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.

Pre-clinical study reports promising step forward in search for non-addictive painkillers

A pre-clinical study led by Indiana University scientists reports a promising step forward in the search for pain relief methods without the addictive side effects behind the country's current opioid addiction crisis.

25 Oct 2017

Developmental abnormality discovered in babies linked to SIDS

International research involving the University of Adelaide has uncovered a developmental abnormality in babies - especially in premature babies and in boys - that for the first time has been directly linked to cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

25 Oct 2017

Gut bacteria could hold clues to risk of developing PTSD after traumatic event

The bacteria in your gut could hold clues to whether or not you will develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after experiencing a traumatic event.

25 Oct 2017

Skin plays role in helping regulate blood pressure and heart rate, say scientists

Skin plays a surprising role in helping regulate blood pressure and heart rate, according to scientists at the University of Cambridge and the Karolinska Institute, Sweden. While this discovery was made in mice, the researchers believe it is likely to be true also in humans.

25 Oct 2017

The painful side of positive health care marketing

Lori Wallace sits on a couch with her 11-year-old son and his new pet snake. It burrows under his armpit, as if afraid. Wallace is sure it’s not.

25 Oct 2017

Study reveals why Alzheimer's drugs fail in clinical trials

A tremendous amount of Amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) (a peptide of ～40 amino acids) accumulates in the brain of Alzheimer's disease patients. γ-Secretase inhibitors were designed to inhibit the enzymatic activity that produces Aβ. By reducing Aβ production, γ-secretase inhibitors were considered able to treat Alzheimer's disease (Aβ hypothesis).

25 Oct 2017

Researchers mine blood-based epigenetic data to gain insights into autism biology

Using data from blood and brain tissue, a team led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that they could gain insights into mechanisms that might help explain autism by analyzing the interplay between genes and chemical tags that control whether genes are used to make a protein, called epigenetic marks.

25 Oct 2017

Weight loss following bariatric operation leads to improvements in heart health

In overweight and obese people, fat often gets deposited in the midsection of the body. Large amounts of this belly fat can lead to unhealthy changes in a heart's function and size.

25 Oct 2017

Myelin sheaths restore impaired nervous system over the long haul

In the central nervous system of humans and all other mammals, a vital insulating sheath composed of lipids and proteins around nerve fibers helps speed the electrical signals or nerve impulses that direct our bodies to walk, talk, breathe, swallow or perform any routine physical act.

24 Oct 2017

NIH launches major effort to discover, catalog the brain's ‘parts list’

The National Institutes of Health has launched a major effort to discover and catalog the brain's "parts list." The NIH's Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® Initiative Cell Census Network aims to provide researchers with a comprehensive reference of the diverse cell types in human, monkey, and mouse brain.

24 Oct 2017