Tag

Mice

All articles tagged with #mice

scienceneuroscience3 days ago•7 min saved

Memories Survive Massive Synapse Loss in Artificial Mice Hibernation

Scientists induced a hibernation-like state (QIH) in mice, slashing hippocampal activity by about 70% and erasing more than half of the synapses, yet the mice still recalled trained tasks. After arousal, most lost synapses reappeared, with engram synapses in tight clusters often preserved and returning to the same dendritic spots, suggesting memories can endure without specific synapses. A long-term anesthesia control impaired memory and destroyed clustered engram synapses, highlighting that the pattern of synapse loss matters. The work implies the brain may reset toward a default network state after hibernation and raises questions about how memories are stored at the circuit level.

via Ars Technica|

#engram #hibernation #memory

science5 days ago•8 min saved

Acorns Signal Lyme Risk More Than Deer Counts

A long-term study in New York’s Hudson Valley finds deer abundance does not predict Lyme disease risk; acorn-driven mouse populations and the broader small-mammal community shape tick abundance and infection, making acorn cycles a key predictor of future risk, with warmer years altering these dynamics.

via CIDRAP|

#acorns #ecology #lyme-disease

science15 days ago•5 min saved

Brain Circuit Ties Oxytocin to Social Behavior and Fear Extinction

Researchers in Japan identified oxytocin receptor–bearing neurons in the paraventricular thalamus that affect both social approach and fear extinction in male mice; suppressing these cells reduced social interest, while activating them altered early fear-extinction learning but didn’t sustain the effect. Human data were exploratory and limited. The work suggests oxytocin’s effects depend on brain region and context, offering clues for autism and anxiety, but further research is needed.

via ScienceAlert|

#fear-extinction #mice #oxytocin

neuroscience15 days ago•9 min saved

Silencing the Brain’s Executive Center Accelerates Creative Strategy Shifts in Mice

In mice, the medial prefrontal cortex—traditionally linked to flexible thinking—can impede problem-solving by enforcing a memory-based win-stay habit. Chemogenetic silencing of the mPFC speeds the shift to a superior sound-guided strategy from 4–8 days in controls to 2–3 days, with the auditory cortex also crucial for cue learning. These findings suggest suppressing executive control can help acquire new, sensory-driven habits and may guide human therapies (e.g., TMS) to modulate prefrontal activity in cognitive disorders.

via Neuroscience News|

#auditory-cortex #learning #mice

science1 month ago•8 min saved

Single Dose of Rapamycin Rapidly Reverses Autism-Like Symptoms in Adult Mice

Maternal inflammation during pregnancy induces lasting autism-like brain changes in mice; a single dose of rapamycin quickly normalized neuronal activity, reduced seizures, and improved sensory processing and repetitive behaviors within about two hours. The effects were temporary and rapamycin is not a practical human treatment, but the study highlights the brain's functional adaptability and points to new targets in mTOR signaling and circuit modulation.

via ScienceDaily|

#autism #mice #neural-circuits

science1 month ago•5 min saved

Hair-trigger itch: mice reveal vellus hairs as a mechanical itch sensor

A University of Michigan study shows that specialized vellus-like hairs in mice can trigger itching when stroked, with the sensation carried by fast-conducting neurons via the Piezo2 protein. In inflamed skin, these neurons fire more, and silencing the relevant genes reduces itch, suggesting a new pathway for treating chronic itch and supporting the use of mice as models for human itch therapies.

via ScienceAlert|

#itch #mechanosensation #mice

science1 month ago•6 min saved

Heart's hidden neural network shields its rhythm under stress in mice

Researchers in mice identified two distinct subtypes of neurons in the heart’s intrinsic nervous system. Npy+ neurons slow the heart and are required to prevent heart failure, while Ddah1+ neurons buffer the heart during acute stress; loss of Ddah1+ neurons makes stressed mice die, and stimulating them improves survival, revealing a local cardiac circuit that protects heart function under stress with implications for heart disease.

