Research News

Tracking Neurodegeneration

Many neurological diseases arise initially from a focal lesion. Only with time neurodegeneration spreads to other brain areas and the spinal cord – a phenomena called diaschisis. Currently, neuroimaging studies are performed separately in the […]

Research News

Engineering Networks of Human Neurons

The brain is composed of more than 80 billion neurons, which are highly interconnected and communicate through electrical signals. Understanding how neurons use these electrical signals to exchange information is essential to elucidate the functioning […]

Research News

Silencing Anxiety

Anxiety disorders burden millions of people world-wide. Recently, a new source of anxiety in the brain was identified: the orexin/hypocretin neurons in the hypothalamus. Based on that finding, researchers at ETH Zurich’s D-HEST wanted to […]

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Sleep the Toxins Away

Deep sleep is nowadays recognized as a potential regulator of brain waste removal. Boosting sleep has proven to clear protein deposits that hallmark Alzheimer’s disease. Daniela Noain and Christian Baumann from the Neurology Department at […]

Research News

The Neuropharmacology of Wanting

When reading a blog post like this, you may experience pleasure or ‚liking‘. Purely hypothetically, but for illustrative purposes you might have experienced an anticipatory desire or ‚wanting’ during your Christmas vacation to read the […]

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Alzheimer’s Main Risk Gene

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is linked to the neural build-up of clumps of a protein called β-amyloid peptide and characterized by severe memory loss, confusion or disorientation. One specific gene, known as APOE, has been identified […]

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Rewiring the Adult Brain

The process whereby a neuron generates additional branches to existing other neurons, is called mossy fiber sprouting. This kind of rewiring does normally not occur in the adult brain but is associated with epilepsy. The new excitatory circuits may […]

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The Calm Between the Storms

Electrical activity is omnipresent in our brain as the cells communicate. An epileptic seizure occurs when there is a sudden synchronous burst of intense electrical activity in the brain. To control the excitability of neurons, […]

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Continued International Collaboration

Last year, ZNZ sustained the active partnership with McGill University and in particular with the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI). Within the strategic partnership of UZH with the University of Queensland, ZNZ established a new working […]