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.

Feinberg physiology professor named recipient of 2015 AES Seed Grant

Today the American Epilepsy Society announced Anis Contractor, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physiology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, as the recipient of a 2015 AES Seed Grant. Dr. Contractor's proposed research seeks to address a fundamental question about cellular and circuit level excitability in the mouse model of Dravet Syndrome.

3 Jun 2015

Scientists one step closer to understanding how brain regulates memory and mood

Scientists are one step closer to understanding how the brain regulates memory and mood, thanks to the discovery of two distinct types of stem cells.

1 Jun 2015

Diabetes and poor diet can trigger Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, warns BUAP researcher

For several years a researcher was dedicated to feed rodents in his laboratory with a high caloric content and glucose concentrations, which caused them diabetes, and by scientifically assessing what occurred in animals he observed that "diabetes and poor diet is a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's or Parkinson's," warns Samuel Treviño Mora from the Meritorious University of Puebla in Mexico.

28 May 2015

Previous motherhood alters cognition, neuroplasticity in response to hormone therapy

Hormone therapy (HT) is prescribed to alleviate some of the symptoms of menopause in women. Menopausal women are more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease but not other forms of dementia, and HT has been prescribed to treat cognitive decline in post-menopausal women with variable degrees of effectiveness.

26 May 2015

Discovery has clear implications in the quest for new epilepsy treatments

The mission of neural stem cells located in the hippocampus, one of the main regions of the brain, is to generate new neurons during the adult life of mammals, including human beings, of course, and their function is to participate in certain types of learning and responses to anxiety and stress.

18 May 2015

Small-molecule drug simultaneously rejuvenates old muscles, aging brains

Whether you're brainy, brawny or both, you may someday benefit from a drug found to rejuvenate aging brain and muscle tissue. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that a small-molecule drug simultaneously perks up old stem cells in the brains and muscles of mice, a finding that could lead to drug interventions for humans that would make aging tissues throughout the body act young again.

14 May 2015

New work challenges long-held beliefs about link between hippocampus and improved memory function

New work by the Douglas Mental Health University Institute (CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'île-de-MontréalI) computational neuroscientist Mallar Chakravarty, PhD, and in collaboration with researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health challenges in a thrilling way the long-held belief that a larger hippocampus is directly linked to improved memory function.

14 May 2015

Major breakthrough provides new insights into how tinnitus develops

Tinnitus is the most common service-related disability for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Often described as a ringing in the ears, more than 1.5 million former service members, one out of every two combat veterans, report having this sometimes debilitating condition, resulting in more than $2 billion dollars in annual disability payments by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

13 May 2015

Scientists report that enzyme that alters testosterone to estrogen has big impact in healthy, injured brain

An enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen appears to have significant impact in a healthy and injured brain, scientists report.

5 May 2015

Researchers identify potential treatment target for fragile X carriers

Fragile X syndrome, an inherited cause of autism and intellectual disability, can have consequences even for carriers of the disorder who don't have full-blown symptoms.

25 Apr 2015

Study: Cannabis consumers more prone to experiencing false memories

A new study published in the American journal with the highest impact factor in worldwide, Molecular Psychiatry, reveals that consumers of cannabis are more prone to experiencing false memories.

22 Apr 2015

Montefiore and Einstein researchers to present new findings on neurological disorders at AAN 2015

Researchers from Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine will present new findings on how to effectively treat migraine, and forecast the onset of pain in a number of neurological conditions including dementia in older adults.

21 Apr 2015

Mindfulness meditation can reduce pain, anxiety in healthy individuals

When Rebecca Erwin was a varsity rower at the University of North Carolina, the coach had the team's members take a yoga and meditation class.

10 Apr 2015

New study could point to potential ways to address defects in learning, memory

Just as some people seem built to run marathons and have an easier time going for miles without tiring, others are born with a knack for memorizing things, from times tables to trivia facts. These two skills—running and memorizing—are not so different as it turns out.

8 Apr 2015

UV researchers study neurobiological link between ASD and epilepsy

Researchers at the University of Veracruz (UV), in the west coast of Mexico, study the neurobiological link between the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and epilepsy, in order to understand the reason why the brain of an autistic child is 20-30 percent more susceptible to seizures that an infant without this condition.

6 Apr 2015

NTU Singapore scientists find new way to treat dementia

Pushing new frontiers in dementia research, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have found a new way to treat dementia by sending electrical impulses to specific areas of the brain to enhance the growth of new brain cells.

6 Apr 2015

Research shows that hippocampus is dedicated to memory formation, not to spatial skills

In work that reconciles two competing views of brain structures involved in memory and spatial perception, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have conducted experiments that suggest the hippocampus - a small region in the brain's limbic system - is dedicated largely to memory formation and not to spatial skills, such as navigation.

3 Apr 2015

Complete review of amyloid-beta protein behind Alzheimer's disease

"It will still take many years to understand the mechanisms leading to the formation of the characteristic plaques seen in brains affected by Alzheimer's disease", explains Alessandro Laio, SISSA professor. "We know they are mostly a build-up of amyloid-beta peptide, the protein that research is currently focusing on". And, as of today, all those involved in biomolecular research on Alzheimer's will have access to a new and important instrument: an extensive and complete review of all scientific knowledge about this "killer protein" has in fact just been published in the journal Chemical Reviews.

31 Mar 2015

Blueberries may be effective in treatment for PTSD

Up to 8 percent of people in the U.S. suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as the result of witnessing or being the victim of a traumatic event. People with PTSD have been in a situation in which they were at risk of death, serious injury or sexual violence or have seen first-hand loved ones faces such threats. They may experience flashbacks, emotional detachment and jumpiness, among other symptoms that affect their ability to function in everyday life.

30 Mar 2015

Neuroscientists discover key building block for learning and memory formation

Researchers have been fascinated for a long time by learning and memory formation, and many questions are still open. Bochum-based neuroscientists Prof Dr Denise Manahan-Vaughan and Dr Hardy Hagena have discovered a key building block for this complex process.

30 Mar 2015