Hippocampus News and Research

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The hippocampus is a part of the forebrain, located in the medial temporal lobe. It belongs to the limbic system and plays major roles in short term memory and spatial navigation. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain.

Researchers discover how PC7 protein affects certain types of cognitive performance

A team of Montr-al researchers at the IRCM led by Dr. Nabil G. Seidah, in collaboration with Dr. William C. Wetsel's team at Duke University in the United States, discovered that the protein PC7 plays a critical role in the brain by affecting certain types of cognitive performance such as anxiety, learning and emotional memory. Their results, recently published in the scientific journals Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and Nature, could have a significant impact on regulating behaviour related to anxiety disorders and trauma.

4 Dec 2013

Cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD affects underlying biology of the disorder

A new paper published in Biological Psychiatry suggests that cognitive behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder not only reduces symptoms but also affects the underlying biology of this disorder.

4 Dec 2013

Scientists identify enzyme that could lead to better treatment of Alzheimer's disease

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified an enzyme that can halt or possibly even reverse the build-up of toxic protein fragments known as plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease. The research appeared in a recent edition of the scientific journal Nature Communications.

3 Dec 2013

Certain hormones which are increased during exercise may help improve memory

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found further evidence that exercise may be beneficial for brain health and cognition. The findings, which are currently available online in Behavioural Brain Research, suggest that certain hormones, which are increased during exercise, may help improve memory.

3 Dec 2013

Neuroscientists discover how brain cells form "geotags" for specific memories

Using a video game in which people navigate through a virtual town delivering objects to specific locations, a team of neuroscientists from the University of Pennsylvania and Freiburg University has discovered how brain cells that encode spatial information form "geotags" for specific memories and are activated immediately before those memories are recalled.

29 Nov 2013

Researchers identify gene responsible for malfunctions in fear-related memory system

A study published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience points, for the first time, to the gene trkC as a factor in susceptibility to the disease. The researchers define the specific mechanism for the formation of fear memories which will help in the development of new pharmacological and cognitive treatments.

29 Nov 2013

Study finds patients with focal epilepsy have widespread, abnormal connections in their brains

Patients with the most common form of focal epilepsy have widespread, abnormal connections in their brains that could provide clues toward diagnosis and treatment, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

20 Nov 2013

BIDMC pilot study shows promise for age-related cognitive disorders

It's well known that the brains of meditators change, but it's not entirely clear what those changes mean or how the changes might benefit the meditator. A new pilot study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center suggests that the brain changes associated with meditation and stress reduction may play an important role in slowing the progression of age-related cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

18 Nov 2013

Research could refine next generation of drugs to help treat dementia

A £1.1 million grant to understand how one of the brain's key neurotransmitters called 'acetylcholine' influences brain activity has been awarded to University of Bristol researchers. The Wellcome Trust award will help scientists understand more precisely how the release of acetylcholine is changing brain cell activity to influence memory and cognition.

15 Nov 2013

Aerobic exercise helps healthy aging adults improve memory, brain health and physical fitness

A new study conducted by researchers at the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas published online in the open-access journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience found that engaging in a physical exercise regimen helps healthy aging adults improve their memory, brain health and physical fitness.

13 Nov 2013

Research: New mechanisms and areas of brain linked with anxiety and depression

Research released today reveals new mechanisms and areas of the brain associated with anxiety and depression, presenting possible targets to understand and treat these debilitating mental illnesses.

12 Nov 2013

Prana's PBT2 effective in reversing memory, learning losses associated with aging process

Prana Biotechnology, a leading global developer of first-in-class treatments for neurodegenerative disease, has today announced the publication of an article in the peer reviewed Aging Cell showing the effects of PBT2 on neurogenesis and in reversing the memory and learning losses associated with the aging process, in normal (ie non transgenic) old mice.

31 Oct 2013

Video gaming increases spatial orientation, memory formation and motor skills

Video gaming causes increases in the brain regions responsible for spatial orientation, memory formation and strategic planning as well as fine motor skills.

30 Oct 2013

Nurturing home life may offset negative changes in brain anatomy among poor children

Growing up in poverty can have long-lasting, negative consequences for a child. But for poor children raised by parents who lack nurturing skills, the effects may be particularly worrisome, according to a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

29 Oct 2013

Poverty in early childhood linked with higher risk of poor cognitive outcomes

Poverty in early childhood appears to be associated with smaller brain volumes measured through imaging at school age and early adolescence, according to a study published by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

29 Oct 2013

International researchers identify 11 new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease

An international group of researchers has identified 11 new genes that offer important new insights into the disease pathways involved in Alzheimer's disease. The highly collaborative effort involved scanning the DNA of over 74,000 volunteers-the largest genetic analysis yet conducted in Alzheimer's research-to discover new genetic risk factors linked to late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of the disorder.

28 Oct 2013

People with higher blood sugar levels more likely to have memory problems

Even for people who don't have diabetes or high blood sugar, those with higher blood sugar levels are more likely to have memory problems, according to a new study published in the October 23, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Oct 2013

Genetic mutation found to restore translational balance in mice

In a biological quirk that promises to provide researchers with a new approach for studying and potentially treating Fragile X syndrome, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have shown that knocking out a gene important for messenger RNA (mRNA) translation in neurons restores memory deficits and reduces behavioral symptoms in a mouse model of a prevalent human neurological disease.

21 Oct 2013

Schizophrenic hippocampal abnormalities blamed on glutamate

Elevated glutamate levels correlate with reduced tissue volume in the hippocampus of patients with schizophrenia, a study shows.

18 Oct 2013

Scientists uncover faulty brain mechanism that may underlie schizophrenia in humans

Working with mice genetically engineered to display symptoms of schizophrenia, neuroscientists at the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT have uncovered a faulty brain mechanism that may underlie schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders in humans.

17 Oct 2013