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.

Rod photoreceptors in the retina contribute to daylight vision, new study shows

An international research team headed by Thomas Münch of the Institute for Ophthalmic Research and Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience of the University of Tübingen found the contribution of rod photoreceptors in mouse retinas to be much greater than previously assumed. One cannot distinguish colors with rods.

28 Nov 2017

Delirium severity in post-surgical patients linked to level of cognitive decline

Researchers from the Harvard affiliated Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging Research, in collaboration with scientists from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, and Brown University, have found increasing evidence that the level of delirium in post-surgical patients is associated with the level of later cognitive decline in those same patients.

28 Nov 2017

Study reveals patients at high risk for opioid overdose deaths

Just over 60 percent of individuals who died from an opioid overdose had been diagnosed with a chronic pain condition, and many had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, a study of more than 13,000 overdose deaths has found.

28 Nov 2017

Birth complications associated with decreased dopamine levels in the brain, study reveals

A new study, published in eLife, shows that most people born prematurely, who also suffered small brain injuries during the time of birth, have lower levels of dopamine in the brain.

28 Nov 2017

Deep brain stimulation at low frequencies improves cognitive performance of PD patients

A multidisciplinary neuroscience study using rare, intraoperative brain recordings suggests that low frequency stimulation of a deep brain region may be able to improve cognitive function in patients with Parkinson's disease.

28 Nov 2017

New discovery could speed up production of cells for studying diseases

Scientists have made a key discovery that could speed up the production of cells in the lab for studying diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.

28 Nov 2017

Researchers reveal impact of RNA-binding protein on memory formation process

Learning requires the chemical adaptation of individual synapses. Researchers have now revealed the impact of an RNA-binding protein that is intimately involved in this process on learning and memory formation and learning processes.

28 Nov 2017

Digital image of the retina provides enormous information about patients' general health

Personalized medicine or "precision medicine" is the most significant trend in 21st century medicine. "It's all about the right treatment for the right patient at the right time," says Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth, Head of MedUni Vienna's Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry.

28 Nov 2017

New findings offer hope for children with aggressive brain tumors

Findings published in Oncotarget offer new hope for children with highly aggressive brain tumors like atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) and medulloblastoma.

28 Nov 2017

Study uses NHS data to estimate incidence of brain injury in babies

New research has estimated that each year five babies in every 1,000 born in England suffer a condition or sign linked to brain injury.

28 Nov 2017

People with autism have different reactions to odors that carry social cues

Autism typically involves the inability to read social cues. We most often associate this with visual difficulty in interpreting facial expression, but new research at the Weizmann Institute of Science suggests that the sense of smell may also play a central role in autism.

28 Nov 2017

New cancer drug begins clinical trial in human patients with rare brain tumor

A drug that spurs cancer cells to self-destruct has been cleared for use in a clinical trial of patients with anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare malignant brain tumor, and glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive late-stage cancer of the brain.

28 Nov 2017

Study: Women may be more susceptible to concussions due to more breakable nerve fibers

Women have smaller, more breakable nerve fibers in the brain compared to men that may make them more susceptible to concussions, suggests a new study from Penn Medicine neuroscientists published online today in the journal Experimental Neurology.

27 Nov 2017

Scientists identify new method of treating neuropathic pain in mice

New research from King's College London has revealed a previously undiscovered mechanism of cellular communication, between neurons and immune cells, in neuropathic pain.

27 Nov 2017

Efforts to phase out chemicals in non-stick coatings have prevented low-weight births, brain damage

Government and industry efforts since 2003 to phase out chemicals used to make non-stick coatings, such as Teflon, have prevented more than 118,000 low-weight births and related brain damage in the United States.

27 Nov 2017

Study shows potential of neurofeedback in tinnitus treatment

A study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) suggests that neurofeedback training has the potential to lessen the severity of tinnitus or even eliminate it.

27 Nov 2017

Research findings will help identify genetic causes of brain disorders

New findings will help to identify the genetic causes of brain disorders: researchers at the Universities of Basel, Bonn and Cologne have presented a systematic catalog of specific variable locations in the genome that influence gene activity in the human hippocampus, as they report in the journal Nature Communications.

27 Nov 2017