Genetics Archives - Knowing Neurons

Brain Development Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

The Why of the Cry

December 14, 2021 Caitlin Goodpaster Acoustics, cry, Development, Evolution, Genetics, infants, Postpartum, Psychiatric Disorders, Ultrasonic Vocalizations

When you hear a baby relentlessly crying on an airplane, even through your noise-cancelling headphones, you can do nothing but sigh in defeat. With all hope of an in-flight nap… Read more

Multilingual Spanish

Migración Neuronal: Una “Puerta Corredera” para el Futuro del Cerebro

August 28, 2021August 30, 2021 Ilaria Vitali Autism, Autismo, Células progenitoras neuronales, Desarrollo, Development, developmental disorders, Esquizofrenia, excitatorio, Genética, Genetics, glia, Lisencefalia, Lissencephaly, migración neuronal, Neural Progenitor Cells, Neurodesarrollo, Neurodevelopment, neuronal migration, Reelin, Reelina, Schizophrenia, trastornos del desarrollo, ventricular zone, Wnt, zona ventricular

Artículo original: Neuronal Migration: A “Sliding Door” for the Future of the Brain , Ilaria Vitali Traducido por Sebastián Martínez ~~~ ¿Alguna vez te has preguntado cómo cada célula de… Read more

Multilingual Spanish

La Parálisis del Sueño ¿Qué es y qué lo causa?

June 26, 2021August 6, 2021 Mira Rakicevic Anxiety, Cataplexy, circadian rhythm, EEG, Electromyogram, Genetics, Hallucination, hypnagogic hallucination, Hypnopompic, Insomnia, Narcolepsy, NREM sleep, parasomnia, PER2, Polysomnography, REM sleep, Sleep, Sleep Apnea, Sleep Atonia, Sleep paralysis, stress, Vestibular-motor Hallucination

Artículo original: Sleep Paralysis: What Is It and What Causes It?, Mira Rakicevic Traducido por Valia Gregory ~~~ La parálisis del sueño es un tipo de parasomnia (un término general… Read more

Multilingual Spanish

Neuro Cartilla: El Envejecimiento

June 26, 2021August 6, 2021 Gabrielle Torre AD, Age-related cognitive decline, Aging, ALS, Alzheimer's, Alzheimer’s disease, Amyloid, amyloid plaques, Baby Boomers, beta-amyloid, Brain activation, Brain cells, Cardiovascular health, Childhood, Cognition, Cognitive performance, Cortex, dementia, Disease, Executive function, Exercise, Genetics, glutamate, Hippocampus, Longevity, Memory, Memory decline, myelin, Nervous System, Neurogenesis, Neuroimaging, Neurons, Neuroplasticity, Neuroscience, Neurotransmitters, Normal aging, Parkinson's, Parkinson's Disease, Plasticity, Quality of life, Research, Science, Sleep, Sleep habits, Ventricles, Working memory

Artículo original: Neuro Primer: Aging, Gabrielle Torre Traducido por Daniela Semerjian ~~~ ¿Qué le sucede al cerebro en el envejecimiento? El envejecimiento normal viene con muchos cambios en la estructura… Read more

An artistic take on the "monkey-to-man" cartoon, depicting the final result as a larger human near fast food with a red warning sign around it. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Multilingual Spanish

El Cerebro, las grasas saludables y la importancia de encajar en nuestros genes

June 3, 2021August 6, 2021 Marco Travaglio Attention, Brain Fat, Cortex, dementia, depression, DHA, Diet, Dopamine, Dorsal Attention Network, EPA, Evolution, Fat, Fish Oil, Frontoparietal Network, Genetics, Monounsaturated Fat, Neurological Disorder, Neurotransmitters, Omega-3, Omega-6, Polyunsaturated Fat, serotonin, supplements

Artículo original: Brain, Healthy Fats, and the Importance of Fitting Into Your Genes, Marco Travaglio Traducido por Jenna Hartstein ~~~ Nuestros cerebros son muy ricos en grasa. De hecho, cerca… Read more

Brain Basics Consciousness Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Sensation and Perception Sleep

Sleep Paralysis: What Is It and What Causes It?

