Category Archives: Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Pasadena: Whats that Amazing Building on the Corner of Del Mar and Wilson? – coloradoboulevard.net

South side of Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Neuroscience Research Building (Photo Caltech.edu)

By Kate Bartlett

The Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Neuroscience Research Building (CNRB) was dedicated on January 29, 2021. Virtual attendees included more than 850 Caltech leaders, researchers, students, alumni and friends. The 150,000 square-foot luminous copper building contains research and teaching laboratories, a 150-seat lecture hall and a neurotechnology center in which grad students and postdocs can set up complicated experiments requiring system engineering, measurement of behavior,stimuli observation and new software. The expansive windows provide sunlight to the teaching and conference rooms, and the human-focused gathering spaces feature skylights and gardens.

The CNRB houses the Chen Institute of Neuroscience, as well as faculty and researchers from other disciplines; before the completion of the CNRB, neuroscience labs were located primarily in the Beckmann Behavioral Building, Kirchoff Building, Moore Building and Broad Institute. The open design between the second and third floors makes interaction easier and promotes imaginative research, according to David Anderson, Professor of Biology and Director of the Chen Institute.

The Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech originally was born from a chance encounter with a news report on the ability to control a robotic arm using only a persons mind. Tianqiao Chan and his wife, Chrissy Luo, created the Institute to allow researchers to jumpstart new projects while the CNRB was under construction.

Caltech researchers probe the circuitry, cells and molecular, chemical and electrical pathways of the brain, pursue the neurological basis of personality, develop new brain imaging technique, map brain circuits, develop neurotechnology to treat brain disorders, investigate social cognition and emotions in humans, and quantify behaviors and correlate them to brain activity.

Viviana Gradinaru, professor of neuroscience and biological engineering and director the Center for Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, said the Chen Institute is like a trampoline:

In science, we have to make leaps of faith. We have to jump high, and you jump much higher on a trampolineespecially one that has a safety net thats big enough and welcoming of others and other opinions. This is what the Chen family provided us.

Colorado Boulevard.net is your place for enlightening events, informative news and social living for the greater Pasadena area. We strive to inform, educate, and work together to make a better world for all of us, locally and globally.

Follow this link:
Pasadena: Whats that Amazing Building on the Corner of Del Mar and Wilson? - coloradoboulevard.net

Neuroscience

Iowa and Ohio researchers discover compound with the potential to protect prenatal brain development – UI The Daily Iowan

A new study done in mice by researchers in Iowa and Ohio shows that a relatively new compound, P7C3-A20, has the ability to protect brain development during prenatal stress.

Contributed.

Photo of Director of Translational Neuroscience in the Department of Psychiatry Andrew Pieper.

As a generation of babies are born in the middle of a global crisis, researchers in Iowa and Ohio discovered a compound with the potential to protect babies brain development from the harmful impacts of prenatal stress.

When babies are exposed to adverse stressful events during pregnancy, it can prevent their brains from developing properly. The new research conducted in baby mice could be a game-changer in combating the negative impacts of prenatal stress.

Hanna Stevens, who heads the Psychiatry and Early Neurobiological Development Lab at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, said there is data suggesting individuals exposed to prenatal stress are at higher risk for specific disorders later in life.

Theres been evidence that theres greater likelihood of diagnosis with Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and anxiety disorders, Stevens said.

Stevens added that exposure to prenatal stress can increase an individuals risk for various other disorders as well, depending on an individuals unique biological reaction to stressful events during pregnancy.

Its not so much the kind of stress that a person experiences, but sort of their biological response, Stevens said.

UI graduate student Rachel Schroeder, who is studying neuroscience at the UI, said the project began about four years ago when she was inspired by the individual work of her two mentors, Stevens and Director of Translational Neuroscience in the Department of Psychiatry Andrew Pieper, during her first year of graduate school.

I was thinking, you know, a lot of these phenotypes that I am seeing in the Stevens lab due to prenatal stress are lining up with things that they are fixing in the Pieper lab with this compound, Schroeder said.

Stevens said the compound was proven to be effective at reversing the impacts of prenatal stress within the brains of baby mice.

RELATED:University of Iowa researchers develop mice model to study COVID-19 symptoms

[Schroeder] found that brain developmental genes were changed by the stress experience and then were again corrected by the compound, Stevens said.

Schroeder said while this compound is still relatively new and its mechanisms are not fully understood, it seems to work by replenishing the levels of NAD that are available to cells.

