The finding that
an important brain gene has continued to evolve adaptively in anatomically modern humans suggests the ongoing evolutionary plasticity of the human brain.
Not exact matches
Early life stress, such as an extreme lack of parental affection, has lasting effects on a
gene important to normal
brain processes and is also tied to mental disorders.
Procured from algae, algal oil is source of DHA, an
important long - chain omega - 3 that supports
brain development, immune balance, and healthy
gene expression.
Identifying
genes that promote or prevent neuronal death would thus be an
important step in understanding both developmentally - regulated neuronal death as well as the mechanisms underlying degenerative
brain disorders.
Researchers have pinpointed a
gene that keeps
important brain cells in mice from crossing their wires, providing a possible link between
brain wiring and mood disorders like depression.
The
gene for NPAS4 was a top hit, and significant for an
important reason: it is an early - onset
gene, meaning that its effects could be exerted on the
brain rapidly unless HDAC5 was there to inhibit it — just the molecular event Cowan and his team were seeking.
«Our work suggests that fine - tuning messenger stability is an
important mechanism orchestrating
gene expression changes during normal
brain development.»
They found far more methylation in the orphans»
genes, including many that play an
important role in neural communication and
brain development and function.
Nevertheless,» [the] study is very
important because it demonstrates for the first time that we can use
gene therapy to transform cells in the
brain into ones that will secrete GDNF,» says Jeffrey Kordower, a professor of neurological sciences at Rush Presbyterian Medical Center in Chicago.
For any particular cell, such as a skin or
brain cell, much of this genetic information is extraneous and must be packed away to allow sufficient space and resources for more
important genes.
In mice, they deleted four ultraconserved elements — individually and in various combinations — that lie within regions of DNA that also contain
genes important in
brain development.
The
gene may have been
important for the evolution of big human
brains.
Another doubled - up region contains enhancers that turn on some
genes in the cerebellum, a part of the
brain that coordinates movement, speech and performs other
important functions.
First, looking at a study of 185 cases of childhood epilepsy, Wittkowski's team found that mutations in
genes that control axonal guidance and calcium signaling — both of which are
important early in the developing
brain when neurons are forming the appropriate connections — led to increased chances of having the disorder.
Some evidence hints that duplicate enhancers may help control
genes important in other parts of the
brain.
«They help us to understand how the FOXP2
gene might have been
important in the evolution of the human
brain and direct us towards neural mechanisms that play a role in speech and language acquisition.»
Basel scientists have now identified a network of
genes that controls fundamental properties of neurons and is
important for human
brain activity, memory and the development of schizophrenia.
In 1993, Poirier and his Montreal - based team co-discovered an
important genetic risk factor involved in the most common form of the disease: a defective
gene, called Apolipoprotein E type 4 (ApoE4), that prevents the normal transport of cholesterol and phospholipids to the
brain.
«
Important gene interaction defined that drives aggressive
brain cancer.»
Preclinical studies suggest that Cdk5 is a
gene that is
important for the normal wiring of the
brain during early development and may be involved in some neurodegenerative disorders, including ALS, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
«By looking comprehensively at
gene expression within cells, we can now spot numerous
important differences in complex tissues like the
brain that are invisible today,» said George Church, Ph.D., a Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute and Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School.
The Salk and TSRI scientists used a range of neuro - genetic,
gene therapy, biochemical and structural biology research techniques to discover that the mutant GlyRS enzyme blocked molecular signals
important for maintaining the health of motor neurons, the cells that carry messages from the
brain to the muscles of the extremities.
But, fascinating anecdotes aside, does hard evidence exist of specific vulnerability
genes or how they might impair the immune system,
brain, and gut — and most
important, do we have any rational, reliable approaches to help repair the damage?
The researchers determined that HARE5 likely controls a
gene called Frizzled 8, which is part of a molecular pathway
important in
brain development.
«Everyone was focusing on
genes expressed in the
brain,» says Levitt, «but this
gene is
important for repair of the intestine and immune function.
It found that people with the variant of the GRM3
gene, thought to be
important in
brain signalling, were at increased risk of developing bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and alcohol dependence.
