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A new theory of consciousness provides experimental access to the study of this phenomenon. Not just in humans.
Two researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have come up with a new theory of consciousness. They have long been exploring the nature of consciousness, the question of how and where the brain generates consciousness, and whether animals also have consciousness. The new concept describes consciousness as a state that is tied to complex cognitive operations – and not as a passive basic state that automatically prevails when we are awake.
Professor Armin Zlomuzica from the Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience research group at RUB and Professor Ekrem Dere, formerly at Université Paris-Sorbonne, now at RUB, describe their theory in the journal Behavioural Brain Research. The printed version will be published on 15 February 2022, the online article has been available since November 2021.
Birds and humans have very different networks of neurons in their brains. Nevertheless, their working memory is limited by similar mechanisms.
The working memory is the brain’s ability to process information for a short period of time in a retrievable state. It is essential for performing complex cognitive tasks, such as thinking, planning, following instructions or solving problems. A team of researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has now succeeded in investigating this special area of memory in birds in more detail and in comparing it to data storage in the mammalian brain. The scientists found that birds and monkeys – despite their different brain architecture – share the same central mechanisms and limits of working memory.
The researchers from the Neural Basis of Learning department at RUB have published the results in the journal eLife on 3 December 2021.
Veränderungen der Darmflora beeinflussen den Verlauf der Erkrankung. Dazu plant das ausgezeichnete Team weitere Studien.
Autoimmunerkrankungen wie die Multiple Sklerose (MS) gehen häufig mit einem Ungleichgewicht der Darmflora einher. Ob und wie die Gabe von bestimmten Nahrungsergänzungsmitteln wie Propionsäure erfolgversprechend für die Behandlung ist, wird ein Forschungsteam unter Leitung von Prof. Dr. Ralf Gold untersuchen. Für das geplante Projekt wurde das Team der Klinik für Neurologie des St. Josef Hospitals der Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) am 4. November 2021 mit dem 12. Oppenheim-Förderpreis für Multiple Sklerose der Firma Novartis Pharma GmbH ausgezeichnet. Der Preis ist mit 50.000 Euro dotiert.
When the brain stores memories of objects, it creates a characteristic pattern of activity for each of them. Stress changes such memory traces.
Stressful experiences are usually remembered more easily than neutral experiences. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have analysed the reasons why this is the case. They put people in stressful situations during simulated job interviews and then recorded their memory of objects from these interviews. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, they analysed brain activity while the participants saw the objects again. Memories of objects from stressful situations seem to rely on similar brain activity as memories of the stress trigger itself.
The team headed by Anne Bierbrauer, Professor Oliver Wolf and Professor Nikolai Axmacher from the RUB Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience describes the findings in the journal Current Biology, published online on 14 October 2021.
Ein Nachmittag im Zeichen der Bochumer Neurowissenschaften mit Vorträgen, Informationen und Mitmachaktionen – dieses Jahr erstmalig als Online-Veranstaltung.
Von der Grundlagenforschung bis zur Therapie – die virtuellen Besucherinnen und Besucher des Brain Day lernen das komplexeste menschliche Organ von einer ganz neuen Seite kennen: Am 29. September 2021 dreht sich beim Sonderforschungsbereich (SFB) 874 an der RUB alles um das Gehirn. Von technischen Brain Hacks, über erfolgreiche Hirntumortherapien, bis hin zu musikalischer Gehirnakrobatik – die Brain-Day-Gäste erwartet zwischen 13.30 und 17.30 Uhr ein buntes Programm aus Vorträgen und Mitmach-Aktionen rund um aktuelle Themen aus den Neurowissenschaften. Ergänzt wird die Agenda durch spannende Blicke hinter die Kulissen und direkt in die Labore des Sonderforschungsbereichs.
A Bochum-based research team triggered artificial odour sensations in rats – and looked at what happens in the brain as a result.
Once a scent is detected, different areas of the brain are activated. A team from the Department of Neurophysiology at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has recently discovered that structures of the olfactory sense work closely together with the brain’s reward and aversion systems. This means that scents are processed not only by the olfactory centre but also by regions responsible for emotions and valence determination. The findings were published in the journal “Cerebral Cortex” on 11 August 2021.
