Category Archives: Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Nathan Urban announced as new provost – The Brown and White

Nathan Urban was announced as the new provost, as Pat Farrell steps down from the role in June, according to an email sent to the Lehigh community from President John Simon on March 2.

Urban will also assume the role of senior vice president for academic affairs. He is currently the vice provost of graduate studies and strategic initiatives at the University of Pittsburgh, according to the email.

Following a global search of candidates, Urban was selected as the ideal choice to help us continue our efforts to build a stronger university, Simon said in the email.

Simon said in the email Urban helped to improve communication between the students and the administration at the University of Pittsburgh, and he created a better graduate student experience and sense of community.

Urban is also associate chair of the department of neurobiology and professor at the University of Pittsburgh. He was previously head of the department of biological sciences from 2010-14 and interim provost from 2014-15 at Carnegie Mellon University.

With a Ph.D. in neuroscience and a B.S. in neuroscience, math and philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh, Urban earned his undergraduate degree in math and philosophy as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. His work, which focuses on brain activity and analysis of behavior, has been published in scientific journals.

As provost, Urban will bring new ideas for ongoing initiatives like GO: The Campaign for Lehigh and the Path to Prominence. He will work with the rest of the administration to continue to make an impact in teaching, research and service, Simon said in the email.

Urban said in the university announcement he wants to be a part of Lehighs developing connection the the community and alumni, and he has a vision of continuing to improve the student experience while emphasizing a quality education and strong faculty.

Urban will replace Farrell on June 30.

More here:
Nathan Urban announced as new provost - The Brown and White

Neuroscience

Study reveals the neural basis of sensory hypersensitivity in people with autism – The Medical News

Many people with autism spectrum disorders are highly sensitive to light, noise, and other sensory input. A new study in mice reveals a neural circuit that appears to underlie this hypersensitivity, offering a possible strategy for developing new treatments.

MIT and Brown University neuroscientists found that mice lacking a protein called Shank3, which has been previously linked with autism, were more sensitive to a touch on their whiskers than genetically normal mice. These Shank3-deficient mice also had overactive excitatory neurons in a region of the brain called the somatosensory cortex, which the researchers believe accounts for their over-reactivity.

There are currently no treatments for sensory hypersensitivity, but the researchers believe that uncovering the cellular basis of this sensitivity may help scientists to develop potential treatments.

"We hope our studies can point us to the right direction for the next generation of treatment development," says Guoping Feng, the James W. and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT and a member of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research.

Feng and Christopher Moore, a professor of neuroscience at Brown University, are the senior authors of the paper, which appears today in Nature Neuroscience. McGovern Institute research scientist Qian Chen and Brown postdoc Christopher Deister are the lead authors of the study.

The Shank3 protein is important for the function of synapses -- connections that allow neurons to communicate with each other. Feng has previously shown that mice lacking the Shank3 gene display many traits associated with autism, including avoidance of social interaction, and compulsive, repetitive behavior.

In the new study, Feng and his colleagues set out to study whether these mice also show sensory hypersensitivity. For mice, one of the most important sources of sensory input is the whiskers, which help them to navigate and to maintain their balance, among other functions.

The researchers developed a way to measure the mice's sensitivity to slight deflections of their whiskers, and then trained the mutant Shank3 mice and normal ("wild-type") mice to display behaviors that signaled when they felt a touch to their whiskers. They found that mice that were missing Shank3 accurately reported very slight deflections that were not noticed by the normal mice.

They are very sensitive to weak sensory input, which barely can be detected by wild-type mice. That is a direct indication that they have sensory over-reactivity."

Guoping Feng, the James W. and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT and a member of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research

Once they had established that the mutant mice experienced sensory hypersensitivity, the researchers set out to analyze the underlying neural activity. To do that, they used an imaging technique that can measure calcium levels, which indicate neural activity, in specific cell types.

They found that when the mice's whiskers were touched, excitatory neurons in the somatosensory cortex were overactive. This was somewhat surprising because when Shank3 is missing, synaptic activity should drop. That led the researchers to hypothesize that the root of the problem was low levels of Shank3 in the inhibitory neurons that normally turn down the activity of excitatory neurons. Under that hypothesis, diminishing those inhibitory neurons' activity would allow excitatory neurons to go unchecked, leading to sensory hypersensitivity.

