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Rats running mazes may help cure Parkinson's WebPosted Fri Nov 26 00:02:44 1999 http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/1999/11/25/Parkinsons991125 WASHINGTON - American scientists discovered a pattern in neuron firing when humans acquire a new habit. This pattern may help researchers find a treatment for Parkinson's disease. The study appears in Friday's Science magazine. By placing sensors on the striatum, the portion of the brain that is in charge of Parkinson's disease, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were able to observe the rate of neural activity in rats' brains. The sensors detected a flurry of neural activity when the rats learned how to find a treat by travelling through a T-shaped maze. The computer recorded a visible pattern in the portion of the brain that learns new activities and habits. The scientists on the team hope that by pinpointing where the neurons break down, they can control Parkinson's through therapies or medication. Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurological disorder that destroys brain cells that produce a chemical important for movement. Symptoms include muscle stiffening, tremors and difficulty moving. Link: •Science Magazine http://www.sciencemag.org/ •MIT department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences http://web-bcs.mit.edu/ On-line Learning Series of Courses http://www.bestnet.org/~jwalker/course.htm Member: Association for International Business _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ John S. Walker _/ _/ Publisher, CSS Internet News (tm) _/ _/ (Internet Training and Research) _/ _/ PO Box 57247, Jackson Stn., _/ _/ Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8P 4X1 _/ _/ Email [log in to unmask] _/ _/ http://www.bestnet.org/~jwalker _/ _/ _/ _/ "To Teach is to touch a life forever" _/ _/ On the Web one touch can reach so far! _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/