Can this be expanded to movement sequences not in the study?? ;-{Q} Just thought the headline was humorous... On Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 1:52 PM, Meir Weiss <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > -----Original Message----- > From: NIH news releases and news items [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On > Behalf Of NIH OLIB (NIH/OD) > Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 3:14 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: SCIENTISTS IDENTIFY BRAIN CIRCUITS RELATED TO THE INITIATION AND > TERMINATION OF MOVEMENT SEQUENCES IN NIH-SUPPORTED STUDY > > U.S. Department of Health and Human Services > NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News > National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) > <http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/> > For Immediate Release: Thursday, July 22, 2010 > > CONTACT: NIAAA Press Office, 301-443-3860, > <e-mail:[log in to unmask]<[log in to unmask]> > > > > SCIENTISTS IDENTIFY BRAIN CIRCUITS RELATED TO THE INITIATION AND > TERMINATION > OF MOVEMENT SEQUENCES IN NIH-SUPPORTED STUDY > > In humans, throwing a ball, typing on a keyboard, or engaging in most other > physical activities involves the coordination of numerous discrete > movements > that are organized as action sequences. Scientists at the National > Institutes of Health and the Gulbenkian Institute in Portugal have > identified brain activity in mice that can signal the initiation and > termination of newly learned action sequences. The findings appear online > today in the current issue of Nature. > > "This interesting report should advance our understanding of the > neurobiology of movement disorders, and open new avenues of research for > their treatment and prevention," says Kenneth R. Warren, Ph.D., acting > director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), > part of the NIH. > > The study was conducted by Xin Jin, Ph.D. an investigator in the NIAAA > Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience, and Rui M. Costa, D.V.M, Ph.D., > principal investigator of the Champalimaud Neuroscience Program at the > Gulbenkian Institute. The researchers trained mice to press a lever > exactly > eight times to receive a sugar-water reward. As the mice learned this > task, > the researchers monitored brain cell activity in the animals' basal > ganglia, > deep brain structures that are known to help start and control movement. > > "We recorded activity in the dorsal striatum and substantia nigra during > the > learning of novel action sequences," explained Dr. Jin. "Although previous > studies have reported changes in neural activity in these areas during > movement, their role in the initiation and termination of newly learned > action sequences has not been explored." > > Drs. Costa and Jin discovered that certain neurons in these regions > exhibited a change in activity before the first lever press of a sequence, > while other neurons showed a change in activity before the last press of a > sequence. They also noticed that this activity signaling the initiation > and > termination of each action sequence emerged during learning. > > The researchers then evaluated these circuits in mice that had been > genetically manipulated to disrupt the development of the start and stop > signals. The researchers found the manipulation had impaired the learning > of > the lever-pressing sequence. > > "Our findings demonstrate that as we learn novel action sequences, these > basal ganglia circuits develop activity that signals the beginning and end > of each sequence," says Dr. Costa. "These results could have important > implications for disorders where these circuits degenerate, such as > Parkinson's and Huntington's disease, in which the initiation and > termination of voluntary movement sequences are impaired. More broadly, > they > are relevant for understanding how we learn and control the execution of > behavioral sequences, which may impact disorders of action control like > compulsivity." > > The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the > National > Institutes of Health, is the primary U.S. agency for conducting and > supporting research on the causes, consequences, prevention, and treatment > of alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and alcohol problems. NIAAA also disseminates > research findings to general, professional, and academic audiences. > Additional alcohol research information and publications are available at > <www.niaaa.nih.gov>. > > The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation's Medical Research > Agency -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. > Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency > for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical > research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both > common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, > visit <www.nih.gov>. > > ## > > This NIH News Release is available online at: > <http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jul2010/niaaa-22.htm>. > > To subscribe (or unsubscribe) from this list, go to > <http://service.govdelivery.com/service/subscribe.html?code=USNIH_1>. > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature > database 5302 (20100722) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature > database 5302 (20100722) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > > ----------------------- > > To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here: > > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy > -- Kendall An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!) The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. -George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950 ----------------------- To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy