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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.

Neuron firing patterns in IT cortex linked with object-recognition tasks

When the eyes are open, visual information flows from the retina through the optic nerve and into the brain, which assembles this raw information into objects and scenes.

6 Oct 2015

Body weight change in older women may aid in diagnosis, management of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers led by Deborah Gustafson, PhD, MS, professor of neurology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, have shown that women with a gene variant (APOEe4 allele) associated with Alzheimer's disease experience a steeper decline in body mass index (BMI) after age 70 than those women without the version of the gene, whether they go on to develop dementia or not.

6 Oct 2015

MS patients with history of neuro-ophthalmic syndromes perform poorly on visual neuropsychological testing

Scientists found that individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) who had a history of neuro-ophthalmic syndromes performed poorly on visual neuropsychological tasks. The article, "Neuro-ophthalmic syndromes and processing speed in multiple sclerosis," was published in the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology.

6 Oct 2015

Sexual activity causes physiological changes in the body that increase women's chances of getting pregnant

Research from Indiana University has found that sexual activity triggers physiological changes in the body that increase a woman's chances of getting pregnant, even outside the window of ovulation.

6 Oct 2015

Novel computational strategy may help identify genetic variants that cause disease in children

The team behind the Deciphering Developmental Disorders (DDD) Study, one of the world's largest nationwide rare disease genome-wide sequencing initiatives, have developed a novel computational approach to identify genetic variants that cause disease in young children.

6 Oct 2015

Osteopathic physicians, researchers to present clinical and research updates at OMED 15

Osteopathic physicians, researchers and aligned medical professionals will present clinical and research updates in 15 specialties at OMED 15 in Orlando October 17-21.

6 Oct 2015

Songbirds may help researchers find cure for Huntington’s disease

Many neurological disorders can rob someone of the ability to speak clearly, causing them to stutter, mispronounce words, and struggle to put together coherent sentences. However, the molecular and neurological dysfunctions that cause these symptoms aren't well understood. Recent work at The Rockefeller University may give researchers a new tool to better study these vocal and speech impairments, particularly in Huntington's disease.

6 Oct 2015

Researchers identify role of microglia during early stages of Alzheimer's disease

For the first time, researchers have determined how toxic tau fibrils spread by the help of brain immune cells called microglia during the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The discovery of this new pathway may lead to a therapeutic target for AD, one that has not been previously identified.

5 Oct 2015

UNC researchers find association between gut microbiota and anorexia nervosa

Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine found that people with anorexia nervosa have very different microbial communities residing inside their guts compared to healthy individuals and that this bacterial imbalance is associated with some of the psychological symptoms related to the eating disorder.

5 Oct 2015

Anteroinferior encephalocele a rare but important epilepsy cause

Clinicians should actively search for anteroinferior encephaloceles in patients with treatment-refractory epilepsy, say researchers.

2 Oct 2015

Short bursts of high intensity exercise may improve cardiovascular health in teens

Adolescents who perform just eight to ten minutes of high-intensity interval exercise three times a week could be significantly reducing their risk of developing heart conditions, new research has concluded.

1 Oct 2015

Minor infections, inadequate vaccinations increase stroke risk in children

Children who have suffered recent infections or have not received most or all of their vaccinations are at a higher risk for stroke, according to research published in the Sept. 30 issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

1 Oct 2015

Experimental drug shows promise in mice with multiple sclerosis

An experimental drug originally identified in a National Cancer Institute library of chemical compounds as a potential therapy for brain and basal cell cancers improves the symptoms of mice with a form of the debilitating neurological disorder multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new research from NYU Langone Medical Center.

1 Oct 2015

Vanderbilt study reveals benefits of theatre-based program in children with autism

Children with autism who participated in a 10-week, 40-hour, theatre-based program showed significant differences in social ability compared to a group of children with autism who did not participate, according to a Vanderbilt study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

1 Oct 2015

Researchers discover five new genetic variants associated with brain cancer

The biggest ever study of DNA from people with glioma - the most common form of brain cancer - has discovered five new genetic variants associated with the disease.

1 Oct 2015

Einstein researchers awarded $2.9 million NIH grant to promote healthy sleep among preschoolers

An estimated 25 to 50 percent of preschoolers do not get enough healthy sleep. Now, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have been awarded a five-year, $2.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to promote healthy sleep among these children. The investigators will partner with Head Start, the early childhood program for disadvantaged preschool children and their families.

1 Oct 2015

Multicenter study shows Monteris’ NeuroBlate System improves outcome in brain tumor patients

Monteris Medical today announced recent data demonstrating that newly diagnosed brain tumor patients undergoing procedures with the NeuroBlate System, a minimally invasive robotic laser thermotherapy tool, experienced improved outcomes.

1 Oct 2015

New research sheds light on how retina sets its own biological rhythm using neuropsin

Researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Washington report new research that sheds light on how the retina sets its own biological rhythm using a novel light-sensitive pigment, called neuropsin, found in nerve cells at the back of the eye.

1 Oct 2015

Researchers find neurons in human visual cortex that selectively react to intermediate colors

Researchers from Tohoku University's Research Institute of Electrical Communication and RIKEN BSI have found the presence of neurons in the human brain which can each selectively respond to an intermediate color; not just neurons of red, green, yellow and blue.

1 Oct 2015

Health Partnership Scheme funds project dedicated to viral haemorrhagic fever

A team from Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry and Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust has received funding of £136,000 from the Health Partnership Scheme to develop a training programme to help the Sierra Leonean Health Service to fight future outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fever.

1 Oct 2015

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Neuron firing patterns in IT cortex linked with object-recognition tasks

Body weight change in older women may aid in diagnosis, management of Alzheimer's disease

MS patients with history of neuro-ophthalmic syndromes perform poorly on visual neuropsychological testing

Sexual activity causes physiological changes in the body that increase women's chances of getting pregnant

Novel computational strategy may help identify genetic variants that cause disease in children

Osteopathic physicians, researchers to present clinical and research updates at OMED 15

Songbirds may help researchers find cure for Huntington’s disease

Researchers identify role of microglia during early stages of Alzheimer's disease

UNC researchers find association between gut microbiota and anorexia nervosa

Anteroinferior encephalocele a rare but important epilepsy cause

Short bursts of high intensity exercise may improve cardiovascular health in teens

Minor infections, inadequate vaccinations increase stroke risk in children

Experimental drug shows promise in mice with multiple sclerosis

Vanderbilt study reveals benefits of theatre-based program in children with autism

Researchers discover five new genetic variants associated with brain cancer

Einstein researchers awarded $2.9 million NIH grant to promote healthy sleep among preschoolers

Multicenter study shows Monteris’ NeuroBlate System improves outcome in brain tumor patients

New research sheds light on how retina sets its own biological rhythm using neuropsin

Researchers find neurons in human visual cortex that selectively react to intermediate colors

Health Partnership Scheme funds project dedicated to viral haemorrhagic fever

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

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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