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.

Changes in estrogen can trigger atypical functioning in memory circuit of women with gene variant

Fluctuations in estrogen can trigger atypical functioning in a key brain memory circuit in women with a common version of a gene, NIMH scientists have discovered.

25 Apr 2017

Study evaluates effectiveness of deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients

Winner of the Best International Abstract Award, Laura Salgado Lopez, MD, presented her research, A Pilot Study of Deep Brain Stimulation in Treatment-resistant Schizophrenia, during the 2017 American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting.

25 Apr 2017

Study provides new understanding of molecular mechanisms that impact intellectual disability

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have shown that a protein helps balance nerve cell communication.

25 Apr 2017

New research shows how foot's impact during walking regulates blood supply to the brain

You probably know that walking does your body good, but it's not just your heart and muscles that benefit. Researchers at New Mexico Highlands University found that the foot's impact during walking sends pressure waves through the arteries that significantly modify and can increase the supply of blood to the brain.

25 Apr 2017

Brain’s ability to rewire after injury can lead to long-term strains

Like air-traffic controllers scrambling to reconnect flights when a major hub goes down, the brain has a remarkable ability to rewire itself after suffering an injury.

25 Apr 2017

Research findings shed light on brain’s ability to make split-second decisions

When animals hunt or forage for food, they must constantly weigh whether the chance of a meal is worth the risk of being spotted by a predator. The same conflict between cost and benefit is at the heart of many of the decisions humans make on a daily basis.

25 Apr 2017

Person's brain age could help identify risk of functional decline and mortality

Some elderly people's brains appear older than the age on their birth certificates. These people have a higher risk of developing deteriorating age-associated conditions and impairments, and even of experiencing an earlier death than expected.

25 Apr 2017

Researchers use novel phage therapy to treat patient infected with multidrug-resistant bacterium

Scientists and physicians at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, working with colleagues at the U.S. Navy Medical Research Center - Biological Defense Research Directorate, Texas A&M University, a San Diego-based biotech and elsewhere, have successfully used an experimental therapy involving bacteriophages -- viruses that target and consume specific strains of bacteria -- to treat a patient near death from a multidrug-resistant bacterium.

25 Apr 2017

Caltech researchers discover brain region that judges intensity, ambiguity of facial expressions

Have you ever thought someone was angry at you, but it turned out you were just misreading their facial expression? Caltech researchers have now discovered that one specific region of the brain, called the amygdala, is involved in making these (sometimes inaccurate) judgments about ambiguous or intense emotions.

25 Apr 2017

Study finds link between fertility treatments and pediatric tumors

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers have found that babies born from mothers who underwent fertility treatments are at increased risk of developing many types of pediatric cancers and tumors (neoplasms).

25 Apr 2017

Neurobiologists use skin stem cells to generate new microglia

Using human skin cells, University of California, Irvine neurobiologists and their colleagues have created a method to generate one of the principle cell types of the brain called microglia, which play a key role in preserving the function of neural networks and responding to injury and disease.

25 Apr 2017

Low levels of NPTX2 protein in the brain may lead to learning and memory loss in Alzheimer's disease

Working with human brain tissue samples and genetically engineered mice, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers together with colleagues at the National Institutes of Health, the University of California San Diego Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Columbia University, and the Institute for Basic Research in Staten Island say that consequences of low levels of the protein NPTX2 in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) may change the pattern of neural activity in ways that lead to the learning and memory loss that are hallmarks of the disease.

25 Apr 2017

MRI-based method for predicting brain age could help identify people at risk of early death

A method for predicting someone's 'brain age' based on MRI scans could help to spot who might be at increased risk of poor health and even dying at a younger age.

25 Apr 2017

Novel mechanism of antidepressant action may benefit patients unresponsive to SSRI treatment

Antidepressants treat symptoms of depression by increasing levels of brain signaling molecules such as serotonin, as with the most widely used type of antidepressant, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

25 Apr 2017

Combination of genetics and experience gives each individual a unique sense of smell, study finds

Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators have shown that receptors in the noses of mice exposed to certain smells during life are different to genetically similar mice that lived without those smells.

25 Apr 2017

Combination of aerobics and resistance exercises drastically improve brain health in older adults, reports study

The British Journal of Sports Medicine has published online the most complete review of the available evidence to date, that a combination of aerobics and resistance exercises can drastically improve brain health in adults over 50 years, irrespective of the current brain health status of the individual.

25 Apr 2017

Genetic factors may increase person's risk for adverse effects of synthetic cannabinoids

Synthetic cannabinoid abuse is a growing problem in the United States, with new versions of the drugs coming on the market every year. New research is examining how the body processes these man-made drugs and the role that genetics might play in their metabolism.

25 Apr 2017

New guidelines provide practical information on sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

There is an uncommon risk of death that people with epilepsy and their loved ones may not know about. The risk is called sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, or SUDEP. Now the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society have co-developed a new guideline on SUDEP, published in the April 24, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and presented at the 69th AAN Annual Meeting in Boston, April 22 to 28, 2017.

25 Apr 2017

Orange essential oil may offer non-pharmaceutical option to help improve PTSD

About 8 percent of people will develop post-traumatic stress disorder at some point in their lives, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, yet treatments for this debilitating condition remain limited.

25 Apr 2017

Placebo can help reduce intensity of emotional pain from romantic rejection, study finds

Feeling heartbroken from a recent breakup? Just believing you're doing something to help yourself get over your ex can influence brain regions associated with emotional regulation and lessen the perception of pain.

25 Apr 2017

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Changes in estrogen can trigger atypical functioning in memory circuit of women with gene variant

Study evaluates effectiveness of deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients

Study provides new understanding of molecular mechanisms that impact intellectual disability

New research shows how foot's impact during walking regulates blood supply to the brain

Brain’s ability to rewire after injury can lead to long-term strains

Research findings shed light on brain’s ability to make split-second decisions

Person's brain age could help identify risk of functional decline and mortality

Researchers use novel phage therapy to treat patient infected with multidrug-resistant bacterium

Caltech researchers discover brain region that judges intensity, ambiguity of facial expressions

Study finds link between fertility treatments and pediatric tumors

Neurobiologists use skin stem cells to generate new microglia

Low levels of NPTX2 protein in the brain may lead to learning and memory loss in Alzheimer's disease

MRI-based method for predicting brain age could help identify people at risk of early death

Novel mechanism of antidepressant action may benefit patients unresponsive to SSRI treatment

Combination of genetics and experience gives each individual a unique sense of smell, study finds

Combination of aerobics and resistance exercises drastically improve brain health in older adults, reports study

Genetic factors may increase person's risk for adverse effects of synthetic cannabinoids

New guidelines provide practical information on sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

Orange essential oil may offer non-pharmaceutical option to help improve PTSD

Placebo can help reduce intensity of emotional pain from romantic rejection, study finds

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

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