By Brita Belli
April 12, 2021
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(Illustration by Michael S. Helfenbein)
For all the attention paid to the short and long-term physical effects of COVID-19, the disease has serious mental health consequences, too.
In a new report, Yale researchers examine how the pandemic is affecting our brains in particular the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that is involved in decision making, impulse control, and emotional regulation.
For 44 to 66 million disadvantaged Americans, the researchers say, the pandemic is exacerbating existing stressors including financial insecurity and systemic racism which impairs prefrontal cortical performance that is critical for regulating emotions and coping, among other functions.
Altered calcium signaling is linked to early-stage Alzheimer's pathology news-medical.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from news-medical.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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New Haven, Conn. Alzheimer s disease is known for its slow attack on neurons crucial to memory and cognition. But why are these particular neurons in aging brains so susceptible to the disease s ravages, while others remain resilient?
A new study led by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine has found that susceptible neurons in the prefrontal cortex develop a leak in calcium storage with advancing age, they report April 8 in the journal
Alzheimer s & Dementia, The Journal of the Alzheimer s Association. This disruption of calcium storage in turns leads to accumulation of phosphorylated, or modified, tau proteins which cause the neurofibrillary tangles in the brain that are a hallmark of Alzheimer s.
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The mental health research funder 1907 Research, Inc. announced the recipients of its first annual 1907 Trailblazer Awards today. The two-year grants, valued at over $120,000 each, were awarded to three promising scientists to pursue groundbreaking mental health research proposals:
Dr. Benjamin Bartelle from Arizona State University, for his proposal Accessing neuroimmunity with a domesticated Zika virus. Dr. Bartelle s fellowship is generously sponsored by the Kissick Family Foundation.
Dr. Laura Lewis from Boston University, for her proposal Linking sleep, cerebrospinal fluid flow, and inflammation, in depression.
Dr. Katherine Scangos from the University of California, San Francisco, for her proposal Using direct cortical and subcortical neural recordings to uncover principles of network dynamics underlying depression symptom severity in major depression.