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.

New information about how the brain processes information about an object's brightness

Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists at The Salk Institute have discovered a new class of optical illusion that they have studied in detail to show that humans use both the timing and spatial context of a visual stimulus to judge brightness.

19 Apr 2004

Black women with high blood pressure during pregnancy have higher homocysteine levels

Black women with pregnancy-induced high blood pressure have more homocysteine (an amino acid linked with atherosclerosis) and less folic acid in their blood than white women.

19 Apr 2004

New evidence that brain circuits involved in drug addiction are also activated by the desire for food

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have produced new evidence that brain circuits involved in drug addiction are also activated by the desire for food.

19 Apr 2004

Curry offers possible protection against Alzheimer’s disease

A new study has found that curry, a common and popular cooking additive, could be an effective enhancer of an enzyme that protects the brain against oxidative conditions.

19 Apr 2004

Do you see what I see?

A rose is a rose is a rose, but do we and the artist and poet all see the same flower in the same way? This age-old philosophical question has now been put to the test by scientists at the Weizmann Institute.

19 Apr 2004

Knitting could alleviate major trauma effects

She went on to suggest that knitting, with its complexity of patterns, colors and needles would likely achieve a similar result.

19 Apr 2004

Brain folding could be an indication of how smart a person is

A study by Melbourne scientists has provided the first direct evidence that differences in the way the surface of the human brain is folded could be an indication of how smart a person is.

18 Apr 2004

On-board brain chips could help stroke and cerebral palsy victims

Cyberkinetics Inc has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to begin a clinical trial in which four-square-millimetre chips will be placed beneath the skulls of paralyzed patients.

18 Apr 2004

Identification of first protein biomarkers to help patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A University of Pittsburgh pathologist has identified the first protein biomarkers able to diagnose patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) with near 100 percent accuracy. Before this finding, there were no known diagnostic biomarkers for this neurodegenerative disease.

18 Apr 2004

Using mass spectrometry to diagnose cancers and non-cancerous diseases

Using mass spectrometry, Emory University scientists have identified specific protein fingerprints in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of humans that enable them to differentiate between cancers, both primary and metastatic, and non-cancerous diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).

18 Apr 2004

Omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood improve brain function

Citing new evidence that the omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood improve brain function in middle aged people and actually lower the risk of mental impairment as people age, the U.S. Tuna Foundation (USTF) today reminded the public that canned tuna is not only good for your heart but is a tasty and affordable "brain food" for people of all ages.

17 Apr 2004

Lack of exercise causes physical and psychological setbacks

Use it or lose it, fitness experts tell us. Now a new study offers evidence that the adage really does ring true – that a lack of exercise can not only cause physical setbacks, but also psychological setbacks as well.

16 Apr 2004

Delirium in ICU patients a predictor of mortality

Between 60 percent to 80 percent of these patients develop a brain dysfunction known as delirium, which according to a group of physicians at Vanderbilt Medical Center is an independent predictor of mortality.

16 Apr 2004

Possible new treatment strategy for Alzheimer's disease

A new study in mice identifies one of the missing steps in how Alzheimer's develops and suggests a possible new treatment strategy, according to researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical College and their colleagues.

16 Apr 2004

Computer technology helps to make sense of human brain

Through the HBP, federal agencies fund a system of web-based databases and research tools that help brain scientists share and integrate their raw, primary research data. At the conference, eminent neuroscientists and neuroinformatics specialists will recap the field's achievements and forecast its future technological, scientific and social challenges and opportunities.

16 Apr 2004

Scientists discover gene for Parkinson's disease

UCL scientists have discovered a new gene implicated in the early development of Parkinson's disease. In a study of families with early onset disease, Professor Nick Wood and colleagues at University College London's Institute of Neurology identified a novel gene which produces a malfunctioning protein that could pave the way for new treatments for Parkinson sufferers.

16 Apr 2004

Sound sleep in infants lessens likelihood of drug abuse in later years

A long-term study has found a significant connection between sleep problems in children’s toddler years and the chance that they’ll use alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs early in their teen years. Young teens whose preschool sleep habits were poor were more than twice as likely to use drugs, tobacco, or alcohol.

16 Apr 2004

Muscle stem cells morph to resemble nerve cells

Taking a major step forward in stem cell biology, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have turned muscle progenitor cells — stem cells that are “committed” to becoming muscle tissue — into cells that look and act like neurons (nerve cells).

14 Apr 2004

Extra funding aids brain research

A healthy arrival of funds over the past couple of years has produced "endorphins" in McMaster’s "brain" that has psychology researchers very excited.

14 Apr 2004

Alzheimer fact sheet released

Dementia is a syndrome consisting of a number of symptoms that include loss of memory, judgment and reasoning, and changes in mood, behaviour and communication abilities. Alzheimer Disease, the most common form of dementia, accounts for 64 per cent of all dementias in Canada.

14 Apr 2004