NAD is a very important molecule for energy metabolism, Schroeder said. So, if you dont have enough energy, that can lead to damage in a number of different ways.

Pieper, who is also an adjunct professor at the UI and Director of the Neurotherapeutics Center at Harrington Discovery Institute in Cleveland, is the groups expert on the compound itself.

Pieper said he is optimistic about the potential effectiveness of administering P7C3-A20 to humans, considering its success in mice. P7C3-A20 is the scientific name for the neuroprotective compound that Pieper studies.

We have given it to mice, to rats, and monkeys for extended periods of time, and in some cases, up to a year, Pieper said. We havent seen any side effects so far in our animal models, so that makes me optimistic.

However, Pieper said promising trial results in other species do not guarantee how well the compound will work when it is tested in human subjects.

Schroeder said that it will take much time before the compound is approved for usage in humans and eventually made available to pregnant mothers.

Its a very, very long process and it is really difficult to develop a drug and get it all the way to the bedside, even in a single lifetime, Schroeder said.

View original post here:
Iowa and Ohio researchers discover compound with the potential to protect prenatal brain development - UI The Daily Iowan

Neuroscience

Sensor helps scientists spy on serotonin activity in mice in real time – Spectrum

Your browser does not support the video tag.Pause

A new engineered protein that glows in the presence of serotonin enables researchers to track the neurotransmitters levels and location in the brains of living mice, according to a new study. This serotonin sensor could help elucidate serotonins role in autism, experts say.

Serotonin helps regulate mood, circulation and digestion, among other functions. Some people with autism have elevated levels of serotonin in their blood. Other evidence links serotonin to social behavior in mice.

Serotonin is wildly important both for basic research and human health. And for the longest time, ways to measure it were very indirect, says co-lead researcher Loren Looger, professor of neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego. Only with sensors like this can one follow it in vivo, which is critical.

Unlike other tools for measuring serotonin, the sensor can also show changes in serotonin activity over time, making it an exciting tool for autism research, says Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, who was not involved in the study.

This tool will make it possible to understand the relationships between serotonin release and complex behaviors, including in different genetic mouse models related to autism, he says. I imagine that this tool will come into fairly broad use.

The new sensor originated from one described last year that detects a different neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Looger and his team used a computer algorithm to redesign the acetylcholine-binding portion of the sensor protein so that it could attach to serotonin instead.

To test the design, the team used a hollowed virus to insert the gene encoding the protein into the striatum of mice. Two weeks later, they viewed slices from the striatum a hub for serotonin activity and saw the proteins green glow. Electrically stimulating neurons in the slices to release serotonin increased the glow, as did bathing the slices in serotonin.

The researchers also injected the sensor-delivering virus into brain regions that are regulated by serotonin namely, the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. These two regions process fear. The team trained the mice to associate a sound and light with a mild electric shock to the foot. Optical recordings of the animals neurons showed a rise in serotonin while the sound and light played, followed by a sharp dip when the shock arrived.

Happy glow: An engineered protein lights up in the brains of mice when their neurons release mood-modulating serotonin.

Image courtesy of Elizabeth Unger and video courtesy of Chunyang Dong and Elizabeth Unger

In a third test, they injected the sensor into these same two brain areas in the mice, as well as the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, which is involved in stress responses and social behaviors. Live recordings of groups of neurons showed serotonin release in all three brain areas during social interactions with an unfamiliar mouse. Animals that had access to an exercise wheel for six weeks before the interactions an activity known to ease stress showed even higher serotonin spikes in the prefrontal cortex.

The sensor also revealed levels of serotonin in the animals brains, glowing in step with electrical recordings of their serotonin neurons: Serotonin activity rose when the animals woke and dropped as they transitioned through certain stages of sleep.

The work appeared in December in Cell.

The serotonin sensor could offer new insights into previously observed behaviors in mouse models of autism, Veenstra-VanderWeele says.

For instance, for mice to prefer social stimuli over being alone, they must release serotonin in the nucleus accumbens, a brain area involved in processing social reward, according to a 2018 study. Artificially increasing serotonin levels in this brain region restores social behavior in an autism mouse model.

The serotonin sensor could provide researchers with an opportunity to look at the actual pattern of release thats involved in shaping that sort of preference, Veenstra-VanderWeele says.

The brains of most animals use serotonin in similar ways, so the tool might also illuminate the neurotransmitters role in autistic people and could help pave the way for more effective treatments.

The ability to detect serotonin in the brain is a really useful tool for translational neuroscience, says Gl Dlen, associate professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, who was not involved in the work. Serotonin is an evolutionarily ancient neurotransmitter that has been implicated in encoding social behaviors in a wide variety of species, which has the potential to be targeted for treating social impairments in autism.

For now, the sensor is not sensitive to small bursts of serotonin, Looger says. His team plans to improve its sensitivity going forward.

Read the original post:
Sensor helps scientists spy on serotonin activity in mice in real time - Spectrum

Neuroscience

Stroke Recovery – Norton Healthcare

Common causes of stroke include:

An ischemic stroke (blood clot blocking blood flow in the brain) often can be traced to cardiovascular conditions such as atrial fibrillation, atherosclerosis and carotid artery disease.

Treating these underlying conditions can help prevent another stroke. Our stroke neurologists work with the specialists at Norton Heart & Vascular Institute to reduce your stroke risk.

Patients with atrial fibrillation (A-fib), an irregular heart rhythm, that isnt caused by a heart valve condition, are at high risk for stroke. In A-fib, the chambers at top of the heart the atria dont pump out all the blood, making blot clots more likely.

More than 90% of stroke-causing clots that originate in the heart come from the left atrial appendage. This pouch of flesh on the heart serves no known purpose. For many patients, closing the appendage with a minimally invasiveleft atrial appendage closure procedurecan reduce their stroke risk and allow them to stop taking blood thinners.

Carotid artery disease a buildup of plaque in the arteries that deliver blood to your brain causes an estimated 20% of strokes. Many patients can take advantage of a minimally invasivetranscarotid artery revascularization (TCAR)procedure. TCAR currently is used on patients who may have difficulty with traditional open surgery to remove the plaque.

A stroke typically happens suddenly with no gradual progression that allows for preparation, grieving and coping.

Many patients will recover quickly and fully from a stroke. Some may have post-stroke conditions such as difficulty swallowing, weakness and paralysis, incontinence, difficulty speaking or understanding, emotional challenges or poor attention span.

If a stroke was on the right side of the brain, there may be left-side weakness, impulsiveness, overconfidence in abilities and vision issues to deal with. A stroke on the left side of the brain can be associated with weakness on the right side of the body, along with difficulty speaking, reading, writing or understanding language, and a cautious behavioral style.

TheNorton Neuroscience Institute Resource Centeroffers a number of services to patients recovering from strokes.

With the changes and stress that come with caring for a loved one who has survived a stroke, caregivers and family members also may be at risk for depression, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed. Our stroke support groups are for survivors and their family members, friends and caregivers.

Norton Healthcares rehabilitation servicesoffer specialized outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy at locations downtown, on the Norton Brownsboro Hospital campus and on the Norton Healthcare St. Matthews campus.

Cressman Neurological Rehabilitationon the Norton Brownsboro campus offers access to some of the most advanced technology and specialized services in one location to help with gait, balance, strength, flexibility, speech, fine motor skills, swallowing, driving, cognition, vision and more.

More here:
Stroke Recovery - Norton Healthcare

Neuroscience

Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market Statistics 2020, Technology Analysis Overview, Industry Insights and COVID-19 Pandemic Presenting Future…

Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market research report delivers a comprehensive study on production capacity, consumption, import and export for all major regions across the world. Report provides is a professional inclusive study on the current state for the market. Analysis and discussion of important industry like market trends, size, share, growth estimates are mentioned in the report.

Neuroscience involves the study of nervous system, where the research is completely relies on assays and antibodies. These antibodies and assays are specific that helps to identify and examine reactions on the cellular, biochemical and molecular level. Antibody-based approaches are used for the localization, isolation and characterization of targeted proteins that majorly used in the cellular and molecular neuroscience. On the other hand, the use of assays provide an efficient, valuable solution for determination of critical targets that are involved in synaptic signaling, neural development and neurodegeneration.

Request For Exclusive Sample PDF of this Report @ https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPBT00002234/?utm_source=10392_mccourier

Competitive Landscape Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market:

The global neuroscience antibodies & assays market is segmented on the basis of product, technology, application and end user. Based on product, the market is segmented as consumables and instruments. On the basis of technology, the global neuroscience antibodies & assays market is segmented into molecular diagnostics, clinical chemistry, immunoassays/immunochemistry and others. Based on application, the market is segmented as in vitro diagnostics, research and drug discovery. Based on end user, the market is segmented as hospitals & diagnostics centers, academic & research institutes and pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies.