To test this idea, the researchers genetically engineered mice so that they could turn off Shank3 expression exclusively in inhibitory neurons of the somatosensory cortex. As they had suspected, they found that in these mice, excitatory neurons were overactive, even though those neurons had normal levels of Shank3.

"If you only delete Shank3 in the inhibitory neurons in the somatosensory cortex, and the rest of the brain and the body is normal, you see a similar phenomenon where you have hyperactive excitatory neurons and increased sensory sensitivity in these mice," Feng says.

The results suggest that reestablishing normal levels of neuron activity could reverse this kind of hypersensitivity, Feng says.

"That gives us a cellular target for how in the future we could potentially modulate the inhibitory neuron activity level, which might be beneficial to correct this sensory abnormality," he says.

Many other studies in mice have linked defects in inhibitory neurons to neurological disorders, including Fragile X syndrome and Rett syndrome, as well as autism.

"Our study is one of several that provide a direct and causative link between inhibitory defects and sensory abnormality, in this model at least," Feng says. "It provides further evidence to support inhibitory neuron defects as one of the key mechanisms in models of autism spectrum disorders."

He now plans to study the timing of when these impairments arise during an animal's development, which could help to guide the development of possible treatments. There are existing drugs that can turn down excitatory neurons, but these drugs have a sedative effect if used throughout the brain, so more targeted treatments could be a better option, Feng says.

"We don't have a clear target yet, but we have a clear cellular phenomenon to help guide us," he says. "We are still far away from developing a treatment, but we're happy that we have identified defects that point in which direction we should go."

See original here:
Study reveals the neural basis of sensory hypersensitivity in people with autism - The Medical News

Neuroscience

BioXcel Therapeutics to Host Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Operating and Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast – Yahoo Finance

NEW HAVEN, Conn., March 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. (BTI or Company) (BTAI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing artificial intelligence to identify improved therapies in neuroscience and immuno-oncology, today announced it will host a conference call and webcast on Monday, March 9, 2020 at 8:30 AM Eastern Time to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2019 operating and financial results.

Conference Call & Webcast Details

Date/Time: Monday, March 9, 2020, 8:30 AM Eastern TimeDomestic: 877-407-2985International: 201-378-4915

The webcast will be accessible* under "Events" on the News & Media page of the Company's website at http://www.bioxceltherapeutics.com.

ReplayDomestic: 877-660-6853International: 201-612-7415Conference ID: 13696573

*Replay available through March 23, 2020

About BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc.:

BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on drug development that utilizes artificial intelligence to identify improved therapies in neuroscience and immuno-oncology. BTI's drug re-innovation approach leverages existing approved drugs and/or clinically evaluated product candidates together with big data and proprietary machine learning algorithms to identify new therapeutic indices. BTI's two most advanced clinical development programs are BXCL501, an investigational sublingual thin film formulation in development for acute treatment of agitation resulting from neuropsychiatric disorders, and BXCL701, an investigational orally administered systemic innate immunity activator in development for treatment of a rare form of prostate cancer and for treatment of pancreatic cancer in combination with other immuno-oncology agents. For more information, please visit http://www.bioxceltherapeutics.com.

Contact Information:

BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc.www.bioxceltherapeutics.com

Investor Relations: John Graziano jgraziano@troutgroup.com1.646.378.2942

Media: Julia Deutsch jdeutsch@troutgroup.com1.646.378.2967

Original post:
BioXcel Therapeutics to Host Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Operating and Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast - Yahoo Finance

Neuroscience

Sponsored | How a Neurobiologist and a Biotech Manager Turned Their Passion for Science into Teaching – BioSpace

Step into Antioch High Schools senior biotech class, and you will see experiments that use DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction and gel electrophoresis. At a high-needs school where over 70% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch, this is not your typical high school lab equipment or techniques. Not your typical low-income high school lab equipment. But thats par for the course when your high school biology teacher has a PhD in neuroscience and over a decade of lab experience.

David House made the transition from post-doctoral research in Geneva, Switzerland, to inspiring students as a biotech teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area, with the help of EnCorps STEM Teachers Program. After spending 14 years in research labs, David decided it was time to leave the lab. He explored many options like programming and engineering, but realized teaching would allow him to share his passion for science in a new and meaningful way.

