JNeurosci: Highlights From the January 11 Issue
Check out these newsworthy studies from the January 11, 2017, issue of JNeurosci. Media interested in obtaining the full text of the studies should contact media@sfn.org.
Chemotherapy Drug Targets Specific Brain Network to Cause Anorexia and Weight Loss
Every year, hundreds of thousands of cancer patients undergo chemotherapy and many of them experience serious side effects like nausea, loss of appetite, and weight loss. The lack of effective treatments to mitigate these effects stems from an incomplete understanding of how chemotherapy drugs act in the brain to cause anorexia and weight loss. In a new study in rats, researchers reveal how cisplatin — a widely used chemotherapy drug — acts on a specific network of neurons in the brain to produce anorexia and weight loss.
Corresponding author: Bart De Jonghe, bartd@nursing.upenn.edu
Higher Heart Rate Variability May Be Linked to Greater Self-Control in Dietary Choices
Although undetectable to our ears, the rhythmic “lub dub” of the beating heart is variable: The time between subsequent heartbeats constantly varies by fractions of a second, and previous studies have linked higher heart rate variability to improved health. In a new study, researchers find people with higher heart rate variability are better able to resist temptation in a dietary self-control task. Higher heart rate variability is linked to increased activity in an area of the brain important for decision-making.
Corresponding author: Silvia Maier, silvia.maier@econ.uzh.ch
Mitochondria Damage in Brain Injury Is Reversible in Mice
Mitochondria are small, rod-shaped structures that generate energy to power cells. Traumatic brain injury and stroke fragment mitochondria, compromising their ability to produce energy and support neurons. In a new study using in vivo two-photon microscopy in mice, researchers measure mitochondrial fragmentation in a range of brain injuries and find the damage is reversible in mild to moderate injury, suggesting interventions targeting mitochondria as potential therapies for traumatic and ischemic brain injury.
Corresponding author: Sergei Kirov, skirov13@gmail.com
The Journal of Neuroscience is published by the Society for Neuroscience, an organization of nearly 38,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and nervous system.
