Category Archives: Neuroscience

Neuroscience

"Mini Brains" Are Not like the Real Thing – Scientific American

The idea of scientists trying to grow brain tissue in a dish conjures up all sorts of scary mental pictures (cue the horror-movie music). But the reality of the research is quite far from that sci-fi visionand always will be, say researchers in the field. In fact, a leader in this area of research, Arnold Kriegstein of the University of California, San Francisco, says the reality does not measure up to what some scientists make it out to be.

In a paper published on January 29 in Nature, Kriegstein and his colleagues identified which genes were active in 235,000 cells extracted from 37 different organoids and compared them with 189,000 cells from normally developing brains. The organoidsat times called mini brains, to the chagrin of some scientistsare not a fully accurate representation of normal developmental processes, according to the study.

Brain organoids are made from stem cells that are transformed from one cell type to the another until they end up as neurons or other mature cells. But according to the Nature paper, they do not always fully complete this developmental process. Instead the organoids tend to end up with cells that have not fully transformed into new cell typesand they do not re-create the normal brains organizational structure. Psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditionsincluding schizophrenia and autism, respectivelyand neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers are generally specific to particular cell types and circuits.

Many of the organoid cells showed signs of metabolic stress, the study demonstrated. When the team transplanted organoid cells into mice, their identity became crisper, and they acted more like normal cells, Kriegstein says. This result suggests that the culture conditions under which such cells are grown does not match those of a normally developing brain, he adds. Cellular stress is reversible, Kriegstein says. If we can reverse it, were likely to see the identity of cells improve significantly at the same time.

Brain organoids are getting better at recapitulating the activities of small clusters of neurons, says Kriegstein, who is a professor of neurology and director of the Eli & Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at U.C.S.F. Scientists often make organoids from the cells of people with different medical conditions to better understand those conditions. But some scientists may have gone too far in making claims about insights they have derived from patient-specific brain organoids. Id be cautious about that, Kriegstein says. Some of those changes might reflect the abnormal gene expression of the cells and not actually reflect a true disease feature. So thats a problem for scientists to address.

A small ball of cells grown in a dish may be able to re-create some aspects of parts of the brain, but it is not intended to represent the entire brain and its complexity, several researchers have asserted. These organoids are no more sentient than brain tissue removed from a patient during an operation, one scientist has said.

Of course, models are never perfect. Although animal models have led to fundamental insights into brain development, researchers have sought out organoids, or organs-in-a-dish, precisely because of the limitations of extrapolating biological insights from another species to humans. Alzheimers has been cured hundreds of times in mice but never in us, for instance.

That said, the current models are already very useful in addressing some fundamental questions in human brain development, says Hongjun Song, a professor of neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, who was not involved in the new research. Using brain organoids, he adds, the Zika virus was recently shown to attack neural stem cells, causing a response that could explain why some babies exposed to Zika in utero develop unusually small brains.

Michael Nestor, a stem cell expert, who did not participate in the new study, says his own organoids are very helpful for identifying unusual activity in brain cells grown from people with autism. And he notes that they will eventually be useful for screening potential drugs.

Even though the models will always be a simplification, the organoid work remains crucial, says PaolaArlotta, chair of the department of stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard University, who was also not involved in the Nature study. Neuropsychiatric pathologies and neurodevelopmental conditions are generally the result of a large number of genetic changes, which are too complex to be modeled in rodents, she says.

Sergiu Pasca, another leader in the field, says that the cellular stress encountered by Kriegstein and his team might actually be useful in some conditions, helping to create in a dish the kinds of conditions that lead to diseases of neurodegeneration, for instance. What I considerthe most exciting feature remains our ability to derive neural cells and glial cells in vitro, understanding their intrinsic program of maturation in a dish, says Pasca, an assistant professor at Stanford University, who was not part of the new paper.

The ability to improve cell quality when exposed to the environment of the mouse brain suggests that it may be possible to overcome some of the current limitations, Arlotta says. There is not yet a single protocol for making brain organoids in a lab, which may be for the best at this early stage of the field. Eventually, she says, scientists will optimize and standardize the conditions in which these cells are grown.

Arlotta, who is also the Golub Family Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard, published a study last year in Nature showing that she and her colleagues canover a six-month periodmake organoids capable of reliablyincluding a diversity of cell types that are appropriate for the human cerebral cortex. She says it is crucial for organoid work to be done within an ethical framework. Arlotta is part of a federally funded team of bioethicists and scientists working together to ensure that such studies proceed ethically. The scientists educate the bioethicists on the state of the research, she says, and the ethicists inform the scientists about the implications of their work.

Nestor feels so strongly about the importance of linking science, policy and public awareness around stem cell research that he has put his own laboratory at the Hussman Institute for Autism on hold to accept a year-long science-and-technology-policyfellowship with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He says he took the post to make sure the public and policy makers understand what they need to know about organoids and other cutting-edge science and to learn how to communicate about science with them.

One thing all of the scientists interviewed for this article agree on is that these brain organoids are not actual mini brains, and no one is trying to build a brain in a dish. Even as researchers learn to make more cell types and grow them in more realistic conditions, they will never be able to replicate the brains structure and complexity, Kriegstein says. The exquisite organization of a normal brain is critical to its function, he adds. Brains are still the most complicated structure that nature has ever created.

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"Mini Brains" Are Not like the Real Thing - Scientific American

Neuroscience

Dr. John Ngai named director of NIH BRAIN Initiative – National Institutes of Health

News Release

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., announced today the selection of John J. Ngai, Ph.D., as director of the NIHs Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. Dr. Ngai is expected to join NIH in March.

The BRAIN Initiative aims to revolutionize our understanding of the brain and brain disorders, said Dr. Collins. We welcome Dr. Ngais leadership in steering this groundbreaking 21st century project.

The NIH BRAIN Initiative is a large-scale effort to accelerate neuroscience. Since it was launched in 2013, the initiative has funded hundreds of research projects that have led to several breakthroughs, including the creation of a self-tuning brain implant that could help treat Parkinsons disease patients, the development of a computer program that can mimic natural speech from peoples brain signals and the construction of a brain cell inventory. BRAIN funded researchers have also shown the ability to make high-speed, high-resolution, 3D films of a nervous system in action.

Recent technological and scientific advances are transforming our understanding of the brain, said Dr. Ngai, who is currently the Coates Family Professor of Neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley. I am deeply inspired by these advances and look forward to my new role in enabling BRAIN Initiative investigators to unlock the secrets of the brain and lay new foundations for treating human brain disorders.

Dr. Ngai will oversee the long-term strategy and day-to-day operations of the initiative as it takes on the challenges of the next five year plan, just announced a few months ago. Congress has enthusiastically supported BRAIN through the appropriations process and the 21st Century Cures Act.

Dr. Ngais appointment marks a new chapter in the BRAIN Initiative, said Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D., director of NIHs National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. He will provide the initiative the clear vision the project needs to navigate through this critical period.

Dr. Ngai earned his bachelors degree in chemistry and biology from Pomona College, Claremont, California, and Ph.D. in biology from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena. He was a postdoctoral researcher at Caltech and at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons before starting his faculty position at the University of California at Berkeley.

During more than 25 years as a Berkeley faculty member, Dr. Ngai has trained 20 undergraduate students, 24 graduate students and 15 postdoctoral fellows in addition to teaching well over 1,000 students in the classroom. His lab uses a wide array of tools and techniques to study the cells and molecules behind olfaction, or the sense of smell, including fundamental research on how the nervous system detects odors and turns them into neural signals sent to the brain. Dr. Ngai is also interested in unraveling the diversity of cell types in the brain and understanding how the nervous system repairs itself following injury or degeneration. His work has led to the publication of more than 70 scientific articles in some of the fields most prestigious journals and 10 U.S. and international patents. Dr. Ngai has received many awards including from the Sloan Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, and McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience.

As a faculty member, Dr. Ngai has served as the director of Berkeleys Neuroscience Graduate Program and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute. He has also provided extensive service on NIH study sections, councils and steering groups, including as previous co-chair of the NIH BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Consortium Steering Group.

Dr. Ngai has the diverse skills and experience that are needed to build on the early successes of the BRAIN Initiative, said Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., director of NIHs National Institute of Mental Health. We are tremendously grateful that we were able to recruit him for such an important leadership position.

The NIH BRAIN Initiative is managed by 10 institutes whose missions and current research portfolios complement the goals of the BRAIN Initiative: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Eye Institute, National Institute on Aging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIHTurning Discovery Into Health

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Dr. John Ngai named director of NIH BRAIN Initiative - National Institutes of Health

Neuroscience

Lab-Grown ‘Minibrains’ Are An Imperfect Model Of The Human Brain : Shots – Health News – NPR

Scientists say pea-size organoids of human brain tissue may offer a way to study the biological beginnings of a wide range of brain conditions, including autism, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Muotri Lab/UCSD hide caption

Scientists say pea-size organoids of human brain tissue may offer a way to study the biological beginnings of a wide range of brain conditions, including autism, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Brain organoids, often called "minibrains," have changed the way scientists study human brain development and disorders like autism.

But the cells in these organoids differ from those in an actual brain in some important ways, scientists reported Wednesday in the journal Nature.

The finding suggests that scientists need to be cautious about extrapolating results found in organoids to people, says Dr. Arnold Kriegstein, a professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco.

"It's far too early to start using organoids as examples of normal brain development because we just don't know how well they really represent what's going on in utero," Kriegstein says.

But Dr. Guo-Li Ming, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania who is not connected to the study, says she is "not concerned too much" by the finding.

"If we are careful enough we can still learn from brain organoids," says Ming, who used the approach to help understand how Zika virus could affect the brains of babies in the womb.

Brain organoids are clusters of lab-grown brain cells that assemble themselves into structures that look a lot like human brain tissue. The process by which these cells become specialized and begin to communicate resembles the development of a human brain in the months before birth.

But Kriegstein's lab wondered just how accurate the model was.

"We wanted to see whether the organoids that we and others have been using to model normal brain development as well as disease actually represented the cell types faithfully," he says

So Kriegstein's team took a close look at 200,000 cells from organoids that mimic the brain's outer layer, the cortex. They used genetic tests to classify the cell types and then compared them with a database of cell types found in actual brain tissue.

"We were surprised to see that there were some dramatic differences that hadn't been reported before," Kriegstein says.

The organoids included the major cell types found in cortex. But the organoid cells were just a little off, says Aparna Bhaduri, a postdoctoral scholar in Kriegstein's lab.

"In the normal brain you have very clear and precise different types of cells," she says. "What we're seeing in the organoid is more of a confused identity."

The cells looked immature. It was as if they hadn't quite decided what kind of cells to be when they grew up.

The organoid cells also showed signs of metabolic stress, Bhaduri says, meaning they looked like cells that had been undernourished.

"Something about the artificial nature of the media or the conditions they're being grown in is actually resulting in this stress," says Madeline Andrews, another postdoc in Kriegstein's lab.

Two experiments backed that idea.

When the team transplanted normal brain cells into a growing organoid, those cells became stressed and "this confused identity begins to arise," Andrews says.

And when the team took cells from an organoid and transplanted them into a mouse brain, the stress and identity problems went away.

"It tells us that you can take away the stress from these cells, that they're not permanently stressed," Bhaduri says.

Ming's lab has also detected stress in organoid cells. But she's not convinced that stress is the reason organoid cells remain immature and fail to acquire clear identities. "That hasn't been established," she says.

Even so, Ming's lab is looking for ways to protect organoid cells from stress, and make them more like actual brain tissue.

Using "brain organoids is the best approach for allowing us to at least understand what's happening" to a human brain before birth, she says.

The new study doesn't invalidate current research using brain organoids, Kriegstein says. Instead it offers a roadmap to improve the model so that researchers can learn more about diseases and disorders including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, autism, and schizophrenia.

"If you're going to model those diseases in a dish, you really want to make sure you're reproducing the same cells with the same cell type identities that they would normally have," Kriegstein says.

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Lab-Grown 'Minibrains' Are An Imperfect Model Of The Human Brain : Shots - Health News - NPR

Neuroscience

We need to radically rethink our approach to Alzheimer’s research – Wired.co.uk

Over the past decade weve seen failure after failure in clinical trials for neurodegenerative disease. Despite over 200 clinical trials, we still dont have any meaningful therapeutics for Alzheimers and the only options for diseases like Motor Neurone Disease (MND) barely extend life by a few months.

Clinical research in this field has been stuck in a rut for several years, with the vast majority of trials focused on a single, unproven hypothesis. A unifying feature of neurodegeneration is the accumulation of sticky protein deposits within the brain, such as alpha-synuclein in Parkinsons or amyloid-beta and tau in Alzheimers. Pharma companies have spent many years and billions of dollars attempting to reduce the quantity of these protein deposits, banking on the assumption that this will protect brain cells and reduce cognitive decline.

The net results of these efforts is a huge amount of frustration and a shaken belief in this core assumption. Whether protein deposits are mopped up by antibodies, or inhibited from forming in the first place, neuronal survival and cognitive decline stubbornly refuse to budge. This has led some pharma companies, such as Pfizer, to lose heart altogether and pull out of the neuroscience field. Others plough on with protein-clearance strategies, wedded to cell and animal models which over-express proteins such as amyloid that are far-removed from clinical reality.

Progress in this field depends upon finding new therapeutic targets with a more solid scientific rationale and in 2020, we will see some exciting breakthroughs. One area where progress is being made is by studying inflammation within the brain. Moderate neuroinflammation, which clears away debris and fights infection, is a protective response by our brains to an acute problem, such as an injury. However, in diseases such as Alzheimers, the damage to cells is chronic and takes place over several years. This results in a persistent and aggravated form of neuroinflammation that kills brain cells, triggering further inflammatory responses and speeding the decline of cognitive function.

There are many anti-inflammatory compounds available within pharma companies portfolios that have proven safety records in patients and could be used to treat neurodegeneration. However, initial results from trials of these compounds have been unpromising, as scientists and clinicians have unsuccessfully walked the tightrope between maintaining the beneficial effects of acute short-term inflammation while making any anti-inflammatory effect strong enough to deal with detrimental chronic effects. A more nuanced and adaptable approach is needed, and clues may be found in the latest wave of cancer therapies to hit the market.

It has been known for many years that immune function is a critical factor in cancer survival, with many immuno-modulatory therapies recently entering the clinic. The latest developments in this field are cell therapies where a patient's own immune cells are genetically modified, supercharging their ability to recognise and kill tumours. The first wave of cell therapies have already hit the market, with therapies such as Kymriah from Novartis saving the lives of patients with chemotherapy-resistant cancer.

While it has been the highly potent killer activity of a subset of immune cells that has created breakthroughs in cancer, it is harnessing the opposite side of the system, the ability to selectively calm inflammation and destruction, that is now showing considerable promise in neurodegeneration. Selectively editing and controlling this side of the immune response has the potential to significantly reduce chronic and inappropriate neuroinflammation, potentially providing a potent new therapy. In 2020, well very likely see the first early pre-clinical demonstrations ushering in a new era that offers hope to millions of patients across an increasingly ageing population.

Mark Hammond is a director at Deep Science Ventures. Tim Newton is CEO of Reflection Therapeutics

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We need to radically rethink our approach to Alzheimer's research - Wired.co.uk

Neuroscience

Psychology: A pathway leading to diverse career prospects – Study International News

Psychology is a multi-faceted subject that leads to an array of diverse career roles.

For instance, a psychology graduate could become a clinical psychologist that focuses on the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness or a market researcher that collects and analyses data to present to clients.

With potential opportunities like those and more, psychologys dynamic nature is what links learners to promising career prospects.

With their research-oriented outlook, critical thinking abilities and strong problem-solving skills, its no surprise that psychology degree holders are highly sought after.

This may be the reason why the overall employment of psychologists in the US is projected to grow 14 percent from 2018 to 2028, according to the US Bureau of Labour Statisti(BLS).

Employment of clinical, counselling and school psychologists is projected to grow because of greater demand for psychological services in schools, hospitals, mental health centres, and social service agencies, BLSs Occupational Outlook Handbook said.

Demand for clinical and counselling psychologists will increase as people continue to turn to psychologists for help with their problems. Psychologists also will be needed to provide services to an ageing population, helping people deal with the mental and physical changes that happen as they grow older.

And in the UK, a recent survey revealed that the country is facing a shortage of mental health professionals. The British Medical Associations analysis of workforce figures and survey of more than 1,000 doctors, psychologists and mental-health nurses, was carried out together with the Royal College of Nursing and the Association of Clinical Psychologists UK.

Almost seven out of 10 respondents work in teams with vital members of staff missing most or all of the time. Nearly half (47 per cent) of doctors work shifts in which they are down at least one medical colleague, the survey found.

Source: University of Plymouth

In response to the study, Royal College of Nursing Professional Lead for Mental Health Catherine Gamble said: The clear majority of nursing staff felt the absence of one of their own on their last shifts. This hammers home the reality of the chronic workforce shortages that have plagued our profession.

Unless there is urgent investment in growing the nursing workforce the pressures will continue to grow to the point where it will no longer be possible to attract nurses to work in the NHS, and parity of esteem for physical and mental health remains a goal yet to be realised.

With such high demand in this field, psychology graduates today are set for a wealth of opportunities ahead.

Here are four UK universities to kickstart a bright future in this field

SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH

The School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth is dedicated to developing the next generation of psychologists, from education and health to business and the media. Students benefit from research-informed teaching and active, real-world learning from a university in the top 20 for research in psychology, neuroscience and psychiatry. With accreditation by the British Psychological Society, undergraduates are equipped to address todays most challenging psychological issues, with further specialization offered from a range of exciting postgraduate courses such as clinical psychology and human neuroscience.

A hands-on approach to learning ensures that practical activities are embedded throughout the courses, with access to the on-site Psychology Experiential Learning lab (PsychE). An optional placement year also allows undergraduates to acquire professional training in the institution of their choice: healthcare, education, business, judicial system, etc. This allows students to put their new knowledge into practice, build practical skills relevant to their future careers and benefit from world-class research labs such as Babylab and the Brain Research & Imaging Centre (BRIC).

All these make for graduate success at the School nearly nine in ten graduates are employed or in further studies six months after graduation.

With a safe campus located in an idyllic waterfront city, international students can explore the British seaside and its maritime heritage.

SCHOOL OF SPORT, EXERCISE AND HEALTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF LOUGHBOROUGH

The BSc (Hons) Psychology degree at the University of Loughborough offers learners the knowledge, skills and competencies that are prized by employers, such as critical thinking and research abilities.

Their undergraduate psychology course is taught by internationally-respected academics and accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).

This course covers a full range of modules which aim to build students core knowledge and skills, allowing them to tailor their degree to their interests and aspirations.

Student are encouraged to undertake an optional year-long work placement or study abroad opportunity. A year in placement or a year abroad will allow them to gain an additional award alongside their final qualification.

University of Loughborough students go on to pursue a variety of career paths in different sectors, such as management, human resources, education, social work, financial services and research.

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX

Challenging existing conventions, the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex focuses on three distinct areas of concentration: thinking about the world, interacting with the world, and experiencing the world.

As the Head of Psychology Department Professor Paul Hibbard said: Psychologys ideas and concepts are part of our everyday culture, yet many underestimate how influential as a science our discipline can be. Our aim is to highlight how our research findings concern every one of us and how psychology affects us as groups as well as individuals.

Therefore, to dig deeper into psychology, the department has created a stimulating and vibrant research environment and promotes undergraduate and postgraduate courses that have been accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).

So if you want to use state-of-the-art facilities and learn alongside world-renown experts in the field, you too can pursue your intellectual passion in Essex.

SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY AND LANGUAGE SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

With notable psychology professors, such as Dr Aja Murray who was recently awarded the British Academy/Wolfson Fellowship, studying here is to study under the guidance of experts.

At the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, undergraduate psychology students are introduced to a flexible programme structure that provides core courses alongside optional courses in areas such as cognitive neuroscience, language, vision and intelligence. There is also an option to enrol in a four-year degree programme.

Without the need to commit to a long-term degree, the four-year style grants students more time to grow intellectually and academically. The extra years lets students develop their confidence and sharpen their essay writing skills.

Plus, with more than 200 study abroad arrangements with universities in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America, psychology students here can explore different modules and gain experience overseas.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article may be commercial partners of Study International

Modern psychology programmes motivate career success

Explore the many facets of psychology at the University of Central Lancashire

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Neuroscience

Decoding the Brain Goes Global With the International Brain Initiative – Singularity Hub

Few times in history has mankind ever united to solve a single goal. Even the ultimate moonshot in historyputting a man on the moonwas driven by international competition rather than unification.

So its perhaps fitting that mankind is now uniting to understand the organ that fundamentally makes us human: our brain. First envisioned in 2016 through a series of discussions on the grand challenges in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, the International Brain Initiative (IBI) came out this week in a forward-looking paper in Neuron.

Rather than each country formulating their own brain projects independently, the project argues, its high time for the world to come together and share their findings, resources, and expertise across borders. By uniting efforts, the IBI can help shape the future of neuroscience research at a global scalefor promoting brain and mental health, for stimulating international collaboration, for ethical neuroscience practices, and for crafting future generations of scientists.

It takes a world to understand the brain, said Caroline Montojo of the Kavli Foundation, which offered support to the project. When we have the best brains and the best minds working together, sharing information and research that could benefit us all.

The initiative, at the time of writing, includes Japans Brain/Minds, Australian Brain Alliance, the EUs Human Brain Project (HBP), Canadian Brain Research Strategy, the US BRAIN Initiative (BRAINI), the Korea Brain Initiative, and the China Brain Project.

The IBI comes at a time when global research divisions are prominent. Established national projects, such as the BRAINI and the HBP, have notably different goals at the operational level. The BRAINI, for example, prominently champions developing new tools to study brain functions, whereas the HBPs ultimate goal is to recreate the function of a human brain inside machines.

Even within single countries, divisions in practical paths forward have been, mildly put, chaotic. Chinas Brain Project, announced officially in 2016 and kicked off two years later, was plagued by different opinions on focus: should it be on solving brain disorders, or understanding the neurobiology behind cognition, or focused on engineering problems that more intimately link human brains with AI?

Then theres the underlying political milieu, where certain countries are cracking down on international researchers for fear that they may be stealing or selling trade secrets. To all these divisions, the IBI took a stance and said noits time to work together.

The biggest challenge that were facing is to really understand how the brain works, the mystery of the brain, to crack the code, said Dr. Yves De Koninck of the Canadian Brain Research Strategy. If were going to make the really big leap changes in the level of understanding of how the brain works in health and disease, we need to have global collaboration, I mean thats just absolutely vital, added Dr. Linda Lanyon at the IBI Data Standards and Sharing Working Group.

The IBI is best viewed as a grassroots organization driven by the views of neuroscientists across the globe, rather than a bureaucratic entity following the views of a select few. In a way, the IBI organizes itself similar to the United Nations, with a five-year strategic plan, multiple working groups, and a governance structure.

Its clear that the IBI benefited from a global recognition, and subsequent establishment, of large-scale neuroscience projects to understand the brain. Yet any single initiative is like the blind men and the elephant parabledespite millions (or even billions) of dollars in investment, due to the brains complexity each can only probe a small part of human brain function.

However, even with different end goals, findings from each project will likely benefit each otherif properly shared in an easily-interpretable manner (the Kavli Foundation also backs a standardized format for neuroscience data called Neurodata Without Borders 2.0). Tools developed from BRAINI, for example, will likely benefit brain mapping initiatives around the world, and neural simulations can inspire insights into brain disorders or better paths towards brain-machine interfaces. A synergistic international effort could provide greater overall impact and better utilization of precious research funding, the authors argued.

Working across political aisles is already tough; now imagine sharing terabytes of data across international borders to someone you hardly know. The IBI aims to provide a platform that explores new models of collaboration among scientists so that, to put it bluntly, no one gets screwed out of their recognition. In addition, the IBI also works outside the ivory tower with private and public funding bodies, industry partners, and government-related agencies on the social, economic, and ethical impacts of neuroscientific discoveries and their translation.

Thats huge. The initiative comes at a time when technological advances are increasingly making it easier to skirt ethical considerations and move forward with iffy research projects. Making human-animal hybrid embryos to understand the roots of intelligence? Conducting brain stimulation trials that may slowly change a persons personality? Linking multiple human minds into computers by probing their brain waves? These futuristic projects abound and will only grow in number as our ability to crack the neural code improves.

The IBI argues that neuroscientists across the globe need to take a moral stancesimilar to emerging projects for ethical AIto guide research in an ethical manner. With several countries infamous for pushing moral boundaries also joining the alliance, the IBI may put an international leash on less-savory projects going forward, while respecting diverse cultural frameworks.

IBI group members stressed that the initiative isnt meant to be bureaucratic. Rather, its adaptive and allows the organization to be shaped by the scientific community over time, the authors said. Integrating multiple goals of various brain projects together, the IBI serves as meta-middleman to promote coordination, share resources, and help unite different ideas on the future of neuroscience.

This IBI is quite unique in trying to go from the very microscopic scale of the synapses that encode information within the brain, all the way up to how the information manifests itself in human cognition and animal behavior, said Dr. Linda Richards of the Australian Brain Alliance.

Despite being years in the making, the initiative is just crossing the starting line. With a solid infrastructure now in place and enthusiasm amassed, an immediate focus for the IBI is to establish and develop the core working groups that are making progress toward short-term deliverables, the authors said. The execution of a five-year plan to propel neuroscience research forward will need considerable debates on specific aims, approaches, and technologies, but will also add to a foundation for collaboration and priority-setting across the world, they added.

This is a new era of neuroscience, where neuroscientists will have access to large datasets and new ways of sharing in a collaborative manner internationally, said Richards.

Is IBIs vision nave? Maybe. The most impactful technological advancements of our ageflight, nuclear weapons, conquering space, the Internethave all stemmed from the minds of a relatively small group of people working under duress from other people. But when it comes to truly understanding the brain, the basis of who we are and what we believe, the root cause of divided opinions and worldviews, the organ that could one day be directly manipulated and fundamentally alter humanity as a speciesfighting for a global consortium is the least we can do.

