Category: Brain

2022-23, Brain, Degenerative Disease, General Neuroscience

EEG Analysis Reveals Association Between Parkinson’s Disease with Visual Hallucinations and Epileptic Discharges

Jessica George ’24 Psychosis in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is characterized by visual hallucinations (VHs). These VHs have a significant impact on patient’s lives and serve as a reliable predictor for future nursing home institutionalization. Several disorders such as Charles Bonnet syndrome and temporal lobe epilepsy have similar features to those of PD VHs. In the aforementioned disorders, EEG analysis revealed epileptiform discharges, which led researchers … Continue reading EEG Analysis Reveals Association Between Parkinson’s Disease with Visual Hallucinations and Epileptic Discharges

Young Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2022-23, Brain, Degenerative Disease, General Neuroscience, Neuroscience

Exercise Was Successfully Able to Restore Brain Insulin Responsiveness in Overweight and Obese Individuals Living a Sedentary Life

Jessica George ’24 When the brain is resistant to insulin, the body tends to gain weight and distribute fat unfavorably. Resistance to insulin is one of the main characteristics of disorders such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. Today, it is unknown whether it is possible to completely reverse insulin resistance in the brain. Researchers at the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of … Continue reading Exercise Was Successfully Able to Restore Brain Insulin Responsiveness in Overweight and Obese Individuals Living a Sedentary Life

Young Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2022-23, Brain, General Neuroscience, Neuroscience

Novel Form of Noninvasive Neurosurgery Selectively Lesions Faulty Neural Circuitry

Vignesh Subramanian ’24 A number of movement disorders and motor neuron diseases, including focal epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, progressive muscular atrophy, and multiple sclerosis, are recognized as medically intractable or capable of becoming so. Intractable conditions lack known etiologies and have no established courses of treatment, with those in the neurological sphere often characterized by resistance to neural activity-suppressing medications (e.g. muscle relaxants, … Continue reading Novel Form of Noninvasive Neurosurgery Selectively Lesions Faulty Neural Circuitry

Young Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2022-23, Brain

Targeted Treatment to the Thalamus Can Have Successful Results in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injuries

Melanie Karniewich ’25 Brain injuries are becoming more common, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions that are asked in the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). One issue researchers are trying to resolve is whether a patient will awaken after a TBI, and if so, how long awakening takes. Assistant professors Sima Mofakham (Department of Surgery and the Department of Electrical … Continue reading Targeted Treatment to the Thalamus Can Have Successful Results in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injuries

Young Investigators Review1 Comment
2022-23, Brain, General Neuroscience, Neuroscience

Neuronal Firing in Thalamus is Key to Restoring Post-TBI Consciousness

Vignesh Subramanian ’24 Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a form of acquired brain disability caused by an external force exerted against the head. The causative trauma is typically severe enough to result in loss of consciousness and the conditions under which consciousness returns remain unclear. Clinical practice uses complex electroencephalography (EEG) activity to predict its return and level, predicated on the assumption that neuronal firing … Continue reading Neuronal Firing in Thalamus is Key to Restoring Post-TBI Consciousness

Young Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2022-23, Brain, Degenerative Disease, General Neuroscience, Neurology, Neuroscience

Selective Striatal Neuron Degeneration in HD Linked to Autophagy Impairment

Vignesh Subramanian ’24 Huntington’s disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease that causes the progressive breakdown of neurons over time, resulting in the development of involuntary movements (chorea), psychiatric disorders, and cognitive decline. HD is caused by the dominant mutation of the HTT gene encoding huntingtin, a protein whose normal function is unknown but is linked to projection neuron death in the striatum of the … Continue reading Selective Striatal Neuron Degeneration in HD Linked to Autophagy Impairment

Young Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2022-23, Brain, Cognition, General Psychology, Psychology

Uncovering the Nuances of Mental Disorders and their Impact on the Brain

Lydia Wang ’26 When referencing common medical conditions, heart disease and high blood pressure are often grouped together, as one usually implies the other. Such groupings—the simultaneous presence of two or more medical conditions—are known as comorbidities. Comorbidities in mental health are common; more than half of individuals with mental disorders have more than one. Their occurrence has been dismissed as coincidence and ignored in … Continue reading Uncovering the Nuances of Mental Disorders and their Impact on the Brain

Young Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2022-23, Brain, General Neuroscience, Neuroscience

Working Memory Capacity Is Directly Linked To Processing and Storage

Melanie Karniewich ’25 Memory plays an important role in our brain function, allowing us to register events and remember them for later use. Certain key factors play a strong role in the quality of our working memory capacity, such as processing and storage, problem-solving, and conscious control of what we find fit to remember. Dr. Lauren Richmond, an assistant professor at Stony Brook University, and … Continue reading Working Memory Capacity Is Directly Linked To Processing and Storage

Young Investigators Review1 Comment
2022-23, Biology, Brain, Cellular and Molecular Science, General Neuroscience, Molecular Biology, Neurology, Neuroscience

Lack of CLOCK Regulator Protein May Predict Focal Seizure Susceptibility

By Vignesh Subramanian ’24 Focal seizure activity originates at particular foci﹣those being lobes, regions or hemispheres – of abnormal brain tissue and may emanate outward.  Epilepsy is a chronic central nervous system disorder characterized by uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain that triggers recurrent, spontaneous seizures. The majority of new epilepsy cases involve focal epilepsy, in which seizure activity originates in a particular “focus” or … Continue reading Lack of CLOCK Regulator Protein May Predict Focal Seizure Susceptibility

Young Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2021-22, Brain

Thalamocortical Associated Brain Injuries May be Linked to Behavioral Changes

Sooraj Shah ’24 The discussion of brain injury, particularly in contact sports such as boxing or football, has grown in importance as more and more former athletes speak out on the lingering effects years after retirement. The discovery of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in 2002 marked the beginning of increased attention and research into traumatic brain injuries (TBI). While CTE was found to spread throughout … Continue reading Thalamocortical Associated Brain Injuries May be Linked to Behavioral Changes

Young Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2021-22, Biology, Brain, Ecology, Evolution

Brawn Before Brains in Early Mammalian Development

Zhifei Zeng ’23 Of all vertebrates, mammals have the largest brains in terms of absolute size and relative to body size. Significant encephalization (an increase in brain size relative to body size) has been observed in the placenta of extant mammals. However, until recently it has not yet been determined when mammalian brains began to increase in size and how they evolved to their current … Continue reading Brawn Before Brains in Early Mammalian Development

Young Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2021-22, Brain

MRI Brain Mapping of Glymphatic System May Inform AD Diagnostic

Vignesh Subramanian ’24 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder and form of dementia that causes progressive loss of memory, critical thinking skills, and behavioral capabilities. Among other pathophysiological mechanisms, the disease is characterized by disruptions in the glymphatic system, which is responsible for the facilitation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and interstitial fluid (ISF) exchange driving macroscopic waste and solute clearance. Breakdowns in this clearance … Continue reading MRI Brain Mapping of Glymphatic System May Inform AD Diagnostic

Young Investigators ReviewLeave a comment