Causes of Disorder Remain Elusive.

• Position: EPILEPSY

In many cases of epilepsy--a disorder that disrupts the normal pattern of electrical activity in the brain and often results in seizures--the underlying cause is unknown, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, but researchers at the University of Arizona might have found an explanation for some forms of epilepsy. Their results are published in Molecular Neurobiology.

The researchers studied a gene in mice that influences the formation and function of connections between muscle and motor neurons, which control bodily movement. They discovered that when a protein called TMEM184B, which is found on cell membranes of neurons, Is not present, neurons appeared damaged and fired too often, says research technician and lead study author Tiffany Cho. The researchers wondered how the seemingly damaged neurons might affect their ability to fire the muscles properly. So, Cho and her coauthors next investigated the corresponding protein, called Tmep, in fruit flies, which are easier to study at the cellular level.

"What we found in the fruit flies was that the neurons seem to overreact to an individual stimulus," says study coauthor Martha Bhattach-arya, assistant...