bright light exposure suppresses food consumption in mice and can lead to weight loss, while also identifying neural processes that could support these light-induced changes in feeding behavior.
“Environmental light regulates nonimage-forming functions like feeding, and bright light therapy shows anti-obesity potential, yet its neural basis remains unclear,” wrote Wen Li, Xiaodan Huang and their colleagues in their paper. “We show that bright light treatment effectively reduces food intake and mitigates weight gain in mice through a visual circuit involving the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA).”