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.

Study shows women, young individuals under age 35 more likely to experience anxiety

Women are almost twice as likely to experience anxiety as men, according to a review of existing scientific literature, led by the University of Cambridge. The study also found that people from Western Europe and North America are more likely to suffer from anxiety than people from other cultures.

6 Jun 2016

New research pinpoints specific lncRNA that regulates neural development

Compared to other mammals, humans have the largest cerebral cortex. A sheet of brain cells that folds in on itself multiple times in order to fit inside the skull, the cortex is the seat of higher functions. It is what enables us to process everything we see and hear and think.

4 Jun 2016

Mice study provides new insights into links between sensory stimuli and behavior

Many types of sensory information enter the brain at a structure called the primary sensory cortex, where they are processed by different layers of cells in ways that ultimately influence an animal's perception and behavioral response.

4 Jun 2016

New treatment shows promise against hard-to-treat eye cancer

Eye cancer took the life of author and neurologist Oliver Sacks last year, bringing attention to the rare and deadly disease. Scientists have tried to develop precision treatments against cancers like this one, but the mutations that cause them have proven difficult to block with drugs.

3 Jun 2016

NMNAT2 enzyme may help protect against debilitating effects of neurodegenerative disorders

A study led by biomedical researchers at Indiana University has found evidence that an enzyme known as NMNAT2 may help protect against the debilitating effects of certain degenerative brain diseases, including Alzheimer's.

3 Jun 2016

REGARDS study shows persistence of racial disparities in stroke incidence, mortality

Blacks between the ages of 45 and 54 die of strokes at a rate that is three times greater than their white counterparts, according to the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, which looked at stroke incidence and mortality of nearly 30,000 participants over the age of 45 from an ethnically and demographically diverse sample of the U.S. population.

3 Jun 2016

Study reinforces significance of raising young children in stimulating environments

A recent study shows that infants and toddlers take longer to notice new visual stimuli and are less accurate in their gaze than adults, but slowly improve as they age. The findings reinforce the importance of raising young children in stimulating environments, and set an important baseline as detection of developmental disorders increasingly rely on tracking eye movements.

3 Jun 2016

Lund researchers identify four genetic keys that can unlock code, reprogram skin cells

Eight days. That's how long it takes for skin cells to reprogram into red blood cells. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden, together with colleagues at Center of Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona, have successfully identified the four genetic keys that unlock the genetic code of skin cells and reprogram them to start producing red blood cells instead.

3 Jun 2016

Forgetting is key to good memory

Scientists in Florida have discovered a new protein that is needed for normal forgetting by the human brain. It appears that forgetting is a critical part of the normal management of memories. Identifying the protein essential to this normal forgetting may help researchers to gain further insight into how the human memory works.

3 Jun 2016

New dietary supplement can prevent, reverse massive brain cell loss

A dietary supplement containing a blend of thirty vitamins and minerals--all natural ingredients widely available in health food stores--has shown remarkable anti-aging properties that can prevent and even reverse massive brain cell loss, according to new research from McMaster University.

3 Jun 2016

Researchers developing more accessible way to monitor brain health

Simon Fraser University researchers hope that a brain vital-sign test becomes as routine during a doctor's check-up as taking a blood pressure or heart rate measurement.

3 Jun 2016

New research highlights value of exercise for humans looking to keep their brains fit

The relentless desire by mice to run on cage "exercise" wheels has helped explain at a molecular level how exercise benefits a mammal's brain.

2 Jun 2016

Retroviral replicating vector can extend lives of brain cancer patients

Doctors at UCLA, Cleveland Clinic, University of California San Diego School of Medicine and additional institutions have achieved a milestone in the development of a treatment for people with recurrent glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, by successfully demonstrating a modified virus that can extend the lives of patients with the disease.

2 Jun 2016

Shift work alters internal body clock and leads to strokes, serious brain implications

Statistics show that some 15 million Americans don't work the typical nine-to-five. These employees (or shift workers), who punch in for graveyard or rotating shifts, are more prone to numerous health hazards, from heart attacks to obesity, and now, new research, published in Endocrinology, shows shift work may also have serious implications for the brain.

2 Jun 2016

New mouse model offers more insight into development of ASD in humans

A new mouse model, developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the first to show that when more of a specific biological molecule moves between different parts of nerve cells in the mouse brain, it can lead to behaviors that resembles some aspects of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in humans.

2 Jun 2016

Study finds beer consumption may protect against Aβ aggregation in the brain

While most people will agree that excessive consumption of alcohol can have a detrimental effect on the brain, there is less agreement regarding the effects of light or moderate drinking.

2 Jun 2016

Scientists use optogenetics technique to increase memory in mice brain

Raül Andero Galí, one of the heads of the "Neurobiology of Stress and Addiction" research group at the Institut de Neurociències of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and researcher at Harvard University, published an article in which, for the first time in Spain, optogenetics was used to increase memory.

2 Jun 2016

RSI-MRI imaging technology can effectively differentiate aggressive prostate cancer

Physicians have long used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect cancer but results of a University of California San Diego School of Medicine study describe the potential use of restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) as an imaging biomarker that enhances the ability of MRI to differentiate aggressive prostate cancer from low-grade or benign tumors and guide treatment and biopsy.

2 Jun 2016

Prenatal mild viral assault may cause central nervous system malfunctions in children

Babies born to mothers whose immune systems had to grapple with a viral assault -- even a mild one -- have increased risk of brain and central nervous system abnormalities, according to a new study.

2 Jun 2016

Infection may trigger development of Alzheimer's disease

A growing body of research on Alzheimer's disease suggests an infectious trigger for the development of the disease. According to Brian Balin, PhD, professor of pathology and chair of bio-medical sciences at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, this could be the key to stopping the destructive process of Alzheimer's before it even starts.

2 Jun 2016

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Study shows women, young individuals under age 35 more likely to experience anxiety

New research pinpoints specific lncRNA that regulates neural development

Mice study provides new insights into links between sensory stimuli and behavior

New treatment shows promise against hard-to-treat eye cancer

NMNAT2 enzyme may help protect against debilitating effects of neurodegenerative disorders

REGARDS study shows persistence of racial disparities in stroke incidence, mortality

Study reinforces significance of raising young children in stimulating environments

Lund researchers identify four genetic keys that can unlock code, reprogram skin cells

Forgetting is key to good memory

New dietary supplement can prevent, reverse massive brain cell loss

Researchers developing more accessible way to monitor brain health

New research highlights value of exercise for humans looking to keep their brains fit

Retroviral replicating vector can extend lives of brain cancer patients

Shift work alters internal body clock and leads to strokes, serious brain implications

New mouse model offers more insight into development of ASD in humans

Study finds beer consumption may protect against Aβ aggregation in the brain

Scientists use optogenetics technique to increase memory in mice brain

RSI-MRI imaging technology can effectively differentiate aggressive prostate cancer

Prenatal mild viral assault may cause central nervous system malfunctions in children

Infection may trigger development of Alzheimer's disease

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

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