Dr. Christina Strauch, PhD student Thu-Huong Hoang, and Professor Denise Manahan-Vaughan from the Department of Neurophysiology collaborated on the study with Professor Frank Angenstein from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Magdeburg.
Eine Studie soll zeigen, ob die Einnahme einer Fettsäure die Nervenerkrankung CIDP positiv beeinflussen kann. Bei Multipler Sklerose ist das der Fall.
ähnlich wie bei Multipler Sklerose (MS) greift das Immunsystem bei der chronisch-entzündlichen demyelinisierenden Polyneuropathie, kurz CIDP, die Isolierschicht der Nervenzellen an. Das führt zu fortschreitender Schwäche und Missempfindungen. „Das Ausmaß autoimmuner Entzündungen wird vom Immunsystem des Verdauungstrakts und der Gemeinschaft der im Darm lebenden Bakterien, dem Mikrobiom, bestimmt“, erklärt Dr. Anna Fisse aus der Neurologischen Universitätsklinik der Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) im St. Josef Hospital (Klinikdirektor: Prof. Dr. Ralf Gold). Die Ernährung hat einen großen Einfluss auf das Mikrobiom. Ob die Einnahme von Propionsäure den Verlauf der CIDP ebenso wie bei MS verbessern kann, soll eine Studie zeigen, die Anfang 2022 startet.
Wozu haben wir ein Gedächtnis? Aktuellen Forschungen zufolge nicht nur dafür, um in Erinnerungen an Vergangenes zu schwelgen.
Unser Gehirn speichert Erlebtes ab, um daraus Vorhersagen für die Zukunft ableiten zu können. Sollten diese nicht mit der Realität übereinstimmen, es also zu einem Vorhersagefehler gekommen sein, werden nicht nur neue Erwartungen erzeugt, sondern auch die Erinnerungen modifiziert. Diese neue Sicht auf das Gedächtnis wirft viele Forschungsfragen auf, denen sich ein Forschungskonsortium der Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) und der Universität Duisburg Essen (UDE) ab Januar 2022 fünf Jahre lang widmen wird. Es wird vom Mercator Research Center Ruhr (MERCUR) mit rund zwei Millionen Euro gefördert.
Unlike conventional light-controllable proteins, the newly characterized optogenetic tool can be switched off, not switched on, by light. It could be suitable for investigating the basic principles of epilepsy.
A new optogenetic tool, a protein that can be controlled by light, has been characterized by researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB). They used an opsin – a protein that occurs in the brain and eyes – from zebrafish and introduced it into the brain of mice. Unlike other optogenetic tools, this opsin is not switched on but rather switched off by light. Experiments also showed that the tool could be suitable for investigating changes in the brain that are responsible for the development of epilepsy.
The teams led by Professor Melanie Mark from the Behavioural Neurobiology Research Group and Professor Stefan Herlitze from the Department of General Zoology and Neurobiology describe the experiments and results in the journal Nature Communications, published online on 23 July 2021.
While in the past it was mainly car accident victims, today it is older people who come to hospital with head injuries after falls.
About 270,000 people suffer a traumatic brain injury in Germany every year. The over-65s are increasingly affected. This is the result of a study conducted by researchers from the BG Kliniken chain of hospitals under the direction of the Neurological Clinic of the Ruhr Universität Bochum (RUB) of the BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil. Falls are often the cause. The researchers advise more preventative measures, such as removing tripping hazards in the home or training the use of walking aids. The study is the first on epidemiology and causes of traumatic brain injury in over 20 years. The research team reports in the journal BMJ Open of 4 June 2021.
Umfassende Informationen und öffentlicher Dialog stehen im Fokus
Wie viele Tiere welcher Arten werden in der Forschung eingesetzt? Wie sind die Regeln für diesen Einsatz? Was wird unternommen, um Tierversuche zu vermeiden? über diese und weitere Fragen wollen die Unterzeichner der Initiative Transparente Tierversuche informieren und den öffentlichen Dialog suchen. Die Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) und das Universitätsklinikum der RUB gehören zu den Erstunterzeichnenden der Initiative, die die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft gemeinsam mit dem Bündnis „Tierversuche verstehen“ ins Leben gerufen hat. Grundlegende Informationen über Tierversuche an der RUB finden sich online. Die Webseite soll künftig weiter wachsen und mehr Einblicke gewähren.