The report specifically highlights the Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays market share, company profiles, regional outlook, product portfolio, a record of the recent developments, strategic analysis, key players in the market, sales, distribution chain, manufacturing, production, new market entrants as well as existing market players, advertising, brand value, popular products, demand and supply, and other important factors related to the market to help the new entrants understand the market scenario better.

To comprehend global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays market dynamics in the world mainly, the worldwide market is analyzed across major global regions: North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia and Australia), South America (Brazil, Argentina), Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and South Africa)

Our Sample Report Accommodate a Brief Introduction of the research report, TOC, List of Tables and Figures, Competitive Landscape and Geographic Segmentation, Innovation and Future Developments Based on Research Methodology

Research Objective

To analyze and forecast the market size of global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays market.

To classify and forecast global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays market based on product, sources, application.

To identify drivers and challenges for global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays market.

To examine competitive developments such as mergers & acquisitions, agreements, collaborations and partnerships, etc., in global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays market.

To conduct pricing analysis for global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays market.

To identify and analyze the profile of leading players operating in global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays market.

-To analyze global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players.

-To present the Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays development in various regions like United States, Europe and China.

-To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies.

-Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays market report helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segments

Reasons to Buy:

Interested in Purchasing this Report? Click here @ https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPBT00002234/?utm_source=10392_mccourier

Note: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.

About Us:

The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Automotive and Defense.

Contact Us:

Call: +1-646-491-9876

Email: sales@theinsightpartners.com

Read the original here:
Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market Statistics 2020, Technology Analysis Overview, Industry Insights and COVID-19 Pandemic Presenting Future...

Neuroscience

Stroke Treatment – Norton Healthcare

Norton Healthcares four adult-service hospitals each were awarded a 2020 American Heart Association Get With the Guidelines Stroke Care award. Norton Brownsboro Hospital received the highest possible award Gold Plus.

Learn More

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is a protein that triggers enzymes in blood to break clots apart.

Without blood supply, brain cells start to die at a rate of about 32,000 a second. To be effective, the medication must be administered within 4 1/2 hours of the first symptoms of a stroke.

Norton Neuroscience Institutes comprehensive stroke system consistently beats the American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Associations aggressive benchmarks to deliver tPA to ischemic stroke patients quickly and safely.

The AHA awarded itsGet With the Guidelines Stroke Care award to Norton Healthcares four adult-service hospitals.

For example, when emergency medical services responders alert a Norton Healthcare hospital that they are en route with a suspected stroke case, anemergency stroke care teamwill ready computed tomography (CT) scanning equipment and keep a table free for the incoming patient. Kits are set up that contain the medication and tools for mixing the tPA and delivering the appropriate dosage. The board-certified, fellowship-trained neurologists and neurosurgeons of Norton Neuroscience Institute begin reviewing details about the patients condition.

If youre picturing a race-car pit crew jumping into action, you arent far off.

The emergency stroke care team includes:

About 85% of strokes are ischemic caused by blood clots that block blood flow to the brain either in the neck or the skull. The clots typically form in the heart or nearby blood vessels as plaque that has built up breaks away. Once in the bloodstream, the clot can fall apart on its own. If it gets lodged in an artery that supplies blood to the brain, it causes a stroke.

Ischemic strokes most often are treated with tPA administered intravenously in the arm. The medication prompts a clot to break apart, restoring blood flow.

In some cases, especially if the clot is large and located in one of the main arteries in the brain (large vessel occlusion), the best treatment may be to remove the clot manually. Norton Neuroscience Institute endovascular surgeons can remove clots with minimally invasive tools. A tiny wire cage is threaded through a blood vessel, usually through the groin, up to the site of the clot in the brain.

The endovascular surgeon opens the tool and grabs the clot, which is secured inside the tool and retrieved.

The procedure, a mechanical thrombectomy, can be performed in conjunction with tPA or as long as 24 hours after the start of symptoms.

A transient ischemic attack, sometimes also called, incorrectly, a mini stroke, can last only a few minutes and not cause permanent damage. But a transient ischemic attack should be considered as a warning as many people go on to have strokes.

