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Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed novel serotonin receptor modulators designed as mixed 5-HT2A/2C partial agonists that demonstrate promising disease-modifying potential for Parkinson’s Disease with improved safety and efficacy.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a novel class of compounds for modulating serotonin receptors, offering potential treatment for various psychiatric and neurological disorders without inducing hallucinogenic effects.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a system of reusable, sterilizable 3D-printed surgical tools that enables safe, precise intraoperative deployment of Neuropixels probes within standard neurosurgical workflows.

Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have expanded the knowledge on the rippled β-sheet, a protein structural motif formed by certain racemic peptides. Rippled β-sheets already show potential for Alzheimer’s research and drug delivery and leads to formation of hydrogels with enhanced properties. Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have further added to the structural foundation of rippled β-sheets, better understanding how rippled β-sheet formation can be controlled at the molecular level.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a therapeutic use of cannabinoids for the treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders (NDDs).

Amyloid-β (Aβ) is a protein that is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. Aβ oligomers aggregate to form amyloid plaques, which are found in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. These plaques have high polydispersity; they vary in shape and size. Previously, researchers at UC Santa Cruz demonstrated that using a racemic mixture of Aβ promoted fibril formation, an aggregation that is less neurotoxic than plaques of high polydispersity. Furthermore, these racemic counterparts form rippled β-sheets.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed non-invasive methods for intranasally delivering the drug allopregnanolone.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis and the Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health in Japan have collaborated to develop an enzyme inhibitor that prevents the onset of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a novel stem cell gene therapy approach utilizing a modified SYNGAP1 protein to treat Synaptic Ras GTPase Activating Protein 1-related intellectual disability (SRID).

Current methods for treating nervous system disorders often rely on generalized approaches that may not optimally address the individual patient's specific pathology, leading to suboptimal outcomes. This innovation, developed by UC Berkeley researchers, provides a method to identify the most critical, or "influential," nodes within a patient's functional connectivity network derived from time-series data of an organ or organ system. The method involves obtaining multiple time-series datasets from an affected organ/system, using them to map the functional connectivity network, and then determining the most influential nodes within that network. By providing this specific and personalized information to a healthcare provider, a treatment can be prescribed that precisely targets the respective organ corresponding to these influential nodes. This personalized, data-driven approach offers a significant advantage over conventional treatments by focusing intervention on the most impactful biological targets, potentially leading to more effective and efficient patient care.

Scaled neural sensing has been pursued for decades. Physical limitations associated with electrical (electrode-based) field recordings hinder advances in both field of view and spatial resolution. Electrochromic plasmonics (electro-plasmonics) has emerged as a rapidly advancing field combining traditional electrochromic materials with plasmonic nanostructures, including recent demonstrations of electrochromic-loaded plasmonic nanoantennas for optical voltage sensing. Existing optical electrophysiology techniques face critical limitations including poor signal-to-noise ratios due to low photon counts from genetically encoded voltage indicators, which have small cross-sections and low quantum yields. Fluorescent voltage indicators suffer from photobleaching, phototoxicity, and require genetic modifications that limit their clinical applicability. Current electrochromic devices also struggle with limited cycling stability, slow switching times, and restricted color options, and conventional plasmonic sensors exhibit inherently low electric field sensitivity due to high electron densities of metals like gold and silver. Current approaches to electro-plasmonics lack stable, high-contrast optical modulators that can operate at sub-millisecond speeds while maintaining human biocompatibility.

A fully implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) system that enables direct brain control of lower extremity prostheses to restore walking after neural injury.

A standalone, low-cost robotic device that quantitatively assesses and intensively trains thumb proprioception to enhance motor recovery after neurological injury.

This technology offers a novel approach to treating epilepsy by preventing the spread of epileptic networks and improving memory deficits through targeted electrical stimulation.

A revolutionary redesign of the cervical collar to prevent jugular vein compression, enhancing safety and comfort for neck stabilization.

Advances in biological research have been greatly influenced by the development of organoids, a specialized form of 3D cell culture. Created from pluripotent stem cells, organoids are effective in vitro models in replicating the structure and progression of organ development, providing an exceptional tool for studying the complexities of biology. Among these, cerebral cortex organoids (hereafter "organoid") have become particularly instrumental in providing valuable insights into brain formation, function, and pathology. Despite their potential, organoid experiments present several challenges. Organoids require a rigorous, months-long developmental process, demanding substantial resources and meticulous care to yield valuable data on aspects of biology such as neural unit electrophysiology, cytoarchitecture, and transcriptional regulation. Traditionally the data has been difficult to collect on a more frequent and consistent basis, which limits the breadth and depth of modern organoid biology. Generating and measuring organoids depend on media manipulations, imaging, and electrophysiological measurements. Historically are labor- and skill-intensive processes which can increase risks associated with experimental validity, reliability, efficiency, and scalability.

A novel method for selectively targeting and modulating brain border-associated myeloid cells for the treatment of neurological disorders.

Advances in biological research have been greatly influenced by the development of organoids, a specialized form of 3D cell culture. Created from pluripotent stem cells, organoids are effective in vitro models in replicating the structure and progression of brain development, providing an exceptional tool for studying the complexities of biology. Among these, cortical organoids, comprising in part of neurons, have been instrumental in providing early insights into brain formation, function, and pathology. Functional characteristics of cortical organoids, such as cellular morphology and electrophysiology, provide physiological insight into cellular states and are crucial for understanding the roles of cell types within their specific niches. And while progress has been made studying engineered neuronal systems, decoding the functional properties of neuronal networks and their role in producing behaviors depends in part on recognizing neuronal cell types, their general locations within the brain, and how they connect.

Advances in biological research have been greatly influenced by the development of organoids, a specialized form of 3D cell culture. Created from pluripotent stem cells, organoids are effective in vitro models in replicating the structure and progression of organ development, providing an exceptional tool for studying the complexities of biology. Among these, cerebral cortex organoids (hereafter "organoid") have become particularly instrumental in providing valuable insights into brain formation, function, and pathology. Modern methods of interfacing with organoids involve any combination of encoding information, decoding information, or perturbing the underlying dynamics through various timescales of plasticity. Our knowledge of biological learning rules has not yet translated to reliable methods for consistently training neural tissue in goal-directed ways. In vivo training methods commonly exploit principles of reinforcement learning and Hebbian learning to modify biological networks. However, in vitro training has not seen comparable success, and often cannot utilize the underlying, multi-regional circuits enabling dopaminergic learning. Successfully harnessing in vitro learning methods and systems could uniquely reveal fundamental mesoscale processing and learning principles. This may have profound implications, from developing targeted stimulation protocols for therapeutic interventions to creating energy-efficient bio-electronic systems.

Endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) pathways are integral to critical cellular processes, and their dysfunction is associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. This innovation from UC Berkeley researchers provides compounds that activate VPS4B, VPS4A, or both, which are key components of these ESCRT pathways. These activators offer a novel approach to addressing diseases linked to endosomal-lysosomal and autophagic dysfunction. In comparison to alternatives, these compounds are unique in their ability to activate the VPS4 ATPases.

Advances in biological research have been greatly influenced by the development of organoids, a specialized form of 3D cell culture. Created from pluripotent stem cells, organoids are effective in vitro models in replicating the structure and progression of organ development, providing an exceptional tool for studying the complexities of biology. Among these, cerebral cortex organoids (hereafter “organoid”) have become particularly instrumental in providing valuable insights into brain formation, function, and pathology. Despite their potential, organoid experiments present several challenges. Organoids require a rigorous, months-long developmental process, demanding substantial resources and meticulous care to yield valuable data on aspects of biology such as neural unit electrophysiology, cytoarchitecture, and transcriptional regulation. Traditionally the data has been difficult to collect on a more frequent and consistent basis, which limits the breadth and depth of modern organoid biology. Generating and measuring organoids depend on media manipulations, imaging, and electrophysiological measurements. Historically these are labor- and skill-intensive processes which can increase risks associated with known human error and contamination.

Dysfunction in endosomal-lysosomal and autophagic activity is a critical factor in neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease. This innovation, developed by UC Berkeley researchers, addresses this by providing compounds that act as activators of the AAA+ ATPases VPS4B, VPS4A, or both, which are key components of the ESCRT (Endosomal sorting complexes required for transport) pathways. The compounds are useful for both therapeutic intervention in these diseases and as essential research reagents, offering a unique mechanism to study the effect of ESCRT pathways in biological systems.

A novel method using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) combined with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) as an effective diagnostic tool for Traumatic Brain Injury.

A revolutionary device for the diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks with rapid, accurate, and low-volume sampling at the point of care.