Image Credit: adike/Shutterstock.com

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Decoding the Brain Goes Global With the International Brain Initiative - Singularity Hub

Neuroscience

Using the logic of neuroscience to heal from a breakup – Big Think

While the feeling of being in love is seemingly magical, there are scientific reasons why being in love feels so good. And as such, there are scientific reasons why falling out of love or going through the heartache of a breakup feels so awful.

Biological anthropologist and well-respected human behavior researcher Dr. Helen Fisher published a groundbreaking study in 2005 that included the very first functional MRI images of the brains of people who were in the midst of "romantic love".

The team of researchers, led by Dr. Fisher, analyzed 2500 brain scans of students who viewed photos of someone special to them (in a romantic capacity) and compared those with scans taken of students who viewed photos of acquaintances.

In the instances where people were shown photos of individuals that they were romantically involved with, the brain would show activity in regions such as the caudate nucleus, which is a region of the brain associated with reward detection and the ventral tegmental area of the brain, which is associated with pleasure and motivation.

These are also areas of the brain that are rich with dopamine, which is a type of neurotransmitter that plays a big role in feeling pleasure. The role of dopamine in our system is to activate the reward circuit, which makes whatever we're doing at the time a more pleasurable experience that can be equated to the type of euphoria associated with the use of addictive substances such as cocaine or alcohol.

Not only does the human brain work to amplify positive emotions when it experiences love, but the neural pathways that are responsible for negative emotions such as fear are deactivated. When we are engaged in what is considered "romantic love," the neural mechanism that is responsible for making assessments of other people and formulating fear-based thoughts shuts down.

A 2011 study conducted at Stony Brook University in New York (which also included Dr. Fisher) concluded that it's possible to feel these effects with someone even after decades of marriage.

The study looked at MRI scans of couples who had been married an average of 21 years, and while the euphoria that comes with falling in love may have changed, the same heightened levels of activity in dopamine-rich areas of the brain that were found in new couples were also seen on these MRI scans.

When we are in love, our bodies are actively producing feel-good hormones and denying the release of negative hormones - and when this process suddenly stops, the "withdrawal" we feel can be extremely difficult to process both on an emotional and physiological level.

A study performed by researchers Lucy Brown, Xiomeng Xu, and Dr. Fisher scanned the activity in the brains of 15 young adults who had all experienced unwanted breakups yet still reported feeling "in love" with the person.

All of these individuals were in various stages of break up. Some still sent messages to their loved ones that went unanswered, and some simply feeling depressed that the relationship was over.

The individuals were shown photos of their former partners, and the scans taken during this time showed activity in several different areas of the brain, including the ventral tegmental, the ventral striatum, and the nucleus accumbens. All three areas are a part of our reward/motivation system, which communicates through the release of dopamine.

There is a direct link between those who have experienced rejection from someone they love (an ex-partner, for example) and those who have experienced withdrawal from addictive substances.

"Romantic love can be a perfectly wonderful addiction when it's going well...and a perfectly horrible addiction when it's going poorly."

- Helen Fisher

According to Dr. Guy Winch, psychologist and author of "How to Fix a Broken Heart," heartbreak is a form of grief and loss that can cause serious issues with insomnia, anxiety and even depression or suicidal thoughts. According to Winch, who is known to specialize in "emotional first aid," heartbreak should be taken very seriously, as should our efforts to recover from it.

Columbia University cognitive neuroscientist Edward Smith completed a series of studies and tests in 2011 that proved the pain we feel during heartbreak is similar to physical pain we might feel due to a severe burn or broken arm.

In these studies, the goal was to see what happens in the brains of people who have recently been through a breakup with a long-term partner.

In the MRI images of these people struggling with recent heartbreak, the parts of the brain that lit up were the same parts of the brain that are active when you experience physical pain.

Dr. Winch, in an interview with Blinkist Magazine, explained a similar study that he was a part of where physical pain that was rated as level 8 (on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being almost intolerable pain) showed similar results to an MRI taken by someone who had just talked about and relived their breakup.

The physical pain, which only lasted 7 seconds, registered the same in the patient's brain as the emotional pain of the breakup, which for some can last for days, weeks, or even months.

Understanding this link between heartbreak and physical pain should allow us to take a more all-encompassing approach to heal from the pain of a breakup.

"It's not just about time and waiting it out - it's about taking steps." - Dr. Guy Winch

Photo by Tero Vesalainen on Shutterstock

There are a few things we can do that are essential to surviving and healing from heartbreak, based on what we know from these studies.

Avoiding visual reminders of your ex-partner may seem like an obvious answer to help you recover, but sentimental reminders such as pictures or revisiting places you used to spend time with them are very likely to create dopamine surges in your brain that relate to feelings of craving and withdrawal.

Replacing those surges of dopamine is the next positive step: taking up a fitness class or joining a gym is something many people do to "power through" a breakup, but exercise can also lead to the release of endorphins that trigger a positive feeling throughout the body and brain.

Finding a "new normal" after a heartbreak can seem impossible - but one of the first things you need to do is to recalibrate your mind. Making a list of reasons your ex-partner wasn't perfect or being honest with yourself about parts of that relationship that were negative or unhealthy can be the beginning of resetting your system to see things in a more true light.