An international research team has investigated mechanisms behind sensory abnormalities following nerve injuries.
Palsy, numbness or pain: people with nerve injuries suffer from these symptoms. For those affected, such sensory abnormalities can mean permanent and significant restrictions – which may even prevent them from working. An international research team including the Department of Neurology at BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil of Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB, director: Professor Martin Tegenthoff) has recently demonstrated that sensory abnormalities following unilateral nerve injuries can not only occur in the affected area of the body but often also in the contralateral mirror-image body area. The results of the study were published in the journal “Neurology” on 19 May 2021 under the leadership of Professor Elena Enax-Krumova, holder of the endowed professorship of the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV).
Alternative splicing can lead to the formation of numerous protein variants. For the first time, alternative splicing has now been systematically analysed for the family of glutamate receptors.
Proteins are encoded by genes – however, this information is divided into small coding sections, which are only assembled during a process called splicing. Various combinations are possible, some of which are still unknown. Dr. Robin Herbrechter and Professor Andreas Reiner from the junior research group Cellular Neurobiology at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) now systematically analysed alternative splicing in the family of ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs), which is essential for signal processing in the brain. These findings were published in the journal Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences on 8 June 2021.
Die Gen-Veränderungen, die zu Morbus Huntington führen können, scheinen sich Jahrzehnte vor Symptombeginn unter Umständen positiv auf bestimmte kognitive Funktionen auszuwirken.
Eine erhöhte Anzahl von Wiederholungen der Basenabfolge CAG im Huntingtin-Gen wird üblicherweise mit Morbus Huntington in Verbindung gebracht. Ein Forschungsteam der Ruhr-Universität Bochum und der University of Iowa erbrachte nun Hinweise, dass eine vermehrte Zahl von CAG-Wiederholungen im gesunden Bereich oder leicht oberhalb der pathologischen Schwelle positive Effekte auf die kognitive Leistung haben könnte. Menschen mit mehr CAG-Wiederholungen schnitten bei verschiedenen Tests der kognitiven Leistungsfähigkeit besser ab als Menschen mit weniger CAG-Wiederholungen. Das ergab eine statistische Analyse von Daten aus der Enroll-HD-Kohorte, in die mittlerweile rund 21.000 Personen eingeschlossen sind. Die Ergebnisse sind in der Zeitschrift Neurology vom 10. Mai 2021 veröffentlicht.
Studies on tissue from patients and mini-brains made from stem cells shed light on the disease.
In addition to plaques that accumulate outside of nerve cells in the brain, Alzheimer’s disease is also characterised by changes inside these cells. Researchers from the Cell Signalling research group at the Chair of Molecular Biochemistry at RUB, headed by Dr. Thorsten Müller, have been studying what exactly happens in these cells. They published their report in the journal Acta Neuropathological Communications on 13 April 2021.
At worst, a restricted blood supply to the retina can lead to blindness. Bochum researchers have gained new insights into the underlying mechanism.
Many eye diseases are associated with a restricted blood supply, known as ischaemia, which can lead to blindness. The role of the protein tenascin-C, an extracellular matrix component, in retinal ischaemia was investigated in mice by researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB). They showed that tenascin-C plays a crucial role in damaging the cells responsible for vision following ischaemia. The results were published online by the team in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience on 20 May 2021.
Lernen und vergessen stehen im Mittelpunkt des einen, die Reduktion von CO2 bei Verbrennungsprozessen im Fokus des anderen.
Zwei Sonderforschungsbereiche (SFB) an der Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) gehen in die nächste Förderphase: Die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) bewilligte die zweite Förderphase für den SFB 1280 „Extinktionslernen“, an dem Forschende der RUB, der Universität Duisburg-Essen, der Philipps-Universität Marburg sowie des Leibniz-Instituts für Arbeitsforschung an der Technischen Universität Dortmund Ifado beteiligt sind. In die dritte Förderphase startet der SFB/Transregio 129 „Oxyflame – Entwicklung von Methoden und Modellen zur Beschreibung der Reaktion fester Brennstoffe in einer Oxyfuel-Atmosphäre“. Der SFB/TR 129 ist beheimatet an der Rheinisch-Westfälischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen sowie an der RUB und der Technischen Universität Darmstadt.
Bochum researchers have discovered an unexpected effect. It might open up new avenues for developing therapies after brain or spinal cord damage.
Damage to nerve fibers in the central nervous system – brain, spinal cord, or optic nerve– often results in lifelong and severe disabilities, such as paraplegia or blindness. Although we are aware of various reasons why nerves fail to regenerate, their treatment has not yet led to any significant clinical successes. A research team from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has made a discovery that could partly explain the problem and open possibilities for developing new therapeutic approaches: Nerves release a protein at the injury site that attracts growing nerve fibers and thus keeps them entrapped there. This prevents them from growing in the right direction to bridge the injury. The research team headed by Professor Dietmar Fischer reports in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) from 25. May 2021.
The more natural the position of an arm prosthesis, the more precise the control – this is the result of a Bochum study on brain-computer interfaces in the therapy of severely paralysed patients.
Invasive brain-computer interfaces aim to improve the quality of life of severely paralysed patients. Movement intentions are read out in the brain, and this information is used to control robotic limbs. A research team at the Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum Langendreer, University Clinic of Ruhr-Universität Bochum, has examined which errors can occur during communication between the brain and the robotic prosthesis and which of them are particularly significant. With the aid of a virtual reality model, the researchers found that a faulty alignment of the prosthesis, the so-called end effector, results in a measurable loss of performance. The Bochum-based researchers headed by Dr. Christian Klaes from the Department of Neurosurgery published the results in the journal “Scientific Reports”.
Rechts-Links-Unterschiede sind ein generelles Organisationsprinzip des Gehirns. Bei vielen Krankheiten kommt es jedoch zu Verschiebungen.
Rechte und linke Gehirnhälfte unterscheiden sich sowohl strukturell als auch in ihrer funktionellen Organisation. Diese hemisphärische Asymmetrie ist bei Menschen mit psychischen Krankheiten und Hirnentwicklungsstörungen häufig anders ausgeprägt als bei Gesunden. Mit diesen Rechts-Links-Unterschieden und ihrer klinischen Relevanz befasst sich ein neues Lehrbuch von Dr. Annakarina Mundorf, die 2020 in der experimentellen und molekularen Psychiatrie des LWL-Universitätsklinikums Bochum promoviert hat, und Prof. Dr. Sebastian Ocklenburg von der Arbeitseinheit Biopsychologie der Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Es ist unter dem Titel „The Clinical Neuroscience of Lateralization“ am 12. Mai 2021 im Routledge-Verlag erschienen.
Researchers regard the overall distribution of receptors in the brain – the receptome – as a new approach for computer models that reproduce the function of the brain, and for diagnostics and therapy of mental disorders.
In the brain, more than a hundred molecular substances act as transmitters that control communication pathways between nerve cells via thousands of different receptor types. In a review article, an international research team discusses how the activation of certain nerve cell receptors affects neuronal networks in the brain. The authors from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and Oxford University present concepts to quantify receptor-specific modulations of brain states. They have also developed a computer model that can predict the impact of individual receptor types on brain activity.
Biopsychologe Onur Güntürkün und Philosoph Heinrich Wansing erhalten die begehrte EU-Förderung.
Das Gehirn von Vögeln ist vollkommen anders strukturiert als das von Säugetieren. Wie es funktioniert will Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Onur Güntürkün, Biopsychologe an der Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), herausfinden. Der Philosoph Prof. Dr. Heinrich Wansing stellt sich der Herausforderung widersprüchlicher Logiken, die einen rigorosen Bruch mit der aristotelischen Tradition verlangen. Beide Forscher werden bei ihren Vorhaben vom European Research Council (ERC) für die kommenden fünf Jahre mit einem Advanced Grant gefördert. Der ERC Advanced Grant wird an erfahrene Spitzenforschende verliehen, die herausragende wissenschaftliche Arbeit geleistet haben und neue Forschungsgebiete erschließen wollen.
Wer zum Lernen gezwungen wird, merkt sich nicht so viel wie jemand, der selbstständig übt. Warum das so ist, haben Neurowissenschaftlerinnen und -wissenschaftler nun herausgefunden.
Ein internationales Forschungsteam hat erstmals die physiologischen Mechanismen identifiziert, die dafür verantwortlich sind, dass Menschen besonders effizient lernen, wenn sie es selbstbestimmt aus einer Eigenmotivation heraus tun. Entscheidend hierfür sind Hirnwellen im Theta-Frequenzbereich, die eine für das Gedächtnis wichtige Hirnregion, den Hippocampus, regulieren – genauer gesagt dessen Fähigkeit, Informationen zu speichern und abzurufen. Das Team des SPECS Laboratory am Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia berichtet über die Forschung zusammen mit Forschenden der Abteilung Neuropsychologie der Ruhr-Universität Bochum in der Zeitschrift Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, kurz PNAS. Die Publikation erscheint online in der Woche vom 1. März 2021.
Stress can be triggered and investigated in different ways. But do they also lead to the same result?
Scientists use many different tests to investigate what happens in the brain in people experiencing stress. It is unclear to what extent the various methods with which subjects are placed under stress are comparable to each other. In a meta-analysis, a biopsychology team from Ruhr-Universität Bochum compared 31 previous studies that had investigated stress using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The team worked out which regions of the brain are activated as standard during stress and which stress tests trigger similar activation patterns. They describe the results in the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, published online on 5 February 2021.
Magnetic nanoparticles raise hopes of treatments for Parkinson’s.
One reason why nerve damage in the brain cannot regenerate easily is that the neurites do not know in which direction they should grow. A team of researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), Sorbonne University Paris, and the Technische Universität Braunschweig is now working on showing them the direction using magnetic nanoparticles. The team led by Professor Rolf Heumann, Senior Researcher for Molecular Neurobiochemistry at RUB, is hoping that this will allow the effects of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s to be alleviated over the long term. The results of the work were published on 31 December 2020 in the journal Scientific Reports.
Using gene therapy, a research team has succeeded for the first time in getting mice to walk again after a complete cross-sectional injury. The nerve cells produced the curative protein themselves.
To date, paralysis resulting from spinal cord damage has been irreparable. With a new therapeutic approach, scientists from the Department for Cell Physiology at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) headed by Professor Dietmar Fischer have succeeded for the first time in getting paralyzed mice to walk again. The keys to this are the protein hyper-interleukin-6, which stimulates nerve cells to regenerate, and the way how it is supplied to the animals. The researchers published their report in the Journal Nature Communications from 15 January 2021.
Kissing, cuddling, chatting – thanks to modern research equipment, researchers have been able to record the brain activity of couples in emotional situations at home.
Research into the neuronal basis of emotion processing has so far mostly taken place in the laboratory, i.e. in unrealistic conditions. Bochum-based biopsychologists have now studied couples in more natural conditions. Using electroencephalography (EEG), they recorded the brain activity of romantic couples at home while they cuddled, kissed or talked about happy memories together. The results confirmed the theory that positive emotions are mainly processed in the left half of the brain.
A group led by Dr. Julian Packheiser, Gesa Berretz, Celine Bahr, Lynn Schockenhoff and Professor Sebastian Ocklenburg from the Department of Biopsychology at Ruhr-Universität Bochum describes the results in the journal Scientific Reports, published online on 13 January 2021.
Patients with eating disorders automatically slide sideways through doors that are actually wide enough for them. This is an indication of how they unconsciously overestimate their corpulence.
People with anorexia nervosa have a distorted relationship with the dimensions of their body. A study by the team at the Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at LWL University Hospital at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has shown that, in addition to the conscious body image, what is known as the body schema – unconscious body awareness – is also distorted. It normally adapts to the current situation. In patients with anorexia, it could remain at the same level as before the start of the illness. The researchers led by Professor Martin Diers recommend a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy and the use of virtual reality to correct the distorted body schema. The study is published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders on 20 December 2020.
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