The methods might include drugs to slow the loss
of connections between neurons, as well as cognitive and behavioral therapies designed to strengthen imperfect circuits.
Learning and memory have been closely linked to strengthening of
synaptic connections between neurons (i.e., synaptic plasticity) within the dentate gyrus (DG)- CA3 - CA1 trisynaptic circuit of the
Susan Greenfield, a professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, holds that the mind consists of the
physical connections between neurons, evolving slowly and influenced by our past experiences.
This hypothesis might help explain why prodromal symptoms occur:
As connections between neurons dwindle, prodromal patients might lose, for example, the ability to filter out irrelevant sensations, which then flood the brain without any processing.
But when the researchers looked at what these genes did, they noticed a pattern: Six of the variants were in genes related in some way to the development of
connections between neurons known as axons.
After exposing the mice to single 20 - minute tDCS sessions, the researchers saw signs of improved memory and brain plasticity (the ability to form new
connections between neurons when learning new information), which lasted at least a week.
Researchers had long suspected that fragile - X syndrome — named for the broken appearance of the X chromosomes — resulted in
faulty connections between neurons, called synapses.
Potentially explaining why even healthy brains don't function well with age, Salk researchers have discovered that genes that are switched on early in brain development to
sever connections between neurons as the brain fine - tunes, are again activated in aging neuronal support cells called astrocytes.
Another virus that implanted a gene called R4Ct — that reduces transmission of electrical signals — into the mPFC
reduced connections between neurons to 71 per cent of their strength in control mice.
In an experimental setup that allowed the two types of cells to bathe in the same fluid without coming into physical contact, retinal neurons in a bath with hUTCs formed new
connections between neurons called synapses, and they sprouted new «neurites» — tiny branches that lead to additional connections.
A new study in Biological Psychiatry suggests that alterations in silent synapses,
inactive connections between neurons, could be the neural mechanism underlying the formation of these drug - related memories.
Neuronal pentraxin - 2 may play a role in building cognitive reserve, helping to help create and
remodel connections between neurons to handle the increased complexity thrown at the brain.»
The new study — published October 18, 2016 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry — combined genetic analysis of more than 9,000 human psychiatric patients with brain imaging, electrophysiology, and pharmacological experiments in mutant mice to suggest that mutations in the gene DIXDC1 may act as a general risk factor for psychiatric disease by interfering with the way the brain
regulates connections between neurons.
In areas of the brain previously linked to IQ, the star percussionists also had more white matter — the fatty material that
sheathes connections between neurons and boosts signal speed — indicating a larger amount of neural hookups there.
«Our most compelling evidence was the observation that brain cell death was prevented, and that
connections between neurons rose in density by about 25 %,» says Tuszynski.
It also allows the brain to
reorganize connections between neurons, consolidate memories, and synthesize proteins and cholesterols that are important in tissue repair, says Allan Pack, director of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Sleep.
Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have developed a method to
recreate connections between neurons from two different brain areas in a dish.
«Individuals high in creativity maintain the integrity of their neural networks even into old age,» Turiano says — a notion supported by a January study from Yale University that correlated openness with the robustness of study subjects» white matter, which
supports connections between neurons in different parts of the brain.