With previous findings having highlighted the role of our social environment as one of the key factors behind the expansion of the cerebral cortex, researchers went one step further in elucidating this link. They were more specifically interested in a species of macaques whose brain architecture is comparable to that of humans. By observing these non-human primates in their natural state and by analyzing images of their brains, they...
Scientists from the Institut Pasteur (a partner research organization of Université Paris Cité), Inserm and the CNRS have discovered that hypothalamic neurons in an animal model directly detect variations in bacterial activity and adapt appetite and body temperature accordingly. These findings demonstrate that a direct dialog occurs between the gut microbiota and the brain, a discovery that could lead to new therapeutic approaches for tackling metabolic disorders such as...
Researchers have identified 75 regions of the genome that are associated with Alzheimer's disease. Forty-two of these regions are novel, meaning that they have never before been implicated in the disease. The findings bring new knowledge of the biological mechanisms at play and open up new avenues for treatment and diagnosis.
In collaboration with a Canadian team, scientists from Inserm and Université de Tours, at Unit 1253 Imaging & Brain1, have shown in post-mortem brain samples that victims of child abuse present specific brain characteristics. This research suggests that abuse could cause lasting changes to the developmental trajectories of certain brain regions with potential effects on psychological health.
What if a few minutes of sleep could trigger creativity? This is what suggests a study by researchers from Inserm and Sorbonne Université at the Brain Institute and the department of sleep medicine at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital AP-HP.
Researchers from Inserm, Lille University Hospital and Université de Lille, at the Lille Neuroscience and Cognition laboratory, have discovered one of the mechanisms by which endocrine disruptors can alter reproductive function development from birth.
Our ability to understand the syntax of complex sentences is one of the most difficult language skills to acquire. In 2019, research had revealed a correlation between being particularly proficient in tool use and having good syntactic ability. A new study has now shown that both skills rely on the same neurological resources, which are located in the same brain region. Furthermore, motor training using a tool improves our...
A large number of researchers are currently mobilized to increase knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 in order to improve the treatment of infected patients and try to predict the future health impacts of infection with the virus. Researchers have been the first to identify a direct effect of SARS-CoV-2 on the brain’s blood vessels.
How can lost neurons be regenerated? Using an animal model of epilepsy, the researchers have succeeded in transforming non-neuronal cells in the brain into new inhibitory neurons that reduce chronic epileptic activity by half. This research will in time make it possible to envisage a therapeutic application of this strategy.
Teams from Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP and Sorbonne University, grouped together within the Brain Institute at Pitié-Salpêtrière AP-HP hospital and coordinated by Dr Matthieu Peyre and Prof. Michel Kalamarides, studied the presence of mutations in the PIK3CA genes in cavernomas.
