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.

Neuronal activity in the brain allows prediction of risky or safe decisions

Full risk or preferably the safe option? Based on the neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, it is possible to predict what action will be chosen next: If the activity of specific neurons remains low, a risk will be taken again at the next opportunity.

9 Dec 2018

Study: Drug reduces hot flash frequency, improves quality of life in breast cancer survivors

Research led by oncologists Roberto Leon-Ferre, M.D. and Charles Loprinzi, M.D. of Mayo Clinic has found that the drug oxybutynin helps to reduce the frequency and intensity of hot flashes in women who are unable to take hormone replacement therapy, including breast cancer survivors.

7 Dec 2018

Our brain senses angry voices in a flash, study shows

Sight and hearing are the two main sensory modalities allowing us to interact with our environment. But what happens within the brain when it perceives a threatening signal, such as an aggressive voice? How does it distinguish a threatening voice from the surrounding noise? How does it process this information? To answers these questions, researchers from the University of Geneva Switzerland, studied brain activity during the processing of various emotional voices.

7 Dec 2018

Study reveals possible link between hysterectomy and brain function

A new preclinical study has shown that in the short term, some types of memory are affected following a hysterectomy.

7 Dec 2018

Researchers confirm link between neonatal vitamin D deficiency and schizophrenia

Newborns with vitamin D deficiency have an increased risk of schizophrenia later in life, a team of Australian and Danish researchers has reported.

7 Dec 2018

VCU researchers test vaccine against opioid abuse

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers are testing a vaccine against opioid abuse developed by the Scripps Research Institute in California. The vaccine is meant to block the effects of heroin and fentanyl in patients with opioid use disorder.

7 Dec 2018

UT Austin researcher receives $2.5 million CZI grant for neurodegenerative disease research

Ning "Jenny" Jiang, an associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering's Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Dell Medical School's Department of Oncology, has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to participate in the philanthropic organization's inaugural Neurodegeneration Challenge Network.

7 Dec 2018

Researchers use new methods to optimize treatments for tuberculosis meningitis

Although relatively rare in the United States, and accounting for fewer than 5 percent of tuberculosis cases worldwide, TB of the brain--or tuberculosis meningitis (TBM)--is often deadly, always hard to treat, and a particular threat to young children.

6 Dec 2018

$Chronic, refractory schizophrenia patients benefit from targeted cognitive training$

Chronic, refractory schizophrenia patients benefit from targeted cognitive training

Schizophrenia is among the most difficult mental illnesses to treat, in part because it is characterized by a wide range of dysfunction, from hallucinations and mood disorders to cognitive impairment, especially verbal and working memory, which can be explained in part by abnormalities in early auditory information processing.

6 Dec 2018

UMGCCC uses Gammapod radiotherapy to treat breast cancer patients

Radiation oncologists at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center are now treating patients with the GammaPod™, a new FDA-cleared radiation therapy for early-stage breast cancer.

6 Dec 2018

Researchers are developing blood test to diagnose or predict Alzheimer's disease

Today, the only way to definitively diagnose Alzheimer's disease in life is through brain scans and tests of cerebrospinal fluid that must be collected via lumbar puncture. Though cumbersome and expensive, such tests provide the most accurate diagnoses for patients.

6 Dec 2018

Drawing leads to better memory than writing

Older adults who take up drawing could enhance their memory, according to a new study.

6 Dec 2018

Study explores why older people read more slowly

One of the most obvious changes that comes with aging is that people start doing things more slowly. Numerous studies have shown that aging also affects language processing.

6 Dec 2018

New EU-funded project provides insight into how the brain develops

The human brain is comprised of billions of different types of cells. These cells are then organized into sophisticated networks, each of which determines a specific function of the brain. But how do the neurons, or nerve cells that form these networks, find the right network? And what happens when they don’t?

6 Dec 2018

Newborns with vitamin D deficiency have increased risk of schizophrenia later in life

Newborns with Vitamin D deficiency have an increased risk of schizophrenia later in life, researchers from Aarhus University and the University of Queensland report.

6 Dec 2018

Study reveals why some children are susceptible to the effects of maltreatment

People who experience childhood maltreatment frequently have perturbations in their brain architecture, regardless of whether they develop psychiatric symptoms, but a study in Biological Psychiatry found additional alterations in people who don't develop symptoms.

6 Dec 2018

Mapping brain microglia

Microglia are known to be important to brain function. The immune cells have been found to protect the brain from injury and infection and are critical during brain development, helping circuits wire properly. They also seem to play a role in disease -- showing up, for example, around brain plaques in people with Alzheimer's.

6 Dec 2018