Brain News and Research

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The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size.

Scientists discover functional control strategies in emotional circuits of people with social phobia

Fear is a protective function against possible dangers that is designed to save our lives. Where there are problems with this fear mechanism, its positive effects are cancelled out: patients who have a social phobia become afraid of perfectly normal, everyday social situations because they are worried about behaving inappropriately or being thought of as stupid by other people.

30 Jan 2013

MDGA proteins associated with autism suppress inhibitory synapse formation

Synapse development is promoted by a variety of cell adhesion molecules that connect neurons and organize synaptic proteins. Many of these adhesion molecules are linked to neurodevelopmental disorders; mutations in neuroligin and neurexin proteins, for example, are associated with autism and schizophrenia.

30 Jan 2013

Apolipoprotein E-4 useful in promoting neuron growth in the lab

A protein associated with neuron damage in people with Alzheimer's disease is surprisingly useful in promoting neuron growth in the lab, according to a new study by engineering researchers at Brown University.

30 Jan 2013

UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro Imaging to use expertise to piece together brain's puzzle

UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI) has entered into a partnership with academic centers from Europe and around the world in a massive, unprecedented effort to understand the human brain.

30 Jan 2013

Researchers create CoQ9-deficient mutant mouse model with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy

At three to six months of life, this genetic alteration in mice -similar to that occurred in human- causes a rapid degeneration in the lower limbs to death for cardiac arrest.

30 Jan 2013

RIKEN, OIST partner on Human Brain Project

One of the major frontiers of modern science is a comprehensive understanding of the human brain and its functions to guide the development of new technologies in information and communication.

30 Jan 2013

Noninvasive, drugless therapy may help mitigate symptoms associated with neurological conditions

With the infusion of an additional $1 million of financial support from The Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Inc., Atlanta, GA, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers are expanding their studies using a noninvasive, drugless therapy that may help to mitigate symptoms associated with a list of neurological conditions.

30 Jan 2013

Insight into reasons why precocious puberty occurs in females

New research from Oregon Health & Science University has provided significant insight into the reasons why early-onset puberty occurs in females.

30 Jan 2013

Brain areas work together at the same time to recall memories

Working with patients with electrodes implanted in their brains, researchers at the University of California, Davis, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have shown for the first time that areas of the brain work together at the same time to recall memories. The unique approach promises new insights into how we remember details of time and place.

30 Jan 2013

FDA allows IND application for ImmunoCellular’s ICT-140 to treat ovarian cancer

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed the investigational new drug (IND) application for ICT-140, paving the way for conducting a clinical trial.

30 Jan 2013

Human Brain Project to link basic research with disease treatment

King's College London is part of an international consortium of scientists who have today been awarded a grant of over one billion euros, over ten years, to simulate 'everything we know about the human brain' in supercomputers.

30 Jan 2013

Psychiatric risk increased in very preterm infants

Children born very preterm are at increased risk for psychiatric disorders in early childhood, study results suggest.

29 Jan 2013

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment new player in stroke rehabilitation

Treatment with hyperbaric oxygen therapy can lead to significant neurologic improvements for stroke patients, show study results.

29 Jan 2013

Consuming carotenoid-rich foods may help prevent or delay onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

New research suggests that increased consumption of foods containing colorful carotenoids, particularly beta-carotene and lutein, may prevent or delay the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

29 Jan 2013

Study examines how fear responses are learned, controlled and memorized

A rustle of undergrowth in the outback: it's a sound that might make an animal or person stop sharply and be still, in the anticipation of a predator. That "freezing" is part of the fear response, a reaction to a stimulus in the environment and part of the brain's determination of whether to be afraid of it.

29 Jan 2013

Novel experiment illuminates importance of doctor-patient relationship

A patient's relationship with his or her doctor has long been considered an important component of healing. Now, in a novel investigation in which physicians underwent brain scans while they believed they were actually treating patients, researchers have provided the first scientific evidence indicating that doctors truly can feel their patients' pain - and can also experience their relief following treatment.

29 Jan 2013

EC announces selection of Human Brain Project as one of its two FET Flagship program

The European Commission has officially announced the selection of the Human Brain Project (HBP) as one of its two FET Flagship projects. The new project will federate European efforts to address one of the greatest challenges of modern science: understanding the human brain.

29 Jan 2013

Study sheds light on why enticing pictures of food affect us less when we are full

New research from the University of British Columbia is shedding light on why enticing pictures of food affect us less when we're full.

29 Jan 2013

Part of Human Brain Project focuses on Neurorobotics

Extensive knowledge about the human brain and its functioning already exists but is highly fragmented. The goal of the Human Brain Project is to pull together this knowledge and to reconstruct the brain, piece by piece, in supercomputer-based models and simulations. The models offer the prospect of a new understanding of the human brain and its diseases and of completely new computing and robotic technologies.

29 Jan 2013

Dual-hormone artificial pancreas shows promise against type 1 diabetes

IRCM researchers, led by endocrinologist Dr. R-mi Rabasa-Lhoret, were the first to conduct a trial comparing a dual-hormone artificial pancreas with conventional diabetes treatment using an insulin pump and showed improved glucose levels and lower risks of hypoglycemia.

29 Jan 2013