By revealing patterns of
gene activity, the mouse atlas has allowed neuroscientists to identify functionally
important regions that were invisible simply by looking at the
brain's anatomy.
«Identifying
gene variants that are general risk factors for neurological and psychiatric disease is
important, but understanding exactly which cell types in the developing
brain are compromised and what the consequences are is still extremely challenging,» Pollen added.
These differences were found in parts of the DNA that turn
genes on and off in specific
brain regions, in this case a
brain region
important for spatial memory.
When working properly, the two
genes form the coupled protein and when something sweet enters the mouth the news is rushed to the
brain, primarily because sweetness is a sign of rich carbohydrates — an
important food source for plant - eaters and the nondiscriminating, like humans.
Recent research by neuroscientist Fred Gage and colleagues at the University of California (UC), San Diego, has shown that one of the most common types of jumping
gene in people, called L1, is particularly abundant in human stem cells in the
brain that ultimately differentiate into neurons and plays an
important role in regulating neuronal development and proliferation.
... The FOXP2
gene has been around for a very long time, found in similar form in distantly related vertebrate species, and it may be
important not only for
brain development and function but also in other tissues.»
Although variations in the NPAS1 and NPAS3
genes have been linked to
brain disorders including autism, they aren't obvious drug targets because their function is most
important in early life.
Some of the
genes may be
important in understanding the genetics behind disease as well as the evolution of the human
brain.
For instance, says Korenberg, the data could help scientists to link
genes that seem
important in certain mental disorders, such as schizophrenia or autism, to specific
brain - wiring abnormalities.
Asst Prof Li, from the Neural Stem Cells Laboratory at NNI, added, «This
important study suggests a link between a key neurological disease
gene and regulation of microRNAs in the
brain.
The
gene, known as C9ORF72, was only linked to dementia in the last five years so it's encouraging that advances are being made to piece together the
important role it plays in the
brain.»
In the course of this work, he has pioneered several new approaches in the fruit fly that have had
important implications for mammalian neurobiology, including: the demonstration that the fruit fly has a sleep - like behavior similar to that of mammals, studies of physiological and behavioral consequences of mutations in a neurotransmitter system affecting one of the
brain's principal chemical signals, studies making highly localized genetic alterations in the nervous system to alter behavior, and molecular identification of
genes causing naturally occurring variation in behavior.
Human genetic studies strongly point to apolipoprotein E (APOE) and microglia (the immune cells of the
brain) as, respectively, the most
important gene and cell type in the chain of events leading to Alzheimer's disease (AD), a common disorder in the elderly in which the
brain is damaged and memories falter.
The researchers, chiefly from the Broad Institute, Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital, found that a person's risk of schizophrenia is dramatically increased if they inherit variants of a
gene important to «synaptic pruning» — the healthy reduction during adolescence of
brain cell connections that are no longer needed.
A specific type of
brain activity
important for memory replay is disrupted in mice with the E4 version of the apolipoprotein E (apoE4)
gene, which may interfere with memory formation.
14:53 - According to Dr Cattaneo, the normal HD
gene seems to have
important roles during the development of the
brain
The presence of several mutations in four
important genes for the
brain's synapses can be associated to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in humans.
An international team of scientists has now made a breakthrough by showing that many
genes controlling the development of the
brain and the nervous system were particularly
important for rabbit domestication.
These types of mice have played
important roles in helping us to learn about the function of the
gene on the
brain.
They found that compared to dengue infection, Zika infection more strongly affects expression of
genes involved in DNA replication and repair, processes that are
important in
brain development.
It's
important for artery and
brain health, and when elevated, it may be due to a genetic defect in the MTHFR
gene, which is also easily measured.
A recent study found enhanced expression of
genes encoding for mitochondrial enzymes and energy metabolism in the hippocampus, a part of the
brain important for learning and memory.
Procured from algae, algal oil is source of DHA, an
important long - chain omega - 3 that supports
brain development, immune balance, and healthy
gene expression.
Finally, animal research focusing on
brain - structural aspects related to early care and the new, conceptually
important direction of studying environmental programming of early development through epigenetic modification of
gene functioning is examined in brief.