Signs of a transient ischemic attack resemble early stroke symptoms and go away, usually within an hour. Since treating stroke successfully relies on speed,get emergency care right awayif you or someone close to you has stroke symptoms.

A brain bleed, or hemorrhagic stroke, occurs when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or bursts. The leaking blood puts pressure on the brain, killing brain cells. A brain bleed can be caused by conditions such as high blood pressure, an aneurysm (bulges in a blood vessel that can burst) or an arteriovenous malformation (known as an AVM, its an abnormal tangle of capillaries connecting an artery and vein).

Brain bleeds, also called cerebral hemorrhages, typically occur inside the brain, but also can result from bleeding just under the tissues that cover the outside of the brain.

Treatment of a hemorrhagic stroke depends on its severity. Medications can be used to reverse the effect of any blood thinners you take, lower your blood pressure and lower the pressure in your brain.

If surgery is needed, Norton Neuroscience Institute endovascular surgeons will thread tiny tools through your blood vessels and up to the site of the bleeding to drain blood and repair the cause of the bleeding.

Aneurysms can be clamped or filled with a tiny coil to promote clotting through minimally invasive endovascular procedures. Some AVMs can be removed surgically, while others may be targeted with a focused beam of radiation in a stereotactic radiosurgery procedure.

See more here:
Stroke Treatment - Norton Healthcare

Neuroscience

The inspiration behind Black In Neuro – UCI News

Sooooo, when are we doing a #BlackInNeuro week?

When Angeline Dukes sent this tweet last July 3, she probably didnt anticipate that the post would soon bring together thousands of Black scholars from all over the globe. Just months after the tweet went viral, the Black In Neuro organizing team put together the inaugural Black In Neuro week and mini conference, drawing undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty members from more than 65 countries to a series of virtual events on neuroscience-related research, professional development, mentorship and racism in neuroscience.

Dukes was inspired to tweet after seeing the successes of other STEM-related coalitions. As a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, she had only one other Black classmate, Elena Dominguez (who has also been instrumental in organizing Black In Neuro). In the overwhelming aftermath of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the aspiring professor had no Black faculty members she could turn to for support. The movement provided that vital connection.

We wanted to build a community where people felt comfortable talking about race-related issues, sharing research opportunities, and just knowing that there are more of us out there, she says.

The importance of Black mentorsDukes credits Black mentorship for facilitating her growth as an academic. As the child of Trinidadian and Haitian immigrants and a first-generation college graduate, she had to navigate the educational system largely on her own. She attended Fisk University in Nashville, an HBCU, where she majored in biology and graduated summa cum laude.

She originally planned on becoming a pediatrician, but after a few classes at a medical school and some hands-on experience, she realized it wasnt what she was passionate about. Yet she still loved to learn biology and teach it as a lab and teachers assistant.

As a child of immigrants, you grow up thinking you have to become a doctor or a lawyer. I didnt know about other options, she says. Thankfully, I had some incredible Black female professors who told me, If you dont want to go to medical school, you can go to graduate school, and I was like, Oh, what is graduate school? They helped me get into research and navigate the process of applying. They showed me that I can be a professor, too.

Finding her pathThough Dukes now knew she wanted to become an educator and researcher, she was undecided about what her exact research interests were, so she applied to UCIs Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. There, she would be able to rotate in different labs from various departments, which would expose her to a variety of approaches and help her decide on a specific field.

UCI just so happened to be the first school she interviewed at. I knew the neuroscience research here was amazing. But I also had lots of questions about how supportive the faculty were regarding teaching, mentorship and outreach, because those things are really important to me, she recalls. They addressed all of my concerns and seemed really supportive about it. This was my dream school in a way. I never thought I would actually get accepted.

Dukes was not only accepted into the program, but it was also instantly a perfect fit.

Since she would be moving across the country, Dukes enrolled in the Competitive Edge Summer Research Program, which is designed to support entering doctoral students from diverse backgrounds. It was her first rotation that summer in the addiction neuroscience lab of Christine Fowler, UCI associate professor of neurobiology & behavior that sealed the deal. These days, Dukes dissertation focuses on the long-term effects of nicotine and THC in developing adolescent brains. However, her favorite part of her role as a scholar isnt the research itself. Its being able to lift other people up through her work.

