This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"A new algorithm has successfully mapped part of the brain’s circuitry during shock therapy. For those suffering from severe depression, the approach could make for safer and more effective treatment. For brain research at large, it could lead to better ways of untangling noisy neural data to reveal real connections between different focal regions of the brain. Despite the gruesome picture painted by pop culture, modern shock therapy is a mild treatment option. In fact, over 2 million treatments are administered worldwide every year. Under general anesthesia, patients receive a small amount of current to the brain, triggering a brief seizure. The resulting changes in brain chemistry have been shown to reverse symptoms of mental health conditions like severe depression or bipolar disorder. But the procedure isn’t perfect. One of the most troubling side effects is memory loss, a result of poor targeting. To be effective and safe, induced seizures should be restricted to the pre-frontal cortex..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"A recent study published in Acta Neuropathologica Communications has found a potential mechanism for the initiation and development of Parkinson’s disease and it appears red blood cells may be partly to blame. Parkinson’s is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disorder commonly associated with tremors, muscle stiffness, and impaired movement. While these symptoms are caused by the deterioration of nerve cells in the brain, the precise cause of the disease is still not fully understood. What is known is that the development of Parkinson’s is associated with the aggregation of toxic forms of a protein named alpha-synuclein (or alpha-syn, for short) in the brain. Recent evidence, however, suggests alpha-syn found in the blood can also be problematic and this has been implicated as a contributor to brain-cell breakdown..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Africa is a vast continent and neurological disorders are a common cause of disability and death. This practical neurology textbook is specifically written for Sub-Saharan Africa by Dr. William Howlett.

The human brain is responsible for all behaviors, thoughts, and experiences described in this textbook. This module provides an introductory overview of the brain, including some basic neuroanatomy, and brief descriptions of the neuroscience methods used to study it.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Light-responsive proteins have revolutionized our understanding of the brain. By introducing the genes encoding these proteins into neurons and then exciting the cells using lasers – a technique known as optogenetics – individual cells can be rapidly turned on or off, enabling exquisitely sensitive investigations of brain function. But a fundamental limitation of the method is that light doesn’t travel very far through brain tissue, which has hampered the study of more buried – and often vital – structures. Now, researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science have developed a way to extend the reach of optogenetics by nearly an order of magnitude, providing new possibilities for deep-brain stimulation. The team accomplished this using a special type of nanoparticle known as an upconversion nanoparticle, so named for its ability to transform – or “upconvert” – near-infrared light into visible output..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Much research on epilepsy treatment has focused on properly identifying the epileptogenic zone, the area of the brain where a seizure initiates. This zone, previous studies have found, can potentially be recognized by high-frequency activity, or “fast activity,” that occurs in a brain area right after seizure onset. However, this method does not accurately delineate the epileptogenic zone from other normal brain tissues. A new paper published in Human Brain Mapping examines how a different marker, or “fingerprint,” can be used to accurately identify the epileptogenic zone, whether this fingerprint can be seen in different types of brainwaves, and, finally, how the method compares to using fast activity. The study builds on a previous paper published by the authors, in which the fingerprint itself was identified as a specific pattern of brain activity observed in seizure patients..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"This tiny brain structure is known as the claustrum. For more than a hundred years, scientists have speculated about what exactly the claustrum does. But only recently has state-of-the-art biological technology allowed researchers to probe its anatomy and connections to the rest of the brain. Francis Crick—of DNA fame—and neuroscientist Christof Koch hypothesized the claustrum to be the seat of consciousness, a conductor of sorts, orchestrating the activity of neurons in charge of higher brain functions from deep within. Now, new research from the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan appears to confirm that hypothesis. Only, instead of arousing neurons to action, the claustrum lulls them to sleep. The claustrum is both an appropriate and unfortunate name for this important part of the brain’s anatomy. Latin for “hidden or shut away,” the claustrum has long defied close examination due to its thin, irregular shape and placement deep within the brain..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that affects more than 10 million people across the globe. Despite improvements in treating the disease, doctors still have many unanswered questions, including when to start treatment. Now, researchers at the University of Rochester have taken another look at a past clinical trial to begin to answer that key question. Parkinson's occurs when neurons in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra die off. These neurons produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, and with the loss of those neurons, patients develop tremors, have difficulty moving, and show slow movement, among other symptoms. Restoring the dopamine with L-dopa or boosting levels with a dopamine agonist can help. Some studies have suggested that early dopaminergic treatment could protect neurons and slow disease progression. But that evidence isn't yet convincing, and the drugs might also cause uncontrolled, involuntary movements, leaving this an open question in the field..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability worldwide. Most strokes are classified as ischemic, meaning they involve blockage of blood supply. There are no effective treatments for ischemic stroke or its complications, but several types of cells naturally produce molecules that can help heal ischemic tissue. These molecules are packaged and released within sacs called exosomes that can deliver them to other cells, making exosomes promising targets for stroke therapy. For example, some exosomes can exert anti-inflammatory effects, promote blood vessel formation, and support the development of new neurons. Beneficial exosomes can also suppress cell death and regulate immune responses. Studies on rat and rabbit stroke models have supported the clinical potential of exosomes to promote healing after stroke and a few clinical trials in humans are currently underway..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This team-taught multidisciplinary course provides information relevant to the conduct and interpretation of human brain mapping studies. It begins with in-depth coverage of the physics of image formation, mechanisms of image contrast, and the physiological basis for image signals. Parenchymal and cerebrovascular neuroanatomy and application of sophisticated structural analysis algorithms for segmentation and registration of functional data are discussed. Additional topics include: fMRI experimental design including block design, event related and exploratory data analysis methods, and building and applying statistical models for fMRI data; and human subject issues including informed consent, institutional review board requirements and safety in the high field environment.

Additional Faculty
Div Bolar
Dr. Bradford Dickerson
Dr. John Gabrieli
Dr. Doug Greve
Dr. Karl Helmer
Dr. Dara Manoach
Dr. Jason Mitchell
Dr. Christopher Moore
Dr. Vitaly Napadow
Dr. Jon Polimeni
Dr. Sonia Pujol
Dr. Bruce Rosen
Dr. Mert Sabuncu
Dr. David Salat
Dr. Robert Savoy
Dr. David Somers
Dr. A. Gregory Sorensen
Dr. Christina Triantafyllou
Dr. Wim Vanduffel
Dr. Mark Vangel
Dr. Lawrence Wald
Dr. Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli
Dr. Anastasia Yendiki

Research has changed our concepts of brain organization and provided dramatic evidence showing far greater similarities between brains of birds and brains of all mammals. Harvey Karten explores what goes on inside a birdŐs brain. Learn how brains of birds compare to those of humans and other mammals and find out what the study of birdŐs brains can teach us about the nature and origins of human brains. (57 minutes)

UCSD Cognitive scientist Joan Stiles reveals the latest understandings about the intricate relationship between biology and external influences in the development of the brain. (58 minutes)

What are the mechanisms by which neurons differentiate to achieve the spectacular complexity of the brain? Join UCSD's Nick Spitzer as he explains what we know about this process. (57 minutes)

We make thousands of decisions every day: where to go, what to do, when to do it. Join UCSD's William Kristan and discover how neurons, synapses, and chemical input play out in decision making. (57 minutes)

Neuroscientist Patricia Churchland explores how the human mind functions in guiding one's decisions. (55 minutes)

In this fascinating presentation, The Salk Institute's Terry Sejnowski explores how by its nature the human brain is susceptible to the effects of addictive substances. (59 minutes)

UCSD's Charles Zuker explores the neurobiology of taste, smell and vision. (88 minutes)

UCSD cognitive scientist Martin Sereno takes you on a captivating exploration of the brain's structure and function as revealed through investigations with new advanced imaging techniques and understandings of evolution. (57 minutes)

Why are humans the only species to have language? Is there something special about our brains? Are there genes that have evolved for language? In this talk, Jeff Elman, UCSD professor of cognitive science and co-director of the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, discusses some of the exciting new research that helps us understand what it is about human language that is so different from other animals' communication systems, and what about our biology might make language possible. (58 minutes)

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second-most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, and a cure remains elusive. Although its hallmarks are motor symptoms resulting from neuronal loss, increasing attention has been paid to the effect of gut microbiota on PD. A recent study examined this connection by focusing on the effect of a unique protein. Osteocalcin (OCN), a protein secreted by osteoblasts during bone formation, can pass through the blood-brain barrier. OCN can modulate brain function, and patients with PD are highly susceptible to osteoporosis, suggesting a link between bone health and PD. Using a mouse model of PD, researchers found that injecting OCN had a protective effect, ameliorating motor deficits and neuronal loss. Antibiotic exposure prior to OCN treatment revealed that this effect was dependent on gut microbiota..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.