According to Dr. Winch, one of the biggest hurdles to recalibrating your mind and adapting to life without your ex-partner is that we don't find closure.

Winch suggests that we try to accept the reason for the breakup or even find another reason. Maybe the relationship would not have worked out because you wanted different things in life or because they were not emotionally available for you. Finding logic in heartbreak can be a good start to the healing process.

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Using the logic of neuroscience to heal from a breakup - Big Think

Neuroscience

How the Striatum’s Cell Types Work Together To Keep Us Moving – Technology Networks

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have mapped how different nerve cells in the brain's striatum process information to plan and execute our movements at just the right time and with the right vigour. The results, presented in the journal Cell Reports, show that different cell types in the striatum receive signals from completely different parts of the cerebral cortex and thus respond to different types of information.

Many behaviours occur in response to sensory input from our environment. For example, when playing a new piece on the piano, we adjust our finger movements according to the sound we hear and the sensory feedback from the keys. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden aimed to increase our understanding of how this works by studying the neuronal network that allows us to align our planned movements to sensory information such as touch. The nerve cells (neurons) that underlie this function are in the striatum, which is part of a larger structure in the brain called the basal ganglia.

While playing piano, sensory feedback from our fingertips is processed in the somatosensory cortex, the brain area specialised for touch. Movements are planned in a separate part of the brain called motor cortex. Information from the somatosensory cortex, the motor cortex and other brain areas such as thalamus are sent to the striatum, which is the first instance where movement plans and sensory information are combined. Based on the broad information delivered by these inputs, the striatum is able to generate a precisely timed output signal that is sent back to the muscles and allows us to press the next keys correctly on the piano.

"Although it has long been known that the striatum is composed of different types of nerve cells, it is unclear how striatal cells achieve this complex function," says Yvonne Johansson, PhD student at the Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet. "To address this question, we asked which striatal cell populations process which incoming information."

The researchers have used optogenetics, among other technologies, to analyse which of five important cell types in the striatum are responsible for the communication from the motor cortex, the somatosensory cortex and the thalamus.

Studies on mice revealed that striatal medium spiny neurons strongly respond to sensory inputs representing a sensation of touch. Another class of striatal neurons, the low-threshold spiking interneurons, hardly respond to inputs carrying sensory information but are strongly activated by inputs from motor cortex. In sharp contrast, cholinergic interneurons respond most strongly to thalamic inputs which are thought to notify us that something important is happening in our environment.

The researchers also found that the responses of the different neuron classes are mediated by different receptor compositions. As some receptors open faster than others, the receptors strongly shape the timing of the response.

The findings shed new light on how the striatum is systematically processing the vast amount of information that it receives.

"Our work shows that the flow of information into the striatal network is highly organised and that the properties of the numerous inputs targeting different striatal neuron populations are pathway-specific," says Gilad Silberberg, professor at the Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet.

Reference: Johansson, Y., & Silberberg, G. (2020). The Functional Organization of Cortical and Thalamic Inputs onto Five Types of Striatal Neurons Is Determined by Source and Target Cell Identities. Cell Reports, 30(4), 1178-1194.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.12.095

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.

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How the Striatum's Cell Types Work Together To Keep Us Moving - Technology Networks

Neuroscience

Decibel Therapeutics Announces Strategic Research Focus on Regenerative Medicine for the Inner Ear – Yahoo Finance

Company signs option agreement with The Rockefeller University to access intellectual property covering compounds targeting key regeneration pathway

Decibel Therapeutics, a development-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics for hearing loss and balance disorders, today announced a new strategic research focus on regenerative medicine approaches for the inner ear. The company is also announcing a collaboration and option agreement that gives Decibel exclusive access to novel compounds targeting proteins in a critical regenerative pathway.

Decibels research focus on regeneration will be powered by the companys research and translation platform. The company has built one of the most sophisticated single cell genomics and bioinformatics platforms in the industry to identify and validate targets. Decibel has also developed unique insights into regulatory pathways and inner ear delivery mechanisms that together enable precise control over gene expression in the inner ear and differentiate its AAV-based gene therapy programs.

"Our deep understanding of the biology of the inner ear and our advanced technological capabilities come together to create a powerful platform for regenerative medicine therapies for hearing and balance disorders," said Laurence Reid, Ph.D., acting CEO of Decibel. "We see an exciting opportunity to leverage this platform to address a broad range of hearing and balance disorders that severely compromise quality of life for hundreds of millions of people around the world."

The first program in Decibels regeneration portfolio aims to restore balance function using an AAV-based gene therapy (DB-201), which utilizes a cell-specific promoter to selectively deliver a regeneration-promoting gene to target cells. In collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Decibel will initially evaluate DB-201 as a treatment for bilateral vestibulopathy, a debilitating condition that significantly impairs balance, mobility, and stability of vision. Ultimately, this program may have applicability in a broad range of age-related balance disorders. There are currently no approved medicines to restore balance. Decibel expects to initiate IND-enabling experiments for this program in the first half of 2020.

Decibel is also pursuing novel targets for the regeneration of critical cells in both the vestibule and cochlea of the inner ear; these targets may be addressable by gene therapy or other therapeutic modalities. As a key component of that program, Decibel today announced an exclusive worldwide option agreement with The Rockefeller University, which has discovered a novel series of small-molecule LATS inhibitors. LATS kinases are a core component of the Hippo signaling pathway, which plays a key role in regulating both tissue regeneration and the proliferation of cells in the inner ear that are crucial to hearing and balance. The agreement gives Decibel an exclusive option to license this series of compounds across all therapeutic areas.

The agreement also establishes a research collaboration between Decibel and A. James Hudspeth, M.D., Ph.D., the F.M. Kirby Professor at The Rockefeller University and the director of the F.M. Kirby Center for Sensory Neuroscience. Dr. Hudspeth is a world-renowned neuroscientist, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Dr. Hudspeth has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the 2018 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience.

"Rockefeller scientists are at the leading edge of discovery, and we are excited to see the work of Dr. Hudspeth move forward in partnership with Decibel," said Jeanne Farrell, Ph.D., associate vice president for technology advancement at The Rockefeller University. "The ambitious pursuit of harnessing the power of regenerative medicine to create a new option for patients with hearing loss could transform how we address this unmet medical need in the future."

In parallel with its new research focus on regenerative strategies, Decibel will continue to advance key priority preclinical and clinical programs. DB-020, the companys clinical-stage candidate designed to prevent hearing damage in people receiving cisplatin chemotherapy, is in an ongoing Phase 1b trial. Decibel will also continue to progress DB-OTO, a gene therapy for the treatment of genetic congenital deafness, which is being developed in partnership with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The DB-OTO program aims to restore hearing to people born with profound hearing loss due to a mutation in the otoferlin gene and is expected to progress to clinical trials in 2021.

Story continues

To support the new research focus, Decibel is restructuring its employee base and discontinuing some early-stage discovery programs.

About Decibel Therapeutics, Inc.Decibel Therapeutics, a development-stage biotechnology company, has established the worlds first comprehensive drug discovery, development, and translational research platform for hearing loss and balance disorders. Decibel is advancing a portfolio of discovery-stage programs aimed at restoring hearing and balance function to further our vision of a world in which the benefits and joys of hearing are available to all. Decibels lead therapeutic candidate, DB-020, is being investigated for the prevention of ototoxicity associated with cisplatin chemotherapy. For more information about Decibel Therapeutics, please visit decibeltx.com or follow @DecibelTx.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200129005162/en/

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Matthew Corcoran, Ten Bridge Communicationsmcorcoran@tenbridgecommunications.com (617) 866-7350

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Decibel Therapeutics Announces Strategic Research Focus on Regenerative Medicine for the Inner Ear - Yahoo Finance

Neuroscience

Bio professor, Tudor, shares her passion for memory research – The Hawk

Jennifer Tudor, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, gave a talk titled Nosh and Neuro, addressing a room filled with students on the second floor of Post Hall on Jan. 23. She spoke on the subject of translating sleep and memory.

Tudor began by informing students that her initial interest in neuroscience was a result of wanting to understand her own personal experience. She was born with neurodevelopmental disorder, a disorder that disturbs the development of the nervous system.

I got interested in neuroscience through a personal experience, Tudor said. I wanted to try to figure out what was wrong with me.

Tudor focuses her research on how sleep and disease affect the pathways that are significant for learning, memory and behavior. However, toward the beginning of Tudors research career, she wasnt interested in studying sleep at all.

Thats a little bit about how the process came from: a college student studying psych to now being a single cell transduction biologist in terms of memory, Tudor said.

While still in school, Tudors research adviser assigned her to study sleep.As a result, Tudor became more interested in the topic of study, especially as research and experimenting continued.

I tell people that I am a memory researcher who happens to study sleep, Tudor said. I find studying sleep more fascinating, interesting and dynamic than I did before.

Rebecca Roque 20, a psychology major with minors in behavioral neuroscience and English, said she believes that Tudors lecture about her experience is helpful.

Coming to the Nosh and Neuro talks affords me the ability to connect with other neuroscientists, Roque said. I learn about potential job opportunities in their labs and hear about studies that otherwise I may not have been exposed to.

Hailey Abati 23, a psychology major, said she attended this event because of its relevance to her line of study.

It is important to know how sleep affects memory, Abati said. Memory is a very important part of our everyday lives and the long-run of our lives, and knowing how to better your memory by properly getting sleep is very important.

Even though Abati is a psychology major, she thought this lecture was interesting because of Tudors change of study.

I found it interesting that she originally did not want to study sleep, she thought it was very boring, Abati said. But now looking at her, she has made amazing discoveries and done incredible research on the topic and is now fascinated by it.

Tudors research and work has been featured in publications such as Science Signaling, Journal of Neuroscience and Elife. Roque believes these lectures are very beneficial not only to her, but to the other students and professors studying similar fields at St. Joes.

I find this especially important as a young scientist to learn about new materials in the field so I can better do my job as a researcher, Roque said. Additionally, I think its important to support members at Saint Josephs by making time to hear about the research conducted on our own campus. In doing so, I think we can build a stronger community for students who are interested in pursuing a career in science.

At the end of the lecture, Tudor encouraged students to widen their knowledge using other fields of study and by connecting to the students in the classroom.

My learning curve was so steep; it was so hard, Tudor said. My encouragement for undergraduates in the room is to learn as much as you can about almost anything that mightpotentially relate to what you have to learn.

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Bio professor, Tudor, shares her passion for memory research - The Hawk