To make the transition to teaching, David relied on EnCorps STEM Teachers Program. He was able to spend a semester in a local high school under the mentorship of earth science teacher, Adam Siegel. His on-the-ground experience was complemented by online training, in-person practical sessions with other STEM-professionals-turned-teachers in the Bay Area, and networking with his cohort of 113 STEM Teaching Fellows across California.

David says, Teaching students in disadvantaged communities has been a chance to use my background in science to help improve opportunities for kids that really need it. Plus, theres a new focus on preparing students to understand and solve real-world problems using science and engineering practices. I feel as if having experience in the sciences has been incredibly valuable for connecting students to how science makes a difference in peoples lives.

With a background in corporate research and product development, EnCorps STEM Teaching Fellow Don Selway found that teaching met his desire to give back. Don teaches biology at SOUL Charter School in San Diego, where his students engage in experiential and project-based learning. He knows that interdisciplinary skills like collaboration and teamwork are priorities for advancing a scientific career. With his unique expertise and experience as a program manager for cell therapy new product development, he connects classroom learning to potential future careers for his students, many of whom had never met anyone from the biotech industry before.

Don says, EnCorps was amazing in guiding me through the pathway to earn a teaching credential. Ive made several close friends in my cohort that I call upon when I have challenges in my classroom.

California-based EnCorps STEM Teachers Program transitions professionals from science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) industries into careers as middle and high school teachers in under-resourced schools. The organization was founded to alleviate the nationwide teacher shortage that disproportionately impacts low income schools, with the ultimate goal to prepare the future STEM workforce with an excellent educational foundation. Statewide Recruitment Director, Bethany Orozco, says STEM professionals are uniquely positioned to teach in science and math classrooms because students want to know how their education is applicable to their real life. EnCorps Teaching Fellows engage students with stories of their first hand experience in careers like manufacturing, scientific research and programming.

EnCorps Teaching Fellows begin their role by guest teaching in a local classroom with a mentor teacher, where they gain valuable teaching insight, learn to build relationships and inspire adolescents. Fellows engage in online and in-person training, networking and then teach at EnCorps partner schools - both district and charter - across Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Riverside, North Orange County and San Diego. Since 2007, EnCorps has selected more than 1,000 Teaching Fellows to make the transition. The selection process is rigorous and that number represents about 13% of all applicants.

For professionals considering a career change to teaching, Orozco, a former high school math and science teacher herself, says it can be incredibly rewarding. EnCorps Teachers will, on average, impact over 1,200 students if they teach for just 10 years. The professional development and support EnCorps provides helps teachers meet that milestone. This type of impact can have an exponential effect, and ultimately serves industry by preparing hundreds of students to enter the STEM workforce. Lastly - Orozco says it is most important for prospective EnCorps Teachers to believe that all students can succeed when given the right opportunities, regardless of background.

Even if just one student follows in the footsteps of an EnCorps Fellow, teaching can be an incredibly rewarding career. EnCorps Teacher Julian Lewis not only connects his students to real-world applications of math and science in his aerospace engineering classroom, but he also inspired one student to pursue an education at his alma mater, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. A former Lockheed Martin aerospace engineer of 34 years, Lewis grew up in the South Bronx and was inspired by an eighth grade teacher who was a pilot. He says that the satisfaction of working on amazing aircraft equals the satisfaction he gets from watching his students become engaged in aerospace. At the end of the day, whats going to be your legacy? What have you impacted? As I share my experience, they are realizing they too can do that.

To learn more about the EnCorps STEM Teachers Program, visit http://www.encorps.org.

Go here to see the original:
Sponsored | How a Neurobiologist and a Biotech Manager Turned Their Passion for Science into Teaching - BioSpace

Neuroscience

Could This Robot Help Children With Autism Learn? – Technology Networks

Many children with autism face developmental delays, including communication and behavioral challenges and difficulties with social interaction. This makes learning new skills a major challenge, especially in traditional school environments.Previous research suggests socially assistive robots can help children with autism learn. But these therapeutic interventions work best if the robot can accurately interpret the childs behavior and react appropriately.

Now, researchers at USCs Department of Computer Science have developed personalized learning robots for children with autism. They also studied whether the robots could estimate a childs interest in a task using machine learning.

In one of the largest studies of its kind, the researchers placed a socially assistive robot in the homes of 17 children with autism for one month. The robots personalized their instruction and feedback to each childs unique learning patterns during the interventions.

