The researchers focused on mouse retinal ganglion cells in the study, which project from the retina to the superior colliculus a part of the brain where they synapse onto downstream target neurons.
Numerous treatments are being developed to target the genes causing the more than 100 epilepsies that have been linked to a single gene mutation.
Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and Parkinson’s disease are among the neurodegenerative diseases that are characterized by the buildup of abnormal proteins.
The researchers then demonstrated that specific neurons and synapses along this pathway are highly activated when mice expect and experience pain relief, even in the absence of medication.
