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Ingestion of afterbirth appears to promote maternal behavior in mammals

A behavioral neuroscientist at the University at Buffalo holds that the ingestion of afterbirth by a mother, a feature of pregnancy in nearly all non-human mammals, not only relieves postpartum pain, but optimizes the onset of maternal behavior by mediating the activity of specific opioid activity circuits in the brain.

13 Feb 2005

Sex hormone progesterone metabolite allopregnanolone reduces stress

A steroid hormone released during the metabolism of progesterone, the female sex hormone, reduces the brain's response to stress, according to research in rats by scientists at Emory University School of Medicine, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Atlanta's Center for Behavioral Neuroscience.

9 Feb 2005

Inserting corrective genes into the brain to fight Parkinson's disease

An international team of scientists has used gene therapy in two separate studies to renew brain cells and restore normal movements in monkeys and rats with a drug-induced form of Parkinson's disease.

8 Feb 2005

Research confirms how early-life events shape later physiology

Underscoring the value of good prenatal care, new research suggests that early infection may create a cognitive vulnerability that appears later during stress on the immune system.

8 Feb 2005

What causes puberty to begin?

Puberty, that awkward phase when boys and girls are primed for their sexual reproductive years as men and women, appears to be triggered by the brain's own version of "It takes two to tango," whereby a signal literally gets turned on by a molecule that is produced by a gene aptly named KiSS-1.

31 Jan 2005

Melanopsin plays a key role in the inner workings of the eye

A Brown University team has found that a protein called melanopsin plays a key role in the inner workings of mysterious, spidery cells in the eye called intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, or ipRGCs.

26 Jan 2005

Over-eating at an early age may stay well into adulthood

Melbourne researchers have found that over-eating at a very young age can have a long-lasting effect on the body and in particular seems to enhance the production of hormones made in fat and involved in metabolism.

24 Jan 2005

African drug Ibogaine blocks alcohol cravings

A naturally occurring hallucinogen advocated by some clinicians as a potent anti-addiction drug has been rigorously studied for the first time, confirming its ability to block alcohol craving in rodents, and clarifying how it works in the brain.

20 Jan 2005

More data needed on what's effective for hot flashes

A University of Michigan expert on menopause says a new study that indicates placebos work as well as antidepressant drugs to help hot flashes shows how much more research is needed about what gives patients relief.

17 Jan 2005

How do you remember your own name?

How do you remember your own name? Is it possible ever to forget it? The memory trace, or engram, "feels" like it is stored permanently in the brain and it will never be forgotten.

16 Jan 2005

Groundbreaking study will assist stroke and head injury victims rehabilitate their sight

For the first time, Crawford and his associates used measurements of eye and head movements, computer simulations and brain recordings, to determine how we use vision to guide our movements.

10 Jan 2005

Hormone replacement therapy associated with increased risk of stroke

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is associated with an increased risk of stroke, especially ischaemic stroke, finds a review of trials published on bmj.com today.

7 Jan 2005

Antibiotics protect nerves in mice by turning on genes

A family of antibiotics that includes penicillin may help prevent nerve damage and death in a wide variety of neurological diseases, including Lou Gehrig's disease, dementia, stroke, and epilepsy, Johns Hopkins researchers have found.

6 Jan 2005

European approval of Cymbalta/Xeristar for treatment of major depressive episodes

Eli Lilly and Company and Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that Cymbalta/Xeristar (duloxetine hydrochloride)(+) has been granted marketing authorization by the European Commission for the treatment of major depressive episodes.

5 Jan 2005

New painkiller was discovered in natural form in venomous snails in 1979

The natural form of Prialt – a new drug for severe pain approved this week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – was discovered at the University of Utah in 1979 by an incoming freshman studying toxins produced by cone snails.

30 Dec 2004

Significant advance in understanding the human genome

An Oregon Health & Science University-led development of a technique for identifying control elements that drive the expression of genes in brain cells could unleash the disease-fighting potential of the much-hailed human genome.

28 Dec 2004

Indian curry may be the next Alzheimer's weapon

A dietary staple of India, where Alzheimer's disease rates are reportedly among the world's lowest, holds potential as a weapon in the fight against the disease.

28 Dec 2004

Ballet dancers’ brains reveal the art of imitation

Scientists have discovered that a system in our brain which responds to actions we are watching, such as a dancer’s delicate pirouette or a masterful martial arts move, reacts differently if we are also skilled at doing the move.

27 Dec 2004

Stem cells use inflammatory signals to find injured tissue

A joint effort led by stem cell biologist Evan Y. Snyder, M.D., Ph.D., of The Burnham Institute, and Samia J. Khoury, M.D., of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, report data suggesting that stem cells use inflammatory signals to “know” where they must home.

20 Dec 2004