After the study was completed, the researchers also analyzed seven of the participants engagement and determined the robot could have autonomously detected whether or not the child was engaged with 90% accuracy.Making robots smarter

Robots are limited in their ability to autonomously recognize and respond to behavioral cues, especially in atypical users and real-world environments. This study is the first to model the learning patterns and engagement of children with autism in a long-term, in-home setting.Current robotic systems are very rigid, said lead author Shomik Jain, a progressive degree mathematics student advised by socially assistive robotics pioneer Professor Maja Matari.

If you think of a real learning environment, the teacher is going to learn things about the child, and the child will learn things from them. Its a bidirectional process and that doesnt happen with current robotic systems. This study aims to make robots smarter by understanding the childs behavior and responding to it in real- time.

The researchers stress the goal is to augment human therapy, not replace it.

Human therapists are crucial, but they may not always be available or affordable for families, said Kartik Mahajan, an undergraduate student in computer science and study co-author. Thats where socially assistive robots like this come in.Enhancing the learning experienceFunded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant given to Matari, the research team placed Kiwi the robot in the homes of 17 children with autism spectrum disorders for about a month. The child participants were all aged between 3 and 7 and from the greater Los Angeles area.

During almost daily interventions, the children played space-themed math games on a tablet while Kiwi, a 2-foot tall robot dressed like a green feathered bird, provided instruction and feedback.

Kiwis feedback and the games difficulty were personalized in real-time according to each childs unique learning patterns. Mataris team in the USC Interaction Lab accomplished this using reinforcement learning, a rapidly growing subfield of artificial intelligence (AI).

The algorithms monitored the childs performance on the math games. For instance, if a child answered correctly, Kiwi would say something like, Good job!. If they got a question wrong, Kiwi might give them some helpful tips to solve the problem, and adjust the difficulty and feedback in future games. The goal was to maximize difficulty, while also not pushing the learner to make too many mistakes.

If you have no idea what the childs ability level is, you just throw a bunch of varying problems at them and its not good for their engagement or learning, said Jain.

But if the robot is able to find an appropriate level of difficulty for the problems, then that can really enhance the learning experience.The ultimate frontierTheres a popular saying among people with autism and their families: If you have met one person with autism, you have met one person with autism.

Autism is the ultimate frontier for robotic personalization, because as anyone who knows about autism will tell you, every individual has a constellation of symptoms and different severities of each symptom, said Matari, Chan Soon-Shiong Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics and Interim Vice President of Research.

This presents a particular challenge for machine learning, which usually relies on spotting consistent patterns in huge amounts of similar data. Thats why personalization is so important.

If we take a cue from a child, we can achieve so much more than just following a script, said Matari. Normal AI approaches fail with autism. AI methods require a lot of similar data and that just isnt possible with autism, where heterogeneity reigns.

The researchers tackled this problem in their analysis of the childrens engagement after the intervention. Computer models of engagement were developed by combining many types of data, including eye gaze and head pose, audio pitch and frequency, and performance on the task.

Making these algorithms work using real-world data presented a major challenge, given the accompanying noise and unpredictability.

This experiment was right in the center of their learning experience, said Kartik, who helped install the robots in the childrens homes.

There were cats jumping on the robot, a blender going off in the kitchen, and people coming in and out of the room. As such, the machine learning algorithms had to be sophisticated enough to focus on pertinent information related to the therapy session and dismiss environmental noise.Improving human-robot interactionAssessments were conducted before and after the month-long interventions. While the researchers expected to see some improvements in participants, the results surpassed their expectations. At the end of the months intervention, 100% of the participants demonstrated improved math skills, while 92% also improved in social skills.

In post-experiment analyses, the researchers were also able to glean some other interesting information from the data that could give us a peek into the recipe for ideal child-robot interactions.

The study observed higher engagement for all participants shortly after the robot had spoken. Specifically, participants were engaged about 70% of the time when the robot had spoken in the previous minute, but less than 50% of the time when the robot had not spoken for more than a minute.

While a personalized model for every user is ideal, the researchers also determined it was possible to achieve adequate results using engagement models trained on data from other users.