A community of mutual supportI know that the work that Im doing is very interesting, but what I love the most is being able to talk to younger students about it. I love going to the Los Angeles and Compton school districts to tell students about the research that Im doing, she says. I love to show them that this is an option for them, too. If they decide they want to go to college, they can be scientists, professors and anything else they dream of.

Whether its K-12 students or her academic peers, Dukes is constantly striving to reach out and empower others. Last June, Dukes and Dominguez co-led an anti-racism discussion that started theUCI End Racism Initiative, a movement to dismantle systemic racism on campus and beyond.

Black In Neuro is another reflection of her passion for mentorship at every level. Ive connected with a lot of other Black scholars, especially current faculty members. Even though theyve been through graduate school, they didnt have anything like Black In Neuro to offer support when they were going through the process, she says. Im so thankful we can connect with them now, and they can find community, but also that they can serve as mentors to us.

One of the long-term goals for Black In Neuro is a formalized mentoring program for undergraduates and graduate students, and peer mentoring for faculty.

Sources of campus supportThe future of Black In Neuro depends, of course, on external support. Although we are creating this for ourselves, all the work doesnt fall onto us, Dukes says. We need a lot of support from institutions and from departments. If they say they want to increase Black representation at the student and faculty level, they need to support initiatives like this because were putting in the work to not only get Black students interested in neuroscience, but to also keep them in the field.

Thanks to sponsorships from UCI and several other campus institutions, including the School of Biological Sciences, the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and the UCI Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Black in Neuro has been able pay all of their speakers for the various panels, talks and events that they have organized.

Theres really no shortage of ways to support the movement, says Michael Yassa, CNLM director and associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion for the School of Biological Sciences. But my hope is that organizations that do provide support do it for authentic reasons. And along with their contributions, they should make a commitment to institutional culture change to celebrate and promote Black excellence and work to eliminate systemic and institutional barriers that prevent Black scholars from thriving in the academy or industry.

Last year, the UCI Office of Inclusive Excellence instituted the Black Thriving Initiative a campus-wide commitment to eliminate such obstacles at UCI and the community beyond. Led by vice chancellor of diversity, equity and inclusion Douglas Haynes, the initiative among its many priorities is working to ensure that the contributions of Black scholars are always celebrated and that they never have to feel like they dont belong at UCI.

In the School of Biological Sciences, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is collaborating with the Office of Inclusive Excellence to address systemic anti-Black racism on campus, improve campus culture, develop federally funded diversity training and faculty hiring initiatives, and support student outreach and recruitment.

Anti-Black systemic racism has for hundreds of years suppressed the voices and contributions of the Black community, says Yassa. Black In Neuro and a number of other similar movements are a huge step to right those wrongs, to fight back against those inequities, and ensure that this generation and the next see hope and freedom from oppression on the horizon.

Follow this link:
The inspiration behind Black In Neuro - UCI News

Neuroscience

BioXcel Therapeutics to Present an Update from its Ongoing Trial of BXCL701 in Aggressive Forms of Prostate Cancer at the 2021 ASCO Genitourinary…

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. ("BioXcel" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: BTAI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing artificial intelligence approaches to develop transformative medicines in neuroscience and immuno-oncology, today announced that an update from its ongoing Phase 1b/2 trial of BXCL701, the Company's investigational, oral innate immunity activator, in aggressive forms of prostate cancer will be presented in a poster session at the virtual 2021 ASCO Genitourinary ("ASCO GU") Cancers Symposium. ASCO GU is being held from Thursday, February 11, 2021 to Saturday, February 13, 2021.

Poster Presentation Details: Title: BXCL701, first-in-class oral activator of systemic innate immunity pathway, combined with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)Poster Session: Prostate Cancer - AdvancedTime: Available starting on February 11, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern TimeAbstract Number: 124

The abstract will be available on the ASCO GU website at meetinglibrary.asco.org/ on Monday, February 8, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. ET. At the start of the poster session, the poster will be available in the News & Media section of the Companys website at http://www.bioxceltherapeutics.com.

About BXCL701

BXCL701 is an investigational orally administered innate immune activator designed to initiate inflammation in the tumor microenvironment. Approved and experimental immunotherapies often struggle to address cancers that appear "cold" or uninflamed. Therefore, BXCL701 may render "cold" tumors "hot," making them more detectable by the adaptive immune system and thereby facilitating the development of a strong anti-cancer immune response. BTI's preclinical data supports BXCL701's synergy with both current checkpoint inhibitor-based therapies and emerging immunotherapies directed to activate T-cells, such as IL-2.

This candidate is currently being developed as therapy for aggressive forms of prostate cancer ("cold" tumor) and advanced solid tumors that are refractory or treatment nave to checkpoint inhibitors ("hot" tumors).

BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc.

BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on drug development that utilizes artificial intelligence approaches to develop transformative medicines in neuroscience and immuno-oncology. BioXcel's drug re-innovation approach leverages existing approved drugs and/or clinically validated product candidates together with big data and proprietary machine learning algorithms to identify new therapeutic indices. BioXcel's two most advanced clinical development programs are BXCL501, an investigational, proprietary, orally dissolving thin film formulation of dexmedetomidine for the treatment of agitation and opioid withdrawal symptoms, and BXCL701, an investigational, orally administered, systemic innate immunity activator in development for the treatment of aggressive forms of prostate cancer and advanced solid tumors that are refractory or treatment nave to checkpoint inhibitors. For more information, please visit http://www.bioxceltherapeutics.com.

Contact Information:

BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc.

http://www.bioxceltherapeutics.com

Investor Relations:

Mary ColemanBioXcel Therapeutics, VP of Investment RelationsMColeman@bioxceltherapeutics.com1.475.238.6837

John GrazianoSolebury Troutjgraziano@soleburytrout.com1.646.378.2942

Media:

Julia DeutschSolebury Troutjdeutsch@soleburytrout.com1.646.378.2967

Go here to read the rest:
BioXcel Therapeutics to Present an Update from its Ongoing Trial of BXCL701 in Aggressive Forms of Prostate Cancer at the 2021 ASCO Genitourinary...

Neuroscience

GWPH Stock Price Increases Over 40% Pre-Market: Why It Happened – Pulse 2.0

The stock price of GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: GWPH) is trading at over 40% pre-market today as of 8:26 AM ET. Investors are responding to an acquisition announcement.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: JAZZ) announced it has agreed to buy GW Pharmaceuticals Plc GWPH in a cash-and-stock deal that has a value of $7.2 billion. As part of the deal, Jazz Pharma is going to pay $200 per share in cash and $20 in stock for each share to the company shareholders. This is a premium of about 50% of GW Pharmaceuticals closing price on Tuesday and 60% over the 30-day volume-weighted average price.

GW is a leader in discovering, developing, manufacturing, and commercializing novel, regulatory approved therapeutics from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform to address a broad range of diseases. And the companys lead product Epidiolex (cannabidiol) oral solution is approved in patients one-year and older for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS), Dravet Syndrome, and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) all of which are rare diseases characterized by severe early-onset epilepsy.

Epidiolex was the first plant-derived cannabinoid medicine ever approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And this product has also been approved, under the tradename Epidyolex by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in patients two years of age and older for the adjunctive treatment of seizures associated with LGS and Dravet syndrome in conjunction with clobazam and is under EMA review for the treatment of seizures associated with TSC. Plus there are considerable opportunities to pursue other indications within the epilepsy field, including other treatment-resistant epilepsies where significant unmet needs of patients exist.

The deal is expected to close in the Q2. And it is expected to boost profit in the first year after close along with driving double-digit revenue growth.

KEY QUOTES:

Jazz is proud of our leadership position in sleep medicines and rapidly growing oncology business. We are excited to add GWs industry-leading cannabinoid platform, innovative pipeline and products, which will strengthen and broaden our neuroscience portfolio, further diversify our revenue and drive sustainable, long-term value creation opportunities. We are joining two teams that share a passion for, and track record of, developing differentiated therapies that advance science and transform the lives of patients. This will help facilitate a successful integration and bring added capabilities to Jazz. Given the strength of our balance sheet and the meaningful financial drivers of the transaction, we are confident in the value we can deliver to both companies shareholders and patients. We look forward to welcoming the GW team to Jazz to build an even stronger company.

Bruce Cozadd, chairman and CEO of Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Over the last two decades, GW has built an unparalleled global leadership position in cannabinoid science, including the successful launch of Epidiolex, a breakthrough product within the field of epilepsy, and a diverse and robust neuroscience pipeline. We believe that Jazz is an ideal growth partner that is committed to supporting our commercial efforts, as well as ongoing clinical and research programs. We have a shared vision of developing and commercializing innovative medicines that address significant unmet needs in neuroscience and an approach of putting patients first. Together, we will have an opportunity to reach and impact more patients through a broader portfolio of neuroscience-focused therapies than ever before.

