SRF notes the passing of Nobel-prize winning neuroscientist Rita Levi-Montalcini on 30 December 2012 in Rome, Italy. She was 103. Her work in discovering nerve growth factor (NGF) gave neuroscience its first example of a diffusible, growth-promoting molecule, opening a window onto basic principles of nervous system development.
Read this story at Schizophrenia Research Forum.
Proteins encoded by DISC1, a gene suspected in schizophrenia, can clump together and slow transport of essential components inside a cell, according to a study in Human Molecular Genetics.
Read this article at Schizophrenia Research Forum.
Upsetting the balance of excitatory and inhibitory signaling in the cortex with new optogenetic tricks can induce cognitive and social impairments in mice, according to a new study in Nature.
Read this article at Schizophrenia Research Forum.
Rare people who literally feel what they see offer clues to how empathy works in the brain.
Read this article at Scientific American Mind.
A recent report in Nature links hyperactive synapses in the lateral habenula to learned helplessness in rats — a model for human depression. What’s more, applying deep brain stimulation, a protocol that alleviates depression in humans, to the lateral habenula also reduced learned helplessness in rats.
Read this article at Schizophrenia Research Forum.
Winter blues, spring fever—most of us take seasonal changes in mood for granted. A study in Journal of Neuroscience suggests that the seasons may tinker with levels of dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain involved in motivation, pleasure, movement and learning.
Read this article at Scientific American Mind.
While building a brain early in development, young neurons use several methods of transportation to reach their final destination. A new study in Neuron narrows in on the molecular players, including reelin and Dab1, in this journey.
Read this article at Schizophrenia Research Forum.
According to a report in Nature, researchers have precisely identified and controlled neurons that mediate aggression in mice, even though the cells lie intermingled with neurons involved in other behaviors.
Read this article at Schizophrenia Research Forum.
Where do our emotions come from? Scientists addressed this long-standing philosophical question using revolting videos. As reported in the Journal of Neuroscience, they found that heart rate and stomach contractions can form the basis of two kinds of disgust.
Read this article at Scientific American Mind.
Though queen and worker honeybees are genetically identical, they lead starkly different lives. A report in PLoS Biology finds that chemical add-ons to DNA, called methyl groups, make the difference.
Read this article at The Economist.
