News tagged with synapses
New target for Alzheimer's drugs
(Medical Xpress) -- Biomedical scientists at the University of California, Riverside have identified a new link between a protein called beta-arrestin and short-term memory that could open new doors for the ...
18 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Making memories last: Prion-like protein plays key role in storing long-term memories
Memories in our brains are maintained by connections between neurons called "synapses". But how do these synapses stay strong and keep memories alive for decades? Neuroscientists at the Stowers Institute for ...
Jan 27, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (14) |
1
|
GABA signaling prunes back copious 'provisional' synapses during neural circuit assembly
Quite early in its development, the mammalian brain has all the raw materials on hand to forge complex neural networks. But forming the connections that make these intricate networks so exquisitely functional is a process ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jan 03, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
1
|
Dodging the cognitive hit of early-life seizures
About half of newborns who have seizures go on to have long-term intellectual and memory deficits and cognitive disorders such as autism, but why this occurs has been unknown. In the December 14 Journal of Neuroscience, resear ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 13, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
Drug reverses aging-associated changes in brain cells
Drugs that affect the levels of an important brain protein involved in learning and memory reverse cellular changes in the brain seen during aging, according to an animal study in the December 7 issue of The Journal of Ne ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 07, 2011 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
0
|
Scientists make advances in neuroscience and vision research
Thanks to a new study of the retina, scientists at UC Santa Barbara have developed a greater understanding of how the nervous system becomes wired during early development.
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 06, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Researchers uncover steps in synapse building, pruning
Like a gardener who stakes some plants and weeds out others, the brain is constantly building networks of synapses, while pruning out redundant or unneeded synapses. Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory led by Assistant ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 16, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Nerve protein tomosyn linked to learning and memory
Can the nerve signaling inhibitor tomosyn help retain long-term memory? A new study by two University of Illinois at Chicago biologists points to the link.
Oct 31, 2011 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Connecting neurons to fix the brain
Each of the brain's 100 billion neurons forms thousands of connections with other neurons. These connections, known as synapses, allow cells to rapidly share information, coordinate their activities, and achieve ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 26, 2011 |
5 / 5 (5) |
1
|
X-linked mental retardation protein is found to mediate synaptic plasticity in hippocampus
Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have solved part of a puzzle concerning the relationship between changes in the strength of synapses – the tiny gaps across which nerve cells in the brain communicate ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 19, 2011 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
1
|
Researchers study aging's effect on the brain
(Medical Xpress) -- Research by biologists at the University of York and Hull York Medical School has revealed important new information about the way the brain is affected by age.
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 10, 2011 |
3 / 5 (4) |
0
|
If you don't snooze, do you lose? Wake-sleep patterns affect brain synapses
An ongoing lack of sleep during adolescence could lead to more than dragging, foggy teens, a University of Wisconsin-Madison study suggests.
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 09, 2011 |
4.6 / 5 (8) |
0
|
Combating mood disorders: New approach simplifies the search for more specific drugs
Many psychiatric conditions are caused by aberrant metabolism of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Researchers in the Department of Pharmacy at LMU have now developed a new screening method, which will facilitate the search ...
Sep 30, 2011 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
0
Researchers find new insight into spinal muscular atrophy
Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified a communication breakdown between nerves and muscles in mice that may provide new insight into the debilitating and fatal human disease known as spinal muscular atrophy ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 26, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Atomic nano-switches emulate human memory
In a breakthrough, researchers at the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA, Japan) demonstrate for the first time the key features in the neuroscience and psychology of memory by a AgS2 synapse. ...
Sep 15, 2011 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Chemical synapse
Chemical synapses are specialized junctions through which neurons signal to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in muscles or glands. Chemical synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the central nervous system. They are crucial to the biological computations that underlie perception and thought. They allow the nervous system to connect to and control other systems of the body.
The adult human brain is estimated to contain from 1014 to 5 × 1014 (100-500 trillion) synapses.[citation needed] Each mm3 of cerebral cortex contains roughly a billion of them.
The word "synapse" comes from "synaptein", which Sir Charles Scott Sherrington and colleagues coined from the Greek "syn-" ("together") and "haptein" ("to clasp"). Chemical synapses are not the only type of biological synapse: electrical and immunological synapses also exist. Without a qualifier, however, "synapse" commonly means chemical synapse.
For more information about Chemical synapse, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