via Nature|

#cardiology #intrinsic-cardiac-nervous-system #mice

science1 month ago•6 min saved

Reviving Purkinje Cell Firing Could Slow Age-Related Mobility Loss

McGill researchers link reduced firing of cerebellar Purkinje cells to age-related declines in gait, balance, and coordination in mice; by using designer receptors (DREADDs) to increase Purkinje cell activity in older animals, motor performance improved on tasks like the Rotarod and a string-pulling task, while decreasing activity in young mice worsened performance, establishing a causal role and offering a potential target to preserve mobility and reduce falls in aging (with implications for neurodegenerative conditions).

via SciTechDaily|

#aging #cerebellum #mice

science1 month ago•7 min saved

The Elephant-Mouse Myth: Not Fear, But Physics and Caution

The enduring belief that elephants fear mice is a myth. Elephants aren’t terrified by small rodents; instead, their cautious behavior comes from poor eyesight and a need to avoid harming small animals, aided by the trunk’s control and an epiglottis that keeps intruders out. The myth traces to ancient Greek fables and has been popularized in media, but observations show elephants move with purpose and restraint, not fear, when encountering mice.

via A-Z Animals|

#anatomy #behavior #elephants

science1 month ago•50 min saved

Myth-Busting: Elephants Don’t Fear Mice—They’re Just Cautious

Elephants aren’t afraid of mice. The popular fear stems from Ancient Greek fables and cartoons, but in reality elephants typically avoid small animals out of caution to avoid harming them, aided by poor eyesight and a trunk that acts with care. Their anatomy, including a protective epiglottis in the trunk, helps prevent small creatures from entering their airways, debunking the myth with biology rather than fear.

via Yahoo|

#anatomy #behavior #elephants

science1 month ago•3 min saved

Mouse Brain Signals Turn Viewed Clips Into Reconstructed Movies

Researchers used single‑cell recordings from the mouse visual cortex to recreate 10‑second videos the mice watched, by applying a dynamic neural encoding model and comparing predicted neuron activity to actual activity. The reconstructions, which improved when more neurons were included and were validated by pixel-level correlations, offer a closer look at how visual information is encoded in the brain and why neural representations can diverge from reality, with work published in eLife.

via SciTechDaily|

#brain-activity #mice #neuroscience

science2 months ago•4 min saved

New York City's Mice Evolve Against Common Poisons, Rutgers Study Finds

Rutgers researchers analyzing rodent samples from New York City, the Washington, D.C. area, New Jersey and Philadelphia found that about 70% of mouse populations carry genetic mutations linked to resistance to commonly used rodenticides, suggesting rapid evolution that could undermine extermination efforts; while rats are adapting too, the study urges cities to shift toward prevention and sanitation (reducing food sources and improving trash management) and notes that developing new pesticides would take years, underscoring the need to preserve the effectiveness of existing products.

via ABC7 New York|

#mice #mutations #new-york-city

science2 months ago•2 min saved

Rutgers study: Philadelphia mice mutating, forcing changes in pest control

A Rutgers University study of rodent samples from the Philadelphia region found that about 70% of mice carry mutations that help them survive poisons, while rats are also evolving to dodge traps, suggesting pest-control strategies must shift toward prevention and sanitation while new chemical formulations are developed over years.

via 6abc Philadelphia|

#mice #mutations #pest-control

technology2 months ago•3 min saved

Early Prime Day Gaming Deals Deliver Big Savings on Monitor, Mouse, Keyboard, and More

Ahead-of-Prime-Day deals roundup highlights major gaming upgrades: a 32-inch Samsung Odyssey G5 curved monitor for $189.99 (42% off), a TCL 65-inch Class QM6K QLED TV for $527.99, a Logitech G305 Lightspeed wireless mouse for $30.99, a Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro wired mechanical keyboard for $182.99, and Klipsch R-40PM bookshelf speakers for $316.99, with additional gaming deals live before Prime Day runs June 23–26.

via Mashable|

#gaming-deals #keyboards #mice

medical-research2 months ago•5 min saved

Cool combo shields mouse brains from stroke damage by slowing metabolism

A two-drug combo (chlorpromazine and promethazine) lowers body temperature in mice by dilating skin vessels and slowing metabolism, reducing brain tissue death and improving outcomes after induced stroke; a human trial found the therapy safe but not effective at the tested doses, suggesting potential to extend the treatment window if optimized.

via Nature|

#chlorpromazine #hypothermia #medical-research