Brain Explained

Episode Description

This episode is with Dr Titas is looking at retrograde zippering which is another way that neurons are able to correctly grow towards their correct final destination. What exactly does this system involve and how does this work? Listen in to learn all about it and we also explore why the C.elegans is a good model for neuroscience research- depending on the question you are asking.

I am also looking for individuals who would be interested in contributing to the blog. It would involve posts about the recent neuroscience that has been published preferably that week. You would try to explain the science in an easy to understand manner and would also want to delve into the significance of the findings. If this is something that interests you I would delighted to hear from you – please join the Brain Explained LinkedIn Contributors Page.

Linkto paper

Dr Titas Sengupta Twitter page

Link to website

Listen in to learn more about arteriovenous malformations (AVM) a condition that leads to tangled blood vessels in the brain and spinal cord. This increases an individual’s likelihood of stroke. This week we will be exploring research that profiled the cells the blood vessels to find what changes occurred in these cells compared to normal samples. listen in to find out about this amazing research that could have wide-ranging implications.

Dr Ethan Winkler’s Twitter

Dr Ethan Winkler’s University Profile

The paper 

Episode 11 is all about dancing molecules and how they could be used to help improve spinal cord regeneration. Listen in to learn how proteins that move faster are more effective with Professor Samuel Stupps.

Link to paper - https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh3602

Professor Stupp’s Lab Website - http://stupp.northwestern.edu/

Prof. Stupp's Twitter- https://twitter.com/SamuelStupp

Useful Links:

https://www.facebook.com/simpsonquerreyinstitute

https://twitter.com/sqinstitute

Research looking into the effects of phones and concussions. An odd mix but interesting. Listen in to learn more. We’ll be talking to Dr Prasanna.

Link to dissertation work - https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/5339/

Episode Description

Come and listen to the first special episode. A conversation with Dr Argel who I meet through the Society of Neuroscience. We talk about his journey into neuroscience and his work covering memory and studies into neuroinflammation and ketamine.

Lab website

Twitter account

Want to know how we work well in teams? Then listen in to the latest episode exploring team flow with Professor Mohammed Shehata. Flow is our ability to enter that state where everything aligns and we are able to focus entirely on the task at hand.

- The eNeuro paper (the journal article here)

News coverage including The Times Magazine London (here), Psychology Today (here and here), IFL Science (here), TVN (here), Science Alert (here), SciShow News (here), and more (here).

- Mohammad Shehata’s LinkedIn

- Mohammad Shehata’s Twitter :@Mohamma_Shehata

I’m back on track. Here is the next episode. In this episode we explore dopamine signalling in the brain. Why? Because dopamine is the main signalling compound in your brain for reward. So eat a bar of chocolate, get a new job, pass your exams and you get a dose of dopamine. But the research by Professor David Kleinfield is even more important because it shows that mice can control their release of dopamine, which might explain why we can do things that to others seem strange such as climbing mountains. That isn’t all, listen in to learn about his other research around the role of the vasculature in the brain and how senses work.

David Kleinfield lab website

The main paper

Two other interesting papers (which can be found on his website):

Ultra-slow oscillations in fMRI and resting-state connectivity: Neuronal and vascular contributions and technical confounds.

Brain microvasculature has a common topology with local differences in geometry that match metabolic load.

Episode 5 dives traumatic brain injury a disease commonly received after too many blows to the head. How can we protect against this and how exactly is it studied in the lab. If that piques your interest then be sure to check out for we cover this and much more with Dr Andrew Pieper, a researcher in this field from the Harrington Discovery Institute.

Link to Dr Andrew Pieper’s Lab Website

Link to Dr Andrew Pieper’s LinkedIn

Link to paper

Brain Explained - Twitter

Brain Explained - LinkedIn

Episode 4 of Brain Explained explores a new theory for understanding pain. Pain, its something we feel often and that many people chronically suffer from with an estimated 40% of people suffering from chronic pain and understanding pain would allow us to help them. That is where Dr Franziska Denk’s Research comes into play. For she is describing a new theory showing that a type of cell called a fibroblasts may be the key player in chronic pain. Listen to the episode to find out how.

Link to Franziska Denk’s lab website

Link to Twitter page for lab

Link to LinkedIn

Links to papers:

Fibroblasts– the neglected cell type in peripheral sensitization and chronic pain? - A systematic view on the current state of the literature.

A transcriptional toolbox for exploring peripheral neuro-immune interactions

Sensitization of Knee-Innervating Sensory Neurons by Tumour Necrosis Factor-α Activated Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes: An in Vitro, Co-Culture Model of Inflammatory Pain.

Resources:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/statistical-inferences

https://www.franziskadenk.com/resources

https://rna-seq-browser.herokuapp.com/

https://rna-seq-browser.herokuapp.com/

http://mousebrain.org/genesearch.html

https://panglaodb.se/