Researchers from Inserm, the Université Paris Diderot, King’s College London, and the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore have identified a gene that may be associated with brain lesions that can be caused by preterm birth. This study is published today in Nature Communications.
A recent study conducted by Anne Giersch and her team of researchers (Inserm Unit 1114 /University of Strasbourg) showed that some people with schizophrenia are unable to perceive and anticipate the passage of time. These results, published in the Scientific Reports journal, also reveal a link between fragile temporal prediction and minimal self disorders (self-perception, "I am here, now").
An international study with the participation of physicians from the AP-HP Paris public hospitals network and researchers from Inserm, UPMC and CNRS within the Brain & Spine Institute (ICM) has identified a clinical-genetic score to predict cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease sufferers. Cognitive impairment is one of the most debilitating characteristics to manifest in certain patients with the disease. The ability to predict its emergence within ten years of...
Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial for the brain. Deficiency in these acids can lead to depressive mood. A new study led by Inserm and Inra researchers from Unit 901, "Mediterranean Institute of Neurobiology" (Inserm/Université d’Aix-Marseille) and UMR 1256, "Nutrition and Integrated Neurobiology" (Inra/Université de Bordeaux) reveals the mechanisms of disease that develop in adult mice on a low omega-3 diet since adolescence. It also demonstrates therapeutic approaches. The results...
Teams from the AP-HP Paris public hospitals network, in collaboration with researchers from the Brain & Spine Institute (ICM) (Inserm/CNRS/UPMC), and Metafora biosystems, a start-up with links to the CNRS, have recently developed a diagnostic blood test for a rare but treatable condition called De Vivo disease. It was tested on 30 patients with the disease, which causes neurological deficits such as epilepsy and movement disorders. Compared with current diagnostic tests...
N-acetylcysteine (Mucomyst®, Exomuc®, Fluimucyl®) is commonly used as a treatment for clearing mucus from the airways, but researchers from Inserm Unit 1237, “Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders” (Inserm/ UNICAEN), led by Denis Vivien, have shown that it is also capable of unblocking arteries obstructed by a blood clot. This study, coordinated by Maxime Gauberti and Sara Martinez de Lizarrondo, opens the way to a new treatment strategy in...
The existence of new “social” neurons has just been demonstrated by scientists from the Institut de neurosciences des systèmes (Aix-Marseille University / INSERM), the Laboratoire de psychologie sociale et cognitive (Université Clermont Auvergne / CNRS), and the Institut de neurosciences de la Timone (Aix-Marseille University / CNRS). Their research on monkeys has shown that when these animals are made to perform a task, the presence or absence of a...
Do our childhood experiences shape our political attitudes? A team of Inserm researchers from Unit 960 "Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory" (Inserm/ENS) have discovered the answer to this question, the results of which have recently been published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. Childhood poverty is associated with stronger adherence to authoritarian political attitudes in adulthood, not only in the French population, but also in a sample of 46 European...
An international collaborative study coordinated by Frédéric Laumonnier (Unit 930 “Imaging and Brain” Inserm/University of Tours) and Yann Hérault of the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (Inserm/ CNRS/ University of Strasbourg) provides new and original findings on the pathophysiological role of the contact areas between neurons in certain brain disorders. The study reveals that mutation of one of the genes involved in intellectual disability and autism...
A research team from Université Paris Descartes, Inserm and Centre Hospitalier Sainte‐Anne, led by Prof. Marie‐Odile Krebs, has shown that patients suffering from psychotic disorders, and exposed in utero to diethylstilbestrol, presented specific epigenetic changes. These changes correspond to genomic regions notably comprising gene ZFP57, known to play a role in neurodevelopment. Owing to this new project, the researchers examine the broader issue regarding the impact of in utero...