Monthly Archives: December 2012

Tauopathies include dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia, and are characterized by tau aggregation and progressive neurodegeneration. To examine drugs which might have neuroprotective potential, the authors of this study screened a drug library containing 1120 compounds approved … Continue reading →

Chronic neuroinflammation is common in aging and neurodegenerative disorders. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms have not been completely elucidated. In this study the authors find that dopamine D2 receptors in brain astrocytes inhibit neuroinflammation via αB-crystallin. Knockout mice lacking … Continue reading →

The authors of this report studied amyloid beta levels in the CSF of elderly subjects with chronic major depression.  These individuals were cognitively intact but were observed to have reductions in CSF amyloid beta 42 similar to individuals with Alzheimer’s … Continue reading →

Alzheimer’s disease has an inflammatory component that is characterized by upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines, particularly in response to amyloid-beta (Aβ). Using a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, the authors of this study found increased production of the common interleukin-12 (IL-12) … Continue reading →

Activation of the hippocampus is required to encode episodic memories for new events. Animal studies suggest that a release of dopamine generated by strong hippocampal activation is needed if these memories are to persist beyond 4 to 6 hours. Based … Continue reading →

Recent neuroscience research has demonstrated commonalities between remembering past events and imagining future events. There is a dependence on shared cognitive processes and many of the same brain regions are involved in both remembering the past and imagining the future. … Continue reading →