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 […]

Research News

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 […]

Research News

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 […]

Research News

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, […]

Research News

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 […]

Research News

Can We See Autism in the Brain?

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a set of neurodevelopmental conditions whose main symptoms include reduced social interactions and elevated repetitive behaviors. Despite large research efforts, the high geno- and phenotypical heterogeneity amongst ASD patients poses […]

Research News

A Deep Dive into the Brain

Oligodendrocytes wrap the axons of neurons with a fat-containg myelin sheath allowing the fast propagation of electric impulses. In certain diseases, for example in Multiple Sclerosis patients, oligodendrocytes are lost leading to neurodegeneration. Oligodendrocytes can […]

Research News

Alzheimer’s Disease Optical Biomarkers

The deposition of beta-amyloid and tau are hallmarks of Alzheimer`s disease.It has been implicated in neuronal dysfunction, ultimately leading to cognitive impairment and dementia. Techniques to visualize these processes in animal models of the disease […]

Research News

Establishing A New Biomarker for Epilepsy

High-frequency brain waves (HFO) have been initially established as epilepsy biomarkers using electrodes that are implanted directly into the brain. Recently, these brain waves have also been recorded in the non-invasive scalp EEG, indicating their […]