Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

Schizophrenia may be related to neurodevelopment changes, study says

Schizophrenia may be related to neurodevelopment changes, including brain's inability to create the appropriate vascular system, according to new study resulted from a partnership between the D'Or Institute for Research and Education, the University of Chile and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

22 Feb 2018

Study sheds light on biological mechanisms that drive rare pediatric neurogenetic disorders

Researchers studying a rare genetic disorder that causes severe, progressive neurological problems in childhood have discovered insights into biological mechanisms that drive the disease, along with early clues that an amino acid supplement might offer a targeted therapy.

22 Feb 2018

New neurons in adult brain help speed up association between sensory information and reward

Although we have known for several years that the adult brain can produce new neurons, many questions about the properties conferred by these adult-born neurons were left unanswered.

22 Feb 2018

Study shows that two different brain systems cooperate during learning

A new study by Brown University researchers shows that two different brain systems work cooperatively as people learn.

22 Feb 2018

Scientists find significant amounts of toxic metals in e-cigarette vapors

Significant amounts of toxic metals, including lead, leak from some e-cigarette heating coils and are present in the aerosols inhaled by users, according to a study from scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

22 Feb 2018

Study shows effects of emotions on children's eating habits

A University of Texas at Dallas psychologist has examined the preconceptions about the effects of emotions on children's eating habits, creating the framework for future studies of how dietary patterns evolve in early childhood.

22 Feb 2018

Iron deficiency early in life can have long-lasting consequences for the brain

Iron deficiency in the first four weeks of a piglet's life - equivalent to roughly four months in a human infant - impairs the development of key brain structures, scientists report. The abnormalities remain even after weeks of iron supplementation begun later in life, the researchers found.

22 Feb 2018

Neuroscientists discover novel mechanism of action behind schizophrenia

An international team of researchers led by a Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine scientist has uncovered a novel mechanism in which a protein--neuregulin 3--controls how key neurotransmitters are released in the brain during schizophrenia.

21 Feb 2018

Zika virus could be alternative for treatment of aggressive brain cancer

Zika virus, feared for causing microcephaly in babies whose mothers were infected during pregnancy by attacking the cells that will give rise to the fetus's cerebral cortex, could be an alternative for treatment of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive kind of malignant brain tumor in adults.

21 Feb 2018

Scientists reveal development of improved medicine to fight addiction

Drug addiction continues to plague vast numbers of people across the world, destroying and ending lives, while attempts to develop more effective pharmaceutical addiction treatments continue.

21 Feb 2018

Liquefied brain tissue after stroke may harm surviving brain, UA study finds

Scientists have known for years that the brain liquefies after a stroke. If cut off from blood and oxygen for a long enough period, a portion of the brain will die, slowly morphing from a hard, rubbery substance into liquid goop.

21 Feb 2018

Researchers create minuscule, light-powered wires to modify electrical signaling between neurons

The human brain largely remains a black box: How the network of fast-moving electrical signals turns into thought, movement and disease remains poorly understood. But it is electrical, so it can be hacked--the question is finding a precise, easy way to manipulate electrical signaling between neurons.

21 Feb 2018

Study reveals a significant link between heavy alcohol use and dementia

New research has found alcohol use disorders to be one of the most vital avoidable risk factors for the onset of all types of dementia, early-onset dementia in particular.

21 Feb 2018

Low protein levels linked to posture and gait problems in Parkinson’s, finds study

A new study has linked low levels of alpha-synuclein in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Parkinson’s to postural instability and gait difficulty.

21 Feb 2018

Research project aims to find new ways to identify and treat most aggressive brain cancers

A large European research collaboration is bringing new technology to bear to combat two of the most aggressive brain cancers.

21 Feb 2018

$UC San Diego Health now offers new treatment option for people with refractory epilepsy$

UC San Diego Health now offers new treatment option for people with refractory epilepsy

UC San Diego Health now offers patients with epilepsy another non-pharmacological way to treat seizures.

21 Feb 2018

USC-led researchers release dataset of brain scans from stroke patients

A USC-led team has now compiled, archived and shared one of the largest open-source datasets of brain scans from stroke patients via a study published Feb. 20 in Scientific Data, a Nature journal.

21 Feb 2018

Clinical trial shows safety of promising TSRI stroke drug

A preliminary Phase 2 clinical trial has demonstrated that patients with acute ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke, can safely tolerate high doses of 3K3A-APC, a promising anti-stroke drug invented at The Scripps Research Institute.

20 Feb 2018

Study aims to examine effects of PTSD symptoms in police officers

Police officers are often called to situations that require a quick decision: fire a shot and risk harming, or killing, innocent bystanders; don't fire and there's the potential for being killed in the line of duty.

20 Feb 2018

Tiny 'brains on chips' reveal mechanisms underlying brain's wrinkling process

Being born with a "tabula rasa" - a clean slate - in the case of the brain is something of a curse. Our brains are already wrinkled like walnuts by the time we are born. Babies born without these wrinkles - smooth brain syndrome - suffer from severe developmental deficiencies and their life expectancy is markedly reduced.

20 Feb 2018