Everyone can appreciate the importance of human connection. These are developed and maintained through communication between an individual and their wider network that keep each of us an integrated part of a wider community. This same can be used to describe the organization of the brain where individual nerve cells (called neurons) establish connections with those closest to them, and also reach out to make connections with neurons in other areas of the brain. These ‘long distance’ connections are called neural pathways. They are essentially the routes through which different parts of the brain communicate. This process of wiring of the brain takes place as the fetus develops during pregnancy. Disruption of this wiring process can lead to changes in specific neural pathways which are seen in disorders like autism. At the other end of life, if specific neural pathways are lost or...

During development the sympathetic branch of the nervous system is assembled by the differentiation of immature neurons (neuroblasts) into mature sympathetic neurons. In rare cases this process does not happen correctly and the cells become cancerous. This type of cancer is called a Neuroblastoma that occurs almost exclusively in babies and children. Neuroblastoma is the most common solid tumor that occurs outside the brain in infants and children and it is responsible for 15% of childhood cancer deaths. Although the survival rates are good for some patients, those children diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma have survival rates as low as 35%. Moreover relapses are common and these relapses are often treatment resistant. For this reason neuroblastoma remains a significant clinical challenge and the development of novel treatment strategies is essential.

Given that there is...

The brain is responsible for our experience of, and acts as the interface between, the self and the outside world. Everything we think, feel, remember and dream is written by a precisely-interconnected community of ~100 billion brain cells. Have you ever wondered where the different types of neurons in your brain originate from? Or how these brain cells then find their way to connect with other cells, up to a metre away in our body? These answers can be found in the developing brain, which arises from the microscopic, but miraculous, embryo.

Creation of our brain
Very early in human development, the embryo consists simply of three fundamental cell layers: outer ectoderm (becomes outer-body parts e.g. skin/hair/teeth); middle mesoderm (develops into muscles, bones and blood vessels); and inner endoderm (forms our inner-body compartments e.g. gut/lungs). That’s most of our body covered...

We recently publish an invited review on our work on proteins called bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) that we are examining as a potential therapy for Parkinson’s in work funded by Science Foundation Ireland. This is an open access read available at:
www.neuronalsignaling.org/content/early/2017/02/24/NS20170027

Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, characterised by the degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons and their axons, and aggregation of protein deposits of α-synuclein, which leads to motor and late-stage cognitive impairments. As the motor symptoms of PD are caused by the degeneration of a specific population of neurons, PD lends itself to ‘neurotrophic factor therapy’. The goal of this therapy is to apply a neurotrophic factor which can slow down, halt or even reverse the progressive degeneration of mDA neurons. In this review we provide an...

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common, progressive and age-related neurodegenerative disease, whose incidence is set to double by 2030 as people are living longer. At present, it is estimated that ten million people worldwide suffer with PD. Despite its relentless progression, both in disease severity and in numbers affected, and despite intense research efforts, PD remains incurable. The symptoms of PD are movement (e.g. shakes, stiffness, slowness and imbalance) and non-movement-related (e.g. sleep, blood pressure and mood) disturbances, resulting from the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the brain and autonomic neurons throughout the body. One of the most promising strategies for modifying the progression of PD and treating its symptoms, involves protecting and/or restoring these dying dopaminergic and autonomic neurons. However, recent clinical trials which aimed to promote the...

The word ‘Struggle’ was explored at the dlr Mill Theatre, Dundrum Dublin on the 8th of December 2016. Among the invited speakers was Dr. Shane Hegarty, lecturer and researcher in the Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience.

‘FiftyTwoWords’ is an Irish based initiative, each event is focused around one word or one theme and its aim is to create an environment that excites and engages participants on a range of diverse topics. In his presentation Dr. Hegarty took an academic approach to explore the word ‘Struggle’. explaining how humans create, manage and perceive struggle, and explored the impact of struggle on our lives from a Neuroscience view-point. Drawing on his experiences as a lecturer and researcher in UCC Dr. Hegarty proposed that ‘struggle can be a creative force for positive change’.

Link to video of Dr Hegarty’s presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu0MpDOkVx0

...

Imagine losing the ability to control your own movements. This is a reality for ~8,000 people in Ireland who suffer from Parkinson’s disease (PD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. At present Parkinson’s is incurable, with current treatments effectively controlling motor symptoms but not affecting disease progression. Moreover, in the next two decades, the number of people with Parkinson’s (PwPs) is expected to double. Therefore, the need for new therapies which can stop, slow or reverse the progression of PD has never been greater.

In Parkinson’s, an essential population of brain cells, called dopaminergic neurons, gradually die. These neurons produce dopamine, a chemical messenger/‘neurotransmitter’, which communicates with the brain to allow us to control our voluntary movements. Progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in PD leads to loss of dopamine in the brain...

Human creation? Most of us are familiar with the biblical story of Adam and Eve. For those less religiously inclined, reproduction might spring to mind. The origin of our inception has long burdened humankind. How about an alternative philosophy? The intention of which is not to replace the Book of Genesis or contradict scientific truths, but to create a ‘brainy’ insight about the beginning. Let’s consider the profound René Descartes quote ‘I think therefore I am’ (Fig. 1).

If conscious thought is what makes us human, then brain creation is intrinsically linked to human creation.

Figure 1: Rene Descartes: I think therefore I am.

Have you ever wondered how your brain is created?
How the most complex entity in existence comes to be? The answer emanates from the microscopic, but miraculous, embryo. Succeeding the unlikely event of a sperm reaching and fusing with an egg, the...

‘Imagine losing the control of your own movements’

What do the worlds’ greatest athlete and a wonderfully creative actor have in common?


They both suffer from Parkinson’s disease. Imagine losing the ability to control your own movements! This is not just a reality for Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox, as 2% of the world’s population over 65 suffer from this disease.

Terrifyingly, the incidence of Parkinson’s disease is set to double in the next 20 years as people are living longer.

What happens in Parkinson’s disease?

In Parkinson’s disease a very important population of brain cells, known as dopaminergic neurons, die. Let’s imagine these dopaminergic neurons as a tree, with the tree’s roots in the midbrain, located between the spinal cord and brain, and the tree’s branches in the brain. These branches produce dopamine which allows us to control our movements. We can almost think of...