While great progress has been made in recent years in the understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), its underlying molecular mechanisms remain fairly poorly documented. Several hypotheses have been put forward regarding the possible dysfunction of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, but rigorous scientific studies are still lacking in order to validate them. In […]
An international consortium has identified rare variants in two new genes that markedly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The work was led by two research groups in France (headed respectively by Gaël Nicolas, Rouen and Jean-Charles Lambert, Lille) and a group in the Netherlands (headed by Henne Holstege, Amsterdam). The new results provide a better understanding of the genetics of AD and open up new research...
Cisplatin is a chemotherapy indicated to fight tumors in many types of cancer. However, it does have major side effects – especially kidney toxicity, that can lead to acute kidney failure. In addition, patients treated with cisplatin also often report high levels of neuropathic pain. Scientists from Inserm, Université de Lille, University Hospital Lille, CNRS and Institut Pasteur de Lille within the CANTHER and Lille Neuroscience & Cognition laboratories,...
Meditation as a tool to prevent dementia and improve the mental health and well-being of elderly people is one of the avenues explored by the European Medit-Ageing research program, coordinated by Inserm. As part of this program, researchers from Inserm and Université de Caen Normandie, in collaboration with French and European teams, observed the impact of 18 months of meditation training on certain brain structures involved in regulating attention and...
Children born prematurely have a higher risk of not just cognitive and sensory disorders, but also infertility in adulthood. In a new study, a team of researchers from Inserm, University Hospital Lille and Université de Lille at the Lille Neuroscience and Cognition laboratory has opened up interesting avenues for improving their prognosis. By conducting research into a rare disease known as congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, the scientists have discovered the...
An Inserm team at the Lille Neuroscience & Cognition laboratory (Inserm/Université de Lille, Lille University Hospital) has joined forces with its counterparts at Vaudois University Hospital (CHUV, Lausanne) to test the efficacy of GnRH injection therapy in order to improve the cognitive functions of a small group of patients with Down syndrome. First the scientists revealed a dysfunction of the GnRH neurons in an animal model of Down syndrome...
A research team from Inserm, University Hospital Lille, and Université de Lille within the Lille Neuroscience & Cognition laboratory looked at the impact of cultural differences on the performances on two of the neurocognitive tests most used worldwide, comparing the results of around 600 healthy participants across 12 countries.
On July 18, 2022, France’s minister for Higher Education and Research Sylvie Retailleau announced an unprecedented psychiatry research effort in the form of 80 million euros allocated over five years to the precision-psychiatry project-program PROPSY, led by Inserm and CNRS as part of the Priority Research and Resources Programs (PEPRs).
The cerebellum is essential for sensorimotor control but also contributes to higher cognitive functions including social behaviors. An international research consortium uncovered how dopamine in the cerebellum modulates social behaviors via its action on D2 receptors (D2R). These new findings pave the way to determine whether socially related psychiatric disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD), bipolar mood disorder, or schizophrenia, are also associated with altered dopamine receptors expression...
In a new study analyzing data from all previous research in the field, researchers show that not only are positivity and confirmation biases present even in the simplest human and animal cognitive processes, but also that incorporating them into learning algorithms would enhance their performance.
