Researchers announced the creation of the most detailed wiring diagram of a mammalian brain to date, mapping every cell and synapse in a cubic millimeter of a mouse’s visual cortex. 

Using cutting-edge microscopy, AI, and 3D reconstruction, they were able to capture more than 200,000 cells and over 500 million connections. Researchers also made the surprising discovery that inhibitory neurons selectively coordinate activity rather than just dampen it. 

Understanding the brain’s form and function and the ability to analyze the detailed connections between neurons at an unprecedented scale opens new possibilities for studying the brain and intelligence. It also has implications for disorders like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism, and schizophrenia involving disruptions in neural communication. Here’s more:  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07765-7

A new study was published in JAMA Neurology which found that people with type 2 diabetes who take two common anti-diabetes medications – Ozempic and Wegovy – had a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s and associated dementias.

Longevity expert, Dr. William Kapp opined on the findings, saying these results give more credence to what researchers have already been observing: the brain and body don’t age separately. Metabolic problems such as insulin resistance are linked to inflammation, oxidative stress, and altered blood flow – all of which impact brain health. Check it out: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/article-abstract/2831976

Clearmind Medicine announced that it initiated its Phase I/IIa clinical trial at its first U.S. clinical site, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. This is for the first in human clinical trial designed to investigate the safety, tolerability and full pharmacokinetic profile of the company’s treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), CMND-100. 

CMND-100 is Clearmind’s proprietary MEAI-based oral drug candidate, developed as a potential breakthrough treatment for AUD. Unlike traditional treatment methods, CMND-100 is designed to offer a novel approach by modulating reward mechanisms associated with addictive behavior. Here’s more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/clearmind-medicine-announces-first-u-122500938.html

Did you know that a team of engineers at Georgia Institute of Technology developed a microscale brain-computer interface that is small enough to be placed between hair follicles on a user's head?

Over the past several decades, brain-computer interfaces have been developed that are capable of reading brain waves and responding to them in useful ways. These devices can be used to control a cursor on a computer screen, for example. They’re still quite bulky, however, so researchers developed a sensor so small it can be placed on the scalp between hair follicles.

The sensors are made of cross-shaped resin with microscale spikes. The spikes poke through the skin when the sensor is pushed onto the scalp. Each sensor is also connected to what the team describes as a serpentine interconnector. It looks a bit like a squiggly wire. The wire snakes its way through the hair to a microprocessor that sends the brain signals wirelessly to the device that the brain signals will control. Here are the fascinating details: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2419304122