Justin Gover, CEO of GW Pharmaceuticals

Disclaimer: This content is intended for informational purposes. Before making any investment, you should do your own analysis.

See more here:
GWPH Stock Price Increases Over 40% Pre-Market: Why It Happened - Pulse 2.0

Neuroscience

Nerd Knowledge: The neuroscience of religion – Sapulpa Times

From a cognitive and neurobiological perspective, the scientific study of the human brains interaction with religion is fascinating. There is now a new branch of neuroscience called neurotheology. This discipline attempts to explain religious experience and behavior in neuroscientific terms.

Dr. Andrew Newberg, director of the Research Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at the Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital in Villanova, PA, has written a book, Principles of Neurotheology, which provides a novel approach to scientific and theological dialogue.

According to Newberg, neurotheology applies science and the scientific method to spirituality through brain imaging studies.

His studies show that both meditating Buddhists and praying Catholic nuns have increased activity in the frontal lobes of the brain. These areas are linked with increased focus and attention, planning skills, the ability to project into the future, and the ability to construct complex arguments.

Interestingly, nuns who pray with words, rather than relying on visualization techniques used in meditation, show increased activity in the language-processing brain areas of the subparietal lobes. Both prayer and meditation correlate with decreased activity in the parietal lobes, which are responsible for processing temporal and spatial orientation.

However, other religious exercises can have the opposite effect on the same areas of the brain.

Dr. Newberg co-authored studies which show that intense Islamic prayer, which has, as its most fundamental concept, the surrendering of ones self to God, reduces the neural activity in the prefrontal cortex, the frontal lobes, as well as the activity in the parietal lobes.

It is thought that the prefrontal cortex is involved in executive control, or willful behavior, as well as decision-making. Therefore scientists postulate it is logical that a practice that focuses on abdicating control would result in reduced activity in this brain area.

Dr. Jeff Anderson, Ph.D., a neuroradiologist from the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, along with his research team, examined the brains of 19 young Mormons using a functional MRI scanner.

The participants were asked to what degree they were feeling the spirit. Those who reported the most intense spiritual feelings displayed increased activity in the bilateral nucleus accumbens, the frontal attentional, and ventromedial prefrontal cortical loci.

These brain areas are associated with pleasure and reward processing and are also active when we engage in sexual activities, gamble, listen to music, or drug use. The subjects also reported feelings of physical warmth and peace.

Michael Ferguson, who was a bioengineering graduate student at the time, was the author of the first study, said: When our study participants were instructed to think about a savior, about being with their families for eternity, about their heavenly rewards, their brains and bodies physically responded.

Previous studies showed that spiritual practices raise levels of serotonin and endorphins which are neurotransmitters that are associated with a sense of happiness and well-being. Endorphins work on the opiate receptors in the brain. Thus, Such neurochemical responses to religion lend credence to that dictum, Religion is the opium of the people.

Dr. Andersn stated brain imaging technologies have matured in ways that are letting us approach questions that have been around for millennia, such as What causes the feeling that someone else is present in the room, or that we are outside of our bodies?

Prof. James Giordano, from the Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., explained that activity in the superior parietal cortex, (which is a region in the upper part of the parietal lobe) or the prefrontal cortex increases or decreases, our bodily boundaries change.

These parts of the brain control our sense of self in relation to other objects in the world, as well as our bodily integrity; hence the out of body and extended self sensations and perceptions many people who have had mystical experiences confess to.

It is noteworthy that a study of Vietnam veterans shows that those who had suffered injuries to the brains dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were more likely to report mystical experiences and religious fundamentalism.

in the 1990s, Dr. Michael Persinger, Director of the Neuroscience Department at Laurentian University in Ontario, Canada, designed what came to be known as the God Helmet. It was a

device that was designed to simulate religious experiences by stimulating an individuals tempoparietal lobes using magnetic fields.

Out of the 2,000 participants, only one percent reported feeling, 81 percent felt a presence of some sort, and the remaining subjects felt no presence.

Newberg stresses that although neurotheology wont prove the existence of a higher power, it can provide a better understanding of what it means for a person to be religious.Neurotheology can explore how religion and spirituality affect physical and mental health in terms of beliefs and practices.

Read the original:
Nerd Knowledge: The neuroscience of religion - Sapulpa Times