Some 27,000 neuroscientists flocked to Chicago last month for Neuroscience 2019, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. They shared their research and talked about all things neuroscience. Here’s a quick rundown of the science that made headlines:
Marijuana Is a Double-Edged Sword
• Cannabidiol, a compound in marijuana, eases seizures and improves learning and memory in a mouse model of autism.
• Another team of researchers reported cannabidiol disrupted sleep in adolescent rats.
The Social (Brain) Network
• Locking eyes with someone activates a region of the brain’s social network.
• Holding the hand of a loved one syncs your brain activity and eases pain.
Alzheimer’s Linked to Metabolic Changes
• Blood sugar spikes and dips can affect your sleep, but this relationship breaks down in Alzheimer’s disease.
• Alzheimer’s and diabetes are linked, but scientists are only just beginning to understand how.
• A new clinical trial is testing whether light and sounds waves can clear plaques and improve symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
The Promise and Perils of Organoids
• Brain organoids are tiny clumps of neurons that self-assemble into three-dimensional structures in the lab. Grown from human stem cells, these so-called “mini-brains” may become an important model for understanding human brain development and disease.
• But, they differ from real human brains in important ways — organoids are stressed out and behave differently than neurons taken from human brains.
About the Author
Alexis is a former staff writer/editor for BrainFacts.org. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2012 with degrees in neuroscience and English.
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