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.

Aggression influences new nerve cell production in the brain

A group of neurobiologists from Russia and the USA, including Dmitry Smagin, Tatyana Michurina, and Grigori Enikolopov from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, have proven experimentally that aggression has an influence on the production of new nerve cells in the brain.

8 Feb 2016

LouLou Foundation, Penn Med set up Program of Excellence to develop treatments for children with CDKL5

The London-based LouLou Foundation and the Orphan Disease Center of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have established a Program of Excellence to develop effective treatments for children with CDKL5, a rare X-chromosome-linked genetic disorder that causes severe neuro-developmental impairment and early-onset, difficult-to-control seizures.

8 Feb 2016

Duchenne muscular dystrophy: direct effect on muscle stem cells? An interview with Dr Rudnicki

For twenty years, it has been understood that dystrophin is expressed in differentiated muscle fibers where it is part of a protein complex that crosses the membrane and connects the extracellular matrix to the actin network inside the cell to provide structural integrity.

5 Feb 2016

Lamin nucleoskeleton disordered in Alzheimer's

Brain cell death in Alzheimer's disease is linked to disruption of a skeleton that surrounds the nucleus of the cells, a researcher in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio said.

5 Feb 2016

Novel non-invasive method of vagus nerve stimulation reduces depressive symptoms

Researchers of a new study published in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry report successful reduction of depressive symptoms in patients using a novel non-invasive method of vagus nerve stimulation, or VNS.

5 Feb 2016

Study provides window into the brain changes that link mindfulness meditation with health-related benefits

Over the past decade, mindfulness meditation has been shown to improve a broad range of health and disease outcomes, such as slowing HIV progression and improving healthy aging. Yet, little is known about the brain changes that produce these beneficial health effects.

5 Feb 2016

People with traumatic brain injuries may have buildup of plaques related to Alzheimer's disease

A new study suggests that people with brain injuries following head trauma may have buildup of the plaques related to Alzheimer's disease in their brains. The research is published in the February 3, 2016, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Feb 2016

Noninvasive FMRI may help evaluate effectiveness of new pain medications

New research may allow new, more effective and safer pain medications to reach patients who suffer from chronic pain sooner. According to a recent study published in Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI), to measure the brain's neural response to pain, may be a viable tool for evaluating the effectiveness of new pain medications during the early stages of human drug development - providing the needed objective evidence to prevent the premature discarding of potentially beneficial therapies.

4 Feb 2016

Mercury may not thwart seafood brain benefits

Accumulation of mercury in the brain from eating seafood does not appear to lead to Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology, shows research published in JAMA.

4 Feb 2016

BDNF gene expression signals cognitive reserve against AD progression

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene expression contributes to slowing of cognitive decline in older adults and may protect against the effects of Alzheimer’s disease pathology, researchers report in Neurology.

4 Feb 2016

Diffusion tensor imaging ‘should be routine’ in SVD assessment

Gait speed and microstructural brain damage may be the best indicators of mortality risk in patients with small vessel disease, say researchers.

4 Feb 2016

Molecular imaging and radiochemistry: the importance of instrumentation. An interview with Professor Björn Wängler

Interview conducted with Professor Björn Wängler, Professor for Molecular Imaging and Radiochemistry from Heidelberg University.

From Bruker BioSpin Group 4 Feb 2016

Study finding could shed light on molecular mechanisms underlying Huntington's disease

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have shown that the core of the protein clumps found in the brains of people with Huntington's disease have a distinctive structure, a finding that could shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the neurodegenerative disorder.

4 Feb 2016

Elder financial exploitation resulting from age-related cognitive decline pose major economic threats

Protecting the wealth of older adults should be a high priority for banks, insurance companies, and others, according to the latest edition of Public Policy & Aging Report (PP&AR). Elder financial exploitation and diminished financial capacity resulting from age-related cognitive impairments both pose major economic threats, the issue finds.

4 Feb 2016

CMU joins $12 million research project to reverse-engineer the brain's secret algorithms

Carnegie Mellon University is embarking on a five-year, $12 million research effort to reverse-engineer the brain, seeking to unlock the secrets of neural circuitry and the brain's learning methods. Researchers will use these insights to make computers think more like humans.

4 Feb 2016

UCI researchers identify potential strategies to prevent cognitive decline

As brain cells age they lose the fibers that receive neural impulses, a change that may underlie cognitive decline. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine recently found a way to reverse this process in rats. The study was published February 3 in The Journal of Neuroscience. Researchers caution that more studies are needed, but the findings shed light on the mechanisms of cognitive decline and identify potential strategies to stem it.

3 Feb 2016

Study reveals fetal origin for social and repetitive behavior deficits

Fetal development has been known to play an important role in social interaction, a fundamental behavior found in nearly all organisms, and later adult social behaviors. Autism, a highly heritable neurodevelopment disorder that causes difficulties with social interactions, has been postulated to be caused by neuron overgrowth in the prenatal period, although the precise timing and cause of this overgrowth has been unknown.

3 Feb 2016

Prenatal stress affects babies' health in war-torn areas

Children from war-torn areas of the globe are affected by trauma even before they are born, according to a new University of Florida study.

3 Feb 2016

Seafood consumption may benefit older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease

New research published Feb. 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that older adults with a major risk gene for Alzheimer's disease known as APOE?4 who ate at least one seafood serving per week showed fewer signs of Alzheimer's-related brain changes. In contrast, this association was not found in the brains of volunteers who ate fish weekly but did not carry the risk gene.

3 Feb 2016

Combined MRI and ultramicroscopy toolkit could help study vessel growth in glioma models in more detail

Stopping the growth of blood vessels in tumours is a key target for glioblastoma therapies, and imaging methods are essential for initial diagnosis and monitoring the effects of treatments. While mapping vessels in tumours has proven a challenge, researchers have now developed a combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultramicroscopy 'toolkit' to study vessel growth in glioma models in more detail than previously possible.

3 Feb 2016

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Aggression influences new nerve cell production in the brain

LouLou Foundation, Penn Med set up Program of Excellence to develop treatments for children with CDKL5

Duchenne muscular dystrophy: direct effect on muscle stem cells? An interview with Dr Rudnicki

Lamin nucleoskeleton disordered in Alzheimer's

Novel non-invasive method of vagus nerve stimulation reduces depressive symptoms

Study provides window into the brain changes that link mindfulness meditation with health-related benefits

People with traumatic brain injuries may have buildup of plaques related to Alzheimer's disease

Noninvasive FMRI may help evaluate effectiveness of new pain medications

Mercury may not thwart seafood brain benefits

BDNF gene expression signals cognitive reserve against AD progression

Diffusion tensor imaging ‘should be routine’ in SVD assessment

Molecular imaging and radiochemistry: the importance of instrumentation. An interview with Professor Björn Wängler

Study finding could shed light on molecular mechanisms underlying Huntington's disease

Elder financial exploitation resulting from age-related cognitive decline pose major economic threats

CMU joins $12 million research project to reverse-engineer the brain's secret algorithms

UCI researchers identify potential strategies to prevent cognitive decline

Study reveals fetal origin for social and repetitive behavior deficits

Prenatal stress affects babies' health in war-torn areas

Seafood consumption may benefit older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease

Combined MRI and ultramicroscopy toolkit could help study vessel growth in glioma models in more detail

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News