Moreover, the study observed caregivers only had to intervene when a child lost interest for a longer period of time. In contrast, participants usually re-engaged by themselves after shorter periods of disinterest. This suggests robotic systems should focus on counteracting longer periods of disengagement.

Mataris lab will continue to study the data gathered from the experiment: One active sub-project involves analyzing and modeling the childrens cognitive-affective states, including emotions such as confusion or excitement. The project, led by progressive degree in computer science student Zhonghao Shi, aims to design affect-aware socially assistive robot tutors that are even more sensitive to the emotions and moods of its users in the context of learning.

The hope is that future studies in this lab and elsewhere can take all the things that weve learned and hopefully design more engaging and personalized human-robot interactions, said Jain.ReferenceJain et al. (2020) Modeling engagement in long-term, in-home socially assistive robot interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders. Science Robotics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.aaz3791

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

See the rest here:
Could This Robot Help Children With Autism Learn? - Technology Networks

Neuroscience

New study uncovers the neurology behind how kind and generous you are – Ladders

Virtually every society rests its principles on the basic constructs of good and evil. The tendency presumes that one denotes the absence of the other when the reality actually exists in a clinical gray area.

As concluded by a pioneering new paper published in the February edition ofNature Neuroscience, human ecology is informed by physiological signatures. When the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex fail to communicate in sync, instances of anti-social behavior increases.

Social behaviors recruit multiple cognitive operations that require interactions between cortical and subcortical brain regions. Interareal synchrony may facilitate such interactions between cortical and subcortical neural populations, the authors write. These findings suggest that specialized coordination in the medial prefrontalamygdala network underlies social-decision preferences.

The new study was co-authored byOlga Dal Monte,Cheng C. J. Chu,Nicholas A. FaganandSteve W. C. Chang ofYale Universitys department of psychology.

This neurological correlation observed by Dal Monte and her team not only determined the presence of prosocial and antisocial traits, but it also allowed the experts to gauge the extent to which they were present.

The first leg of the research employed non-human primate models. Monkeys were encouraged to choose between sharing fruit juice with another monkey and keeping the sample for themselves over the course of multiple trials. During each scenario, the psychologists would monitor neural activity.

In every trial, a monkeys decision to act benevolently was preluded by the basolateral amygdala and the rostral anterior cingulate gyrus region of their medial prefrontal cortex expressing high synchronization. The exact inverse was evident when the subjects decided to act selfishly.

By merely analyzing the degree of neural suppression andsynchronicitythe authors were able to reliably predict which outcome each primate was about to realize.

We found aunique signature of neural synchrony that reflects whether a prosocial or an antisocial decision was made, senior authorChang, who is an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Yale, said in anews release. We all know there are individual differences in levels ofgenerosity. Maybe Scrooge did not havehigh levels of synchronyafter all.

While lesser primates may not evidence as many genetic similarities to us as the great apes, the researchers suspect their finds to be translatable to human subjects saying nothing of the previously published literature bridging the gap between aggression and neurological deficiencies.

Not unlike the thesis recently motioned by the journal Scientific Reportsback in January the core elements of empathetic behaviors are authored by biological predispositions as opposed to someconditioned moral avatar.

Synchronization between the two nodes was enhanced for a positive other-regarding preference but suppressed for a negative ORP, the authors write. These interactions occurred in beta and gamma frequency bands depending on the area contributing the spikes, exhibited a specific directionality of information flow associated with a positive ORP and could be used to decode social decisions.

The new study, published on February 24th, 2020, is titled Specialized Medial PrefrontalAmygdala Coordination in Other-Regarding Decision Preference.

The report can be read in full in the Journal of Nature Neuroscience.

Originally posted here:
New study uncovers the neurology behind how kind and generous you are - Ladders

Neuroscience

Minerva Neurosciences to Host Key Opinion Leader Meeting on Avolition, the Most Central Domain for the Successful Treatment of Negative Symptoms in…

WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: NERV), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative therapies to treat unmet medical needs of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced that it will host a Key Opinion Leader (KOL) breakfast to discuss the importance of improving avolition in the successful treatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia on Friday, March 6, 2020 in New York.

