Healthy Sleep May Rely on Long-Overlooked Brain Cells
Researchers at UCSF have confirmed that a different, long under-studied type of brain cell – astrocytes, named for their star-like shape – can influence how long and how deeply animals sleep.
University of California San Francisco
Give to UCSFResearchers at UCSF have confirmed that a different, long under-studied type of brain cell – astrocytes, named for their star-like shape – can influence how long and how deeply animals sleep.
A new study led by UC San Francisco finds that young adulthood may be the most critical period to practice the healthy lifestyle habits that may protect the brain from cognitive decline decades later.
In a new study, UCSF and Stanford researchers have identified a central switch that appears to control when neural progenitor cells stop multiplying and start differentiating into mature neurons.
A new study of autism risk genes by UCSF and UC Berkeley scientists implicates disruption in prenatal neurogenesis – a process in which specialized “progenitor” cells give rise to new brain cells – in the development of autism spectrum disorders.
Depression is among the most common psychiatric disorders, affecting as many as 264 million people worldwide and leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths per year. But as many as 30 percent of patients do not respond to standard treatments such as medication or psychotherapy.
A team of researchers has identified for the first time the neurons that are among the first victims of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchersare calling for tailored services and support for older adults living alone with memory issues, who are experiencing extreme isolation, and are exposed to misinformation about the virus and barriers to accessing medical care.
A UCSF clinical psychologist has taken aim at the NFL for “race-norming” Black players diagnosed with dementia, a practice that is depriving them of the monetary awards allocated to former footballers with neurodegenerative disorders.
Patterns of brain activity can be used to forecast seizure risk in epilepsy patients several days in advance, according to a new analysis of data obtained from clinically approved brain implants by neuroscientists at UCSF, the University of Bern and the University of Geneva.
Giant lizards with superpowered hearts. Hairless rodents that don’t seem to age. Songbirds that babble like human babies. These and other scurrying, soaring, and slithering wonders are teaching scientists how our own bodies work – and how to fix them.
In the new study, UCSF researchers showed rapid restoration of youthful cognitive abilities in aged mice, accompanied by a rejuvenation of brain and immune cells that could help explain improvements in brain function.
Children with dyslexia who watched emotionally evocative videos showed increased physiological and behavioral responses when compared to children without dyslexia.
The study adds to a body of evidence indicating that pollution from cars, factories, power plants and forest fires joins established dementia risk factors like smoking and diabetes.
Researchers found that teens with migraines whose high schools started before 8:30 a.m. experienced close to three more headache days than those with later school start times.
An international research team led by UCSF scientists has shown, for the first time, that gut immune cells travel to the brain during multiple sclerosis flare-ups in patients.
But what is uncertainty? What’s going on in the brain when we feel uncertain? And how might long-term uncertainty experienced by an entire population affect community health?
Lisa had a rare mutation that meant she was not able to combine two words until she was 3, and she didn’t take part in imaginative play until she was 10. Could a drug for MS be repurposed to help her?
Now in their seventh year, the Best Global Universities rankings focus on schools’ academic research and reputation overall instead of specific undergraduate and graduate programs. These global rankings help the increasing number of students exploring international higher education options to more accurately compare institutions around the world.
UCSF researchers are finding new clues to how neuropsychiatric disorders unfold by focusing on the role of a little-studied form of DNA in early brain development.
A cellular therapy for epilepsy developed at UCSF has been employed for the first time in a sea lion with intractable seizures caused by ingesting toxins from algal blooms.
Older adults who took weekly 15-minute “awe walks” for eight weeks reported increased positive emotions and less distress in their daily lives.
The achievement of “plug and play” performance demonstrates the value of so-called ECoG electrode arrays for BCI applications.