news

Motor neuron disease electrical signalling pathways mapped

A study has used EEG to investigate the neuron networks that act abnormally in the condition, providing a significant step in the search for treatments.

Researchers have identified characteristic changes in the patterns of electrical brain wave activity in motor neurone disease (MND) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients. The team believe that these findings can lead to the development of new treatments for the conditions.

The study was conducted by the Academic Unit of Neurology at Trinity College Dublin. Using electroencephalography (EEG), the team captured second to second changes in electrical signalling and identified specific groups and networks of neurons that behave abnormally in the diseases. They also discovered more than six different brain networks associated with the conditions.

This is the first time that EEG has been used to study the diseases this way. Using EEG is a more cost-effective way to scanning patients with MND and ALS than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which has traditionally been used.

 

Reserve your FREE place

 


Are low affinity or poor TCR yields slowing you down?

Explore how CHO expression of soluble TCRs and TCR affinity maturation workflows via phage, serving as essential building blocks for early-stage TCR-TCE candidate generation.

22 October 2025 | 16:00 PM BST | FREE Webinar

Join Jiansheng Wu, Ph.D. to explore two integrated strategies:

  • High-titer CHO-based expression of sTCRs (~100 mg/L), enabling scalable and high-throughput production
  • Optimized phage display affinity maturation, improving TCR binding by up to ~10,000-fold

Whether you’re starting a new TCR program or optimizing an existing platform, this session will offer actionable strategies to accelerate discovery and improve candidate quality.

Register Now – It’s Free!

 

They also discovered more than six different brain networks associated with the conditions

Senior author of the study, Dr Bahman Nasseroleslami, said: “The emerging technologies such as advanced signal analysis and electrical source imaging of the brain are changing our understanding of MND and related diseases. We can now use EEG, which is inexpensive compared to MRI, to probe brain networks instantaneously and identify important changes that reflect the impact of the disease on the patients.”

“There is an urgent need for new treatments that can slow disease progression and the development of new biomarkers that can help to identify patient subgroups is a very important unmet need,” said Head of the Academic Unit of Neurology at Trinity, Professor Orla Hardiman.

The findings were published in Human Brain Mapping.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *