Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have illuminated a window into how abnormalities in microRNAs, a family of molecules that regulate expression of numerous genes, may contribute to the behavioral and neuronal deficits associated with schizophrenia and possibly other brain disorders.
Emulating Schizophrenia in a Dish columbia.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from columbia.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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A study of spatial learning in mice shows that exposure to new experiences dampens established representations in the brain’s hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, allowing the mice to learn new navigation strategies. The study, published in Nature, was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
“The ability to flexibly learn in new situations makes it possible to adapt to an ever-changing world,” noted Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., a senior author on the study and director of the National Institute of Mental Health, part of NIH. “Understanding the neural basis of this flexible learning in animals gives us insight into how this type of learning may become disrupted in humans.”
New experiences enhance learning by resetting key brain circuit scienceblog.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scienceblog.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.