December 30, 2019June 3, 2021 Mira Rakicevic Anxiety, Cataplexy, circadian rhythm, EEG, Electromyogram, Genetics, Hallucination, hypnagogic hallucination, Hypnopompic, Insomnia, Narcolepsy, NREM sleep, parasomnia, PER2, Polysomnography, REM sleep, Sleep, Sleep Apnea, Sleep Atonia, Sleep paralysis, stress, Vestibular-motor Hallucination

Sleep paralysis is a type of REM parasomnia or abnormal behavior that takes place during the REM sleep cycle. Also known as sleep atonia, this condition refers to the feeling… Read more

Big Ideas Brain Basics Brain Development Culture

Brain, Healthy Fats, and the Importance of Fitting Into Your Genes

November 27, 2019June 3, 2021 Marco Travaglio Attention, Brain Fat, Cortex, dementia, depression, DHA, Diet, Dopamine, Dorsal Attention Network, EPA, Evolution, Fat, Fish Oil, Frontoparietal Network, Genetics, Monounsaturated Fat, Neurological Disorder, Neurotransmitters, Omega-3, Omega-6, Polyunsaturated Fat, serotonin, supplements

Our brains are extremely rich in fat. Indeed, about two thirds of the human brain is composed of fat, 35% of which consists of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. What are… Read more

Brain Basics Brain Development

Neuronal Migration: A “Sliding Door” for the Future of the Brain

February 6, 2019February 6, 2019 Ilaria Vitali Autism, Development, developmental disorders, excitatory, Genetics, glia, Lissencephaly, Neural Progenitor Cells, Neurodevelopment, neuronal migration, Reelin, Schizophrenia, ventricular zone, Wnt

Have you ever wondered how each cell of our body reaches its correct place? It is even more astounding when you realize that our body is formed from only two… Read more

Image of book with DNA spiraling outwards towards the front cover of Innate

Brain Books

Book Review: Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are

January 23, 2019January 23, 2019 Gabrielle Torre Brain Books, Chromosomes, CRISPR, Gene editing, Genetics, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Neurodevelopment

Around the world, all populations of humans are essentially the same. The differences that make us who we are lie in differences among individuals, which result from only 0.1% of… Read more

Learning and Memory Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Popular Articles

Understanding Noonan Syndrome

December 12, 2018December 12, 2018 Caitlin Aamodt Brain, bullying, Cell signaling, Charles McDowell, G-protein signaling, Genetics, intellectual disability, kinase, Learning, Long-term potentiation, LTP, Meme, Memory, neurodevelopmental disorer, Neuroscience, noonan syndrome, Novartis, phosphatase, Prison, PTPN11, Ras, Rasopathy

This past November the mug shot of Charles McDowell went viral after viewers noticed that the man in the photo had an unusual phenotype- specifically a larger than average neck.… Read more

Evolution of Cognition Language Neuro News

Study Sheds New Light on FOXP2 in the Evolution of Language

November 16, 2018April 18, 2019 Caitlin Aamodt Evolution, FoxP2, Genetics, Human, language

Language is a uniquely human trait, and how it evolved is one of the greatest unanswered questions in neuroscience. Spoken and written language facilitate much of what makes up human… Read more

Aging Brain Basics Neuro Primer Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Neuro Primer: Aging

October 10, 2018October 8, 2018 Gabrielle Torre AD, Age-related cognitive decline, Aging, ALS, Alzheimer's, Alzheimer’s disease, Amyloid, amyloid plaques, Baby Boomers, beta-amyloid, Brain activation, Brain cells, Cardiovascular health, Childhood, Cognition, Cognitive performance, Cortex, dementia, Disease, Executive function, Exercise, Genetics, glutamate, Hippocampus, Longevity, Memory, Memory decline, myelin, Nervous System, Neurogenesis, Neuroimaging, Neurons, Neuroplasticity, Neuroscience, Neurotransmitters, Normal aging, Parkinson's, Parkinson's Disease, Plasticity, Quality of life, Research, Science, Sleep, Sleep habits, Ventricles, Working memory

What happens to the brain in aging? Normal aging comes with many changes in brain structure and function. As individuals approach the age of 65 years and above, they experience… Read more

Brain Basics Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Sleep

The inescapable nightmare of fatal familial insomnia

October 31, 2017May 27, 2022 Sean Noah Brain, Cortex, Disease, Disorders, Fatal Familial Insomnia, FFI, Genetics, Insomnia, Molecular neuroscience, Neuroscience, Prions, Psychiatry, Sleep, Sleep disorders

A family curse During the early 1980’s, an Italian physician was investigating a mysterious and dreadful disease that had long plagued his family. In earlier generations, this disease had killed… Read more

Did You Know? Interviews Neuroscience Art Sensation and Perception

Self Reflected: The Best of Neuroscience and Art

July 19, 2017July 16, 2017 Kayleen Schreiber Art, Brain, Color, Consciousness, Cortex, Genetics, Interview, Knowing Neurons, Learning, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Perception, Prefrontal Cortex, Science

The phrase, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” seems especially true for scientists. What we study becomes not only intellectually beautiful, but also literally beautiful: the form is… Read more

Aging Did You Know? Learning and Memory Movement Neuro News

Bite-size Science: Epigenetics help protect the aging brain

June 19, 2017June 30, 2017 Kayleen Schreiber Alzheimer’s disease, Brain, Cortex, DNA, Epigenetics, gene, Genetics, Infographic, Knowing Neurons, Learning, Memory, Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Prefrontal Cortex, Receptor, Research, Science

Epigenetics change which genes are active and which are inactive. Research over the past few years has shown that these changes are important for protecting the brain from neurodegeneration and… Read more

Brain Basics Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

The Epigenetic Legacy of Trauma

March 8, 2017June 30, 2017 Eric Harvey Anxiety, depression, DNA, Epigenetics, Genetics, Holocaust, Kristallnacht, Methylation, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, Rachel Yahuda, Trauma

The evening of November 9th, 1938, began with typical fall solemnity for many Jews living across Germany: closing up their shops and businesses, returning home from school, and preparing family… Read more

Did You Know? Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Copy Number Variants: A Window into Psychiatric Illness

September 21, 2016March 18, 2018 Rachel Jonas ADHD, Autism, Bipolar, Brain, CNV, Copy number variant, Deletion, DNA, gene, Genetics, Genome, LCR, Low copy repeat, Map, mutation, Population, Psychiatric, Schizophrenia, Syndrome

The human genome consists of nearly 25,000 protein-coding genes – and a mutation in just one of these can have dramatic effects on our brains. Remarkably, one tiny change in… Read more

52 Brain Facts

Myth or Fact? When geneticists talk about Manhattan, they don’t mean NYC.

March 28, 2016April 3, 2016 knowingneurons 52 Brain Facts, Biology, Brain, Chromosome, Disease, DNA, gene, Genetics, Manhattan, Method, Neuroscience, Plot, Scatter, Science, Significance, Skyline, SNP, Trait, Value

Brain Basics Did You Know? Neuro News SfN 2014

Getting Technical: Methods in Neuroscience

October 15, 2014March 5, 2017 Anita Biology, Brain, BRAIN Initiative, Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, Electrophysiology, fMRI, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Genetics, Molecular, Neuroscience, Optogenetics, PET, Positron emission tomography, SfN, SfN14, Single-cell recording, Spatial, Technology, Temporal, TMS, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulaion

It is an exciting time for neuroscience. The BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) is in the spotlight as a part of the new Presidential focus and recently… Read more

Did You Know? Movement Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

(Transneuronal) Attack of the Mutant Huntingtin!

September 17, 2014March 5, 2017 Jillian L. Shaw 2014, Autosomal dominant, Botulinum neurotoxin, CAG, Chorea, Disorder, DNA, gene, Genetics, HD, HTT, Huntingtin, Huntington’s disease, mHTT, Movement, Nature Neuroscience, Trinucleotide repeat disorder

Huntington’s disease (HD) is an incredibly debilitating neurodegenerative disorder. Currently, there is no treatment that effectively reverses the progression of the disease or delays its onset. Huntington’s is a particularly… Read more

Brain Basics Did You Know? Movement

ALS: An Infographic and the Ice Bucket Challenge

August 25, 2014March 5, 2017 knowingneurons ALS, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Genetics, Ice Bucket Challenge, Infographic, Lou Gehrig's Disease, motor neuron, Muscle, Neurodegeneration, Neurodegenerative disease, Riluzone, SOD1

The Knowing Neurons team accepted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge!… Read more

Did You Know? Neuroscience Technologies

Zinc Finger Nucleases: Genomic Scissors

October 24, 2013March 5, 2017 Jooyeun Lee AIDS, CCR5, Expression, Fok1, gene, Genetics, HIV, Homologous recombination, Infographic, mutation, Non-homologous end-joining, ZFN, zinc finger nuclease

The potential to manipulate DNA sequences and insert genes with the use of zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) has huge implications for human genetic disease therapeutics. One exciting example is a… Read more

Brain Basics Did You Know?

Your Brain on Epigenetics

June 13, 2013March 5, 2017 knowingneurons 5hmC, 5mC, CpG, DNA, Epigenetics, genes, Genetics, Gibb, hydroxymethylcytosine, Khare, Methylation, methylcytosine, Mychasiuk, Tice

Scientists have debated the importance of nature vs. nurture for years. For the first time, however, both sides have shaken hands and acknowledged a tie. The burgeoning field of epigenetics… Read more