The event will be hosted by Dr. Remy Luthringer, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Minerva, and will feature a brief presentation and moderated discussion with Philip Harvey, PhD, from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and Greg Strauss, PhD, from the Georgia Psychiatric Risk Evaluation Program. They will discuss Dr. Strausss paper on the central role of avolition, defined as reductions in the desire for and initiation of motivated behavior, in treating negative symptoms in schizophrenia that was published recently in Schizophrenia Bulletin. A Q&A session will be held at the conclusion of the event.

Dr. Strauss will discuss his findings in the context of data from the Phase 2b study of Minervas lead product candidate, Roluperidone (MIN-101), a novel 5-HT2A and receptor antagonist. Roluperidone is currently in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Greg Strauss, PhD directs the Clinical Affective Neuroscience Laboratory and Georgia Psychiatric Risk Evaluation Program (G-PREP). He has authored over 120 publications, and his research has been recognized by several awards, such as the Early Career Award from the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Early Career Award from the American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology, Wechsler Early Career Award for Innovative Research on Cognition from the American Psychological Foundation, and Young Investigator Awards from the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research and the Schizophrenia International Research Society. He has received over $15M in grants as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator from the NIMH, NARSAD, VA MIRECC, APF, NSF and G-PREP. He serves on the editorial boards of Schizophrenia Bulletin, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Clinical Psychological Science, and Schizophrenia Research: Cognition.

Philip D. Harvey, PhD is Leonard M. Miller Professor of Psychiatry and director of the Division of Psychology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and a VA Senior Health Scientist. Dr. Harveys research has focused on cognition and functioning, and he has written extensively on aging in schizophrenia, negative symptoms in schizophrenia, functional impairments in severe mental illness, the cognitive effects of typical and atypical antipsychotics, and the effects of cognitive enhancing agents and cognitive training in various conditions. He is the author of over 1,000 scientific papers and abstracts, and he has written over 60 book chapters. Dr. Harvey is a widely cited author who was repeatedly designated by Thompson-Reuters as being in the top 1% of all researchers in citations in mental health each year since 2010. He has received numerous awards for his research in schizophrenia.

This event is intended for institutional investors, sell-side analysts, investment bankers, and business development professionals only. Please RSVP in advance if you plan to attend, as space is limited. Members of the media and the public are invited to participate via the live webcast.

About Minerva Neurosciences

Minervas proprietary compounds include: roluperidone (MIN-101), in clinical development for schizophrenia; seltorexant (MIN-202 or JNJ-42847922), in clinical development for insomnia and MDD; and MIN-301, in pre-clinical development for Parkinsons disease. Minervas common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol NERV. For more information, please visit http://www.minervaneurosciences.com.

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, reflect managements expectations as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include statements herein with respect to the timing and scope of future clinical trials and results of clinical trials with roluperidone (MIN-101); the clinical and therapeutic potential of this compound; the timing and outcomes of future interactions with U.S. and foreign regulatory bodies; our ability to successfully develop and commercialize our therapeutic products; the sufficiency of our current cash position to fund our operations; and managements ability to successfully achieve its goals. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors including, without limitation, whether roluperidone will advance further in the clinical trials process and whether and when, if at all, it will receive final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies and for which indications; whether any of our therapeutic products will be successfully marketed if approved; whether any of our therapeutic product discovery and development efforts will be successful; managements ability to successfully achieve its goals; our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations on terms acceptable to us; and general economic conditions. These and other potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed under the caption Risk Factors in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter endedSeptember 30, 2019, filed with theSecurities and Exchange Commission on November 4, 2019. Copies of reports filed with theSECare posted on our website at http://www.minervaneurosciences.com. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Contact:

William B. BoniVP, Investor Relations/Corp. CommunicationsMinerva Neurosciences, Inc.(617) 600-7376

Read more:
Minerva Neurosciences to Host Key Opinion Leader Meeting on Avolition, the Most Central Domain for the Successful Treatment of Negative Symptoms in...

Neuroscience

Check It Out: It’s time to learn, read about time – The Columbian

Tick tock, tick tock, its almost time to change your clocks. I have to admit that it is much harder for me to spring forward than to fall back during daylight saving time, but I will be happy about having extended daylight especially when Im driving home from work. And more daylight means more time to look at the signs of spring popping up everywhere. Nice.

Since youre going to be adjusting all of your watches and clocks soon (which means youre going to be spending time thinking about time), why not keep the theme going by checking out a title or two about, well, time? No matter your time situation you have too little, you have too much the library has some very timely tomes that can assist you with your past, present and future needs.

