Neuroimaging News and Research

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Research in specific cells and circuitry affected by addiction may help guard against relapse

New research using animal models is enabling a deeper understanding of the neurobiology of compulsive drug addiction in humans - knowledge that may lead to more effective treatment options to weaken the powerful cravings that cause people to relapse.

22 Oct 2009

Much remains to be done for autism spectrum disorders, say experts

Scientific understanding and medical treatments for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have advanced significantly over the past several years, but much remains to be done, say experts from the Center for Autism Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who published a scientific review of the field today.

15 Oct 2009

Three hundred participants sought for world-first study to determine shared biological basis for psychotic illnesses

For the first time, sufferers of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are being brought together in a major new study investigating the diseases' common genetic causes and manifestations.

11 Oct 2009

NIMH awards SRI International a $6.3M contract for study of ligands for brain imaging research

SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, announced today that it has been awarded a $6.3 million contract by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to conduct preclinical safety studies of promising novel ligands that will be used for brain imaging research and clinical applications.

6 Oct 2009

Society of Interventional Radiology offers intensive five-day course

The Society of Interventional Radiology presents Catheter Lysis of Thromboembolic Stroke (CLOTS)-an intensive five-day course featuring top interventional radiologists, neurointerventionists, neurologists and neuroradiologists offering doctors the opportunity to gain and/or upgrade skills to incorporate acute ischemic stroke care into their practice.

1 Oct 2009

Simple eye movement exam can differentiate between a stroke and less serious conditions

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21 Sep 2009

Mild cognitive impairment is a risk factor for dementia

Among individuals with mild cognitive impairment, often considered a transitional state between normal cognitive function and Alzheimer's dementia, those who have more difficulties performing routine activities appear more likely to progress quickly to dementia, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

15 Sep 2009

ADDF's grant to Abiant for developing accurate imaging diagnostic approach

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announced today that it is providing a grant of $200,000 to Abiant, Inc. (Deerfield, IL), for the development of a highly accurate imaging diagnostic for Alzheimer's Disease.

9 Sep 2009

FDA provides 510(k) clearance for Neurologica's inSPira HD system

NeuroLogica Corporation announced today at the XIV World Congress of Neurological Surgery in Boston, MA, receipt of 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its portable high resolution SPECT system: inSPira HD (www.inspirahd.com).

1 Sep 2009

Studies reveal that obese people are at greater risk for developing Alzheimer's disease

Obesity is on a rampage, with the World Health Organization pegging the numbers at more than 300 million worldwide, with a billion more overweight. With obesity comes the increased risk for cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes, and hypertension.

25 Aug 2009

New book explores neurobiology of pleasure

A sense of pleasure generated by the brain's hedonic neural systems is fundamental to daily life, and indeed has been essential to the evolution and survival of humans and most animals, say Morten Kringelbach and Kent Berridge, editors of Pleasures of the Brain. The rewards we experience through sensations such as food, sex and social interaction are driving forces necessary to maintain life, they argue.

20 Aug 2009

Brain's motor and perception regions disconnected in tone-deaf people

Nerve fibers that link perception and motor regions of the brain are disconnected in tone-deaf people, according to new research in the August 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Experts estimate that at least 10 percent of the population may be tone deaf - unable to sing in tune. The new finding identifies a particular brain circuit that appears to be absent in these individuals.

19 Aug 2009

Smoking increases risk for brain shrinkage in multiple sclerosis

People who smoke and have multiple sclerosis (MS) may be at increased risk of brain shrinkage and increased brain lesions related to the disease, according to a study published in the August 18, 2009, print issue of NeurologyÂ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Smoking has already been linked to an increased risk of developing MS.

18 Aug 2009

Alcoholics display abnormal brain activity when processing facial expressions

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that individuals who have a long history of alcoholism, but who have been abstinent for at least a month up to many years, showed abnormal brain activity when looking at facial expressions of others.

12 Aug 2009

Toxic levels of Alzheimer's clusters in brain determined

Scientists have long suspected that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is caused by a small protein called the amyloid β-protein (Aβ). This protein clumps or binds to itself, eventually changing chemically to create brain protein deposits (plaques) that are characteristic of AD.

11 Aug 2009

Discovery of a new Alzheimer's gene

A UC Irvine study has found that a gene called TOMM40 appears twice as often in people with Alzheimer's disease than in those without it. Alzheimer's, for which there is no cure, is the leading cause of elderly dementia.

6 Aug 2009

Cutting-edge imaging research aims to map brain injuries

In the first study of its kind, researchers at Saint Louis University are recruiting patients for a clinical trial that will use cutting-edge imaging equipment to map the brain injuries of combat veterans and civilians, aiming to better understand the nature of their injuries.

5 Aug 2009

Set-shifting and the on-line processing of relative clauses in Parkinson's Disease

The study of the neural basis of language has largely focused on regions in the cortex - the outer brain layers thought by many researchers to have expanded during human evolution.

4 Aug 2009

New brain visualization technology enables removal of fist-sized tumor

A new technology involving the fusion of four different types of images into a 3-D map of a patient's brain has helped University of Cincinnati (UC) specialists successfully remove a fist-sized tumor from the brain of an Indiana woman.

14 Jul 2009

Brain imaging (MRI/PET) bring us closer to earlier detection of Alzheimer's

Changes in the brain measured with MRI and PET scans, combined with memory tests and detection of risk proteins in body fluids, may lead to earlier and more accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's, according to new research reported today at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.

14 Jul 2009