Cognitive Function News and Research

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Cognition is a concept used in different ways by different disciplines, but is generally accepted to mean the process of thought. For example, in psychology and cognitive science it refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological functions.

New findings link obesity and dietary factors to late-life dementias

Difficulties learning, remembering, and concentrating. An inability to resist environmental temptations to eat. A lifetime of progressive deterioration in the brain.

9 Oct 2014

Study shows rats, mice perform similarly in cognitive tests; offers implications for cognition research

It's one of those ideas that seems to make perfect sense: the bigger the brain, the more intelligent the creature.

9 Oct 2014

Researchers launch landmark new program to explore potential impact of medical marijuana

Thanks to a $500,000 gift from international best-selling author and mental health advocate Patricia Cornwell, McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School researchers will launch a landmark new program that will more fully explore the potential impact of medical marijuana on cognition, brain structure and function.

7 Oct 2014

Standard cognition test falls short in Parkinson’s disease patients

There is a wide range of cognitive function, including dementia, among patients with Parkinson’s disease who are classed as cognitively normal on the Mini-Mental State Examination, research shows.

29 Sep 2014

Research findings provide more details about earliest stages of neurodegenerative disease

The link between a protein typically associated with Alzheimer's disease and its impact on memory and cognition may not be as clear as once thought, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Waisman Center.

19 Sep 2014

New study sheds light on relationship between schizophrenia and smoking stems

Schizophrenia is associated with increased rates and intensity of tobacco smoking. A growing body of research suggests that the relationship between schizophrenia and smoking stems, in part, from an effort by patients to use nicotine to self-medicate symptoms and cognitive impairment associated with the disease.

17 Sep 2014

Research findings could help explain how some people stave off dementia

The human brain is capable of a neural workaround that compensates for the buildup of beta-amyloid, a destructive protein associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

17 Sep 2014

New research illustrates how fear arises in the brain

An estimated 8% of Americans will suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point during their lifetime. Brought on by an overwhelming or stressful event or events, PTSD is the result of altered chemistry and physiology of the brain.

16 Sep 2014

Adequate levels of vitamin E critical for young, elderly and pregnant women

Amid conflicting reports about the need for vitamin E and how much is enough, a new analysis published today suggests that adequate levels of this essential micronutrient are especially critical for the very young, the elderly, and women who are or may become pregnant.

16 Sep 2014

Discovery reveals promising target for treatment of end-stage heart failure

As a heart fails, losing its ability to squeeze blood through the circulatory system, the body releases a neurohormone that interferes with the heart's best chance to improve contractility, a team of Temple University School of Medicine researchers show in a study published September 9th in the American Heart Association journal, Circulation.

10 Sep 2014

New way to preserve flexibility and resilience of the brain

As Alzheimer's disease progresses, it kills brain cells mainly in the hippocampus and cortex, leading to impairments in "neuroplasticity," the mechanism that affects learning, memory, and thinking.

10 Sep 2014

Stages of symptoms in schizophrenia: an interview with Dr. Mark Opler, ProPhase

I think there's a perception that schizophrenia is principally a disorder that involves hallucinations such as hearing voices, seeing things and believing things that aren't real. These are indeed part of the phenomenon, but the condition is much broader than that.

9 Sep 2014

Electroconvulsive therapy combats treatment-resistant schizophrenia

The use of electroconvulsive therapy improves the chances of a treatment response in patients with continued schizophrenia symptoms despite use of antipsychotic medication, a randomised trial shows.

3 Sep 2014

Risk of obesity higher among adults who had been subjected to abuse as children

Being subjected to abuse during childhood entails a markedly increased risk of developing obesity as an adult.

2 Sep 2014

Amgen seeks FDA approval for evolocumab to treat patients with high cholesterol

Amgen today announced the submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for evolocumab seeking approval for the treatment of high cholesterol.

28 Aug 2014

New MS treatment found safe, tolerable in phase I clinical trials

A new treatment under investigation for multiple sclerosis (MS) is safe and tolerable in phase I clinical trials, according to a study published August 27, 2014, in Neurology Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, a new online-only, freely accessible, specialty medical journal.

28 Aug 2014

Cognitive impairment communication: an interview with Marc Wortmann, Executive Director, Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI)

Cognitive impairment is the loss of brain functions like short and long term memory, the ability to plan ahead or conduct more complicated intellectual tasks.

27 Aug 2014

People with cognitive impairment are more likely to have stroke

People with cognitive impairment are significantly more likely to have a stroke, with a 39% increased risk, than people with normal cognitive function, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

26 Aug 2014

Higher-fit children have more compact white-matter tracts in the brain than lower-fit peers

A new study of 9- and 10-year-olds finds that those who are more aerobically fit have more fibrous and compact white-matter tracts in the brain than their peers who are less fit. "White matter" describes the bundles of axons that carry nerve signals from one brain region to another. More compact white matter is associated with faster and more efficient nerve activity.

19 Aug 2014

Study suggests mental illness doesn't preclude enjoying life

Schizophrenia is among the most severe forms of mental illness, yet some people with the disease are as happy as those in good physical and mental health according to a study led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

19 Aug 2014