If you fall in the I-never-have-enough-time camp, check out Pedram Shojais The Art of Stopping Time. Described as providing innovative and mindful time management as inspired by ancient Chinese spiritual practices, this guide will inform and relieve those who constantly feel pressed for time. On the other hand, if you find yourself having time to fill, heres a suggestion: learn a new skill. Apropos of todays theme, Watch Repairing by D. W. Fletcher instructs watch repair novices on how to clean and make minor repairs to broken timepieces.

The subjects of time and how we perceive time are fascinating ones. Several books in the librarys collection focus on these topics as well as why humans are so obsessed and dominated by time. The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli, Timekeepers by Simon Garfield and Why Time Fliesby Alan Burdick are excellent resources for anyone who wants to know more about the mysteries of time and time keeping. For a neuroscientists take on the relationship between the brain and time, be sure to read Your Brain is a Time Machine by Dr. Dean Buonomano. Dr. Buonomano says that our brains [are] not designed to understand the nature of time any more than your laptop was designed to write its own software. His exploration of neuroscience and the concept of time will have you thinking about time long after youve finished the book.

Finally, if youve ever wondered if time travel is possible (any Star Trek fan knows it is the Star Trek crew time traveled multiple times), you may want to read Time Travel: A History by James Gleick. Through a variety of cultural and scientific resources Gleick explores the science and the science fiction of traveling through time.

See the article here:
Check It Out: It's time to learn, read about time - The Columbian

Neuroscience

The Link Between the Brain and Architecture – Science Times

(Photo : Reuters)A view of the urban rooftop farm at Bangkok's Thammasat University's Rangsit campus, said to be Asia's biggest. December 4, 2019. Thomson Reuters FoundationRina Chandran

Architecture design can be closely connected to how our brains respond to particular features of our fabricated environment.

Often times you'd hear a friend or someone give comments on the things they see in their surroundings. They would say something about its aesthetic value, or how it attracted them to explore the place further, or that they feel a certain kind of vibe that makes them comfortable and want to stay there. These are pieces of evidence that prove that our environment influences our brains.

For many years, architects have recognized the buildings that we live, work, learn and worship affects the way we feel and act, setting the stage for invigorating interaction, quiet reflection, or inspiration. Architects are now exploring the neuroscientific application to its craft which is mostly described as neuroscience and architecture.

Neuroscientists are prepared to apply their tools and knowledge to planning spaces that will help unleash the potential in people who use them. Architects as well acknowledge the design has a maximum effect when it reflects our understanding of how our brain reacts to different environments.

In a recent study, 800 people online were asked to participate wherein they will rate their experience of seeing the picture of 200 interiors along with 16 psychological factors. The goal is to know whether the 16 psychological factors can be reduced to a few key dimensions. In doing so, the researchers used the principal component analyses (PCA) and the Psychometric Network Analyses (PNA).

With 90% variance, the PCA proved that the factors could be grouped into three key dimensions- coherence, fascination, and hominess. Coherence is defined as to which a scene is organized; it means that appreciation is based on its beauty. On the other hand, the richness to a scene or the urge to want to explore it refers to fascination. Lastly, hominess is the feeling of being comfortable and a feeling of being personal to space. PNA confirmed that the responses by the participants can be classified among these three factors.

An example of the applicability of neuroscience to architecture is the work of a professor of pediatrics Stanley Graven, M.D. about the effects of the environmental conditions among premature infants in neonatal intensive care units. He stressed that the lighting, noise levels, and staff activities that interfere with an infant's sleep cycles could have long-term effects on their developments.

Another example is the study on group homes of people with Alzheimer's disease conducted by John Zeisel, Ph. D., whose background is both in sociology and architecture. He emphasized the relationship between the particular environmental designs and the changes in symptoms in patients such as becoming agitated or displaying aggressive behavior, psychological problems, social withdrawal, depression, hallucination, and misidentification.

Zeisel wrote in his report in Gerontologist in 2003, that it "demonstrates the great opportunity systematic attention to environmental factors open for improving Alzheimer's." He also noted that environments specifically designed to an able person might be a stressor to a person with Alzheimer's thus explaining the changes in symptoms.

Meanwhile, architects have also designed classrooms for more than a century, paving the way to innovations that could give students a conducive learning space. Social and behavioral scientists have studied the effects of lighting on children in classrooms and almost universally report that learning improves when there is more daylight than artificial light.

Lastly, Lindsay Jones, Ph.D. described in his two-volume series The Hermeneutics of Sacred Architecture his proposal in studying sacred spaces as not merely an architectural object but as setting for ritual occasions, so as to understand how it should be experienced.

Whatever type of architecture it may be, it is important to know that there are several ways space can impact its users and understanding them can help architects and urban planners to design efficient and healthy spaces.

Here is the original post:
The Link Between the Brain and Architecture - Science Times

Neuroscience

Biogen and Sangamo Ink $2.7 Billion+ Neurodegeneration Deal – BioSpace

Biogen and Sangamo Therapeutics announced a broad global licensing collaboration deal to develop and commercialize several compounds for a range of neurological and neuromuscular diseases.

Under the deal they will work to develop and commercialize ST-501 for tauopathies, diseases caused by abnormal tau proteins, such as Alzheimers disease, and ST-501 for synucleinopathies, neurodegenerative diseases marked by abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein proteins, such as Parkinsons disease.

They will also work on a third undisclosed target for neuromuscular disease and up to nine more undisclosed neurological disease targets. The agreement revolves around using Sangamos proprietary zinc finger protein (ZFP) technology that is delivered by way of adeno-associated virus (AAV). In other words, it is a type of gene therapy.

As a pioneer in neuroscience, Biogen will collaborate with Sangamo on a new gene regulation therapy approach, working at the DNA level, with the potential to treat challenging neurological diseases of global significance, said Alfred Sandrock Jr., executive vice president, Research and Development, at Biogen. We aim to develop and advance these programs forward to investigational new drug applications.

Biogen is plunking down $350 million up front, with $125 million a license fee payment and $225 million in new Sangamo stock, coming to about 24 million shares at $9.21 per share. Sangamo will be eligible for up to $2.37 billion in various milestone payments, including up to $925 million in pre-approval milestone payments and up to $1.445 billion in first commercial sale and other sales-based milestone payments. Sangamo will also be eligible for tiered high single-digit to sub-teen double-digit royalties on any sales of products coming out of the partnership.

Zing finger transcription factors (ZF-TFs) modulate genes. By targeting a ZF-TF toward a specific DNA sequence, it is possible to up- or downregulate the expression of the genes. The ZF-TFs are delivered into the cell by a dead adeno-associated virus.

Biogen gains exclusive global rights to ST-501 for tauopathies and ST-502 for synucleinopathies, as well as the third undisclosed target, and up to nine more undisclosed targets for five years. Sangamo will handle early research activities and the expenses will be shared by the companies. Biogen will then take over responsibility and costs for investigational new drug-enabling research, clinical development, regulatory submissions and global commercialization.

Sangamo will handle GMP manufacturing operations for the initial clinical trials for the first three products, with expectations of using its in-house manufacturing capabilities. Then Biogen will take over GMP manufacturing activities beyond the first clinical trial.

In preclinical research, ST-501 and ST-502 have repressed both the proteins tau and alpha synuclein, respectively. Its a very long ways from preclinical work and effective medications for these types of neurodegenerative diseases, however. Still, investors seem pleased with it, with Sangamo shares climbing 39% at the news.

The combination of Sangamos proprietary zinc finger technology, Biogens unmatched neuroscience research, drug development, and commercialization experience and capabilities, and our shared commitment to bring innovative medicines to patients with neurological diseases establishes the foundation for a robust and compelling collaboration, said Stephane Boissel, head of Corporate Strategy at Sangamo. This collaboration exemplifies Sangamos commitment to our ongoing strategy to partner programs that address substantial and diverse patient populations in disease areas requiring complex clinical trial designs and commercial pathways, therefore bringing treatments to patients faster and more efficiently, while deriving maximum value from our platform.

Sangamo is a very busy company, with 17 separate preclinical or early-stage clinical projects ongoing. Five of the compounds are in Phase I/II clinical trials, with BIVV003 in sickle cell disease and ST-400 for transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. ST-920 is for Fabray disease and SB-525 is aimed at hemophilia A.

See the rest here:
Biogen and Sangamo Ink $2.7 Billion+ Neurodegeneration Deal - BioSpace