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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.

White matter integrity supports cognitive performance, signal variability in aging brain

As we age, the physical make up of our brains changes. This includes changes in neural processing in grey matter, but also in the deterioration of structural connections in the brain, which allow communication between distinct brain regions, so the brain is able to work as a well-wired network system.

10 Apr 2015

Mindfulness meditation can reduce pain, anxiety in healthy individuals

When Rebecca Erwin was a varsity rower at the University of North Carolina, the coach had the team's members take a yoga and meditation class.

10 Apr 2015

Study changes our understanding of how position and touch signals are combined in brain

Two types of touch information — the feel of an object and the position of an animal's limb — have long been thought to flow into the brain via different channels and be integrated in sophisticated processing regions.

10 Apr 2015

DFG selects 10 researchers to receive 2015 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize

This year's recipients of the most important prize for early career researchers in Germany have been announced. The selection committee, appointed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has chosen ten researchers, five women and five men, to receive the 2015 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prizes.

10 Apr 2015

Administration of selenide protects heart tissue post cardiac arrest, shows study

Damage to heart muscle from insufficient blood supply during cardiac arrest and reperfusion injury after blood flow is restored can be reduced by nearly 90 percent if selenide, a form of the essential nutrient selenium, is administered intravenously in the wake of the attack, according to a new preclinical study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

10 Apr 2015

Scientists identify chemical compounds that block cancer-causing oncoprotein

A team of scientists at the University of Kansas has pinpointed six chemical compounds that thwart HuR, an "oncoprotein" that binds to RNA and promotes tumor growth.

10 Apr 2015

Stroke patients can benefit from clot-busting drug, shows brain scan study

A drug that breaks up blood clots in the brains of stroke patients could be used more widely than at present without increased risk, a brain scan study suggests.

10 Apr 2015

fMRI can predict language development outcomes in ASD toddlers

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers say it may be possible to predict future language development outcomes in toddlers with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), even before they've been formally diagnosed with the condition.

10 Apr 2015

Hedione scent generates sex-specific activation patterns in brain

The question if humans can communicate via pheromones in the same way as animals is under debate. Cell physiologists at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have demonstrated that the odorous substance Hedione activates the putative pheromone receptor VN1R1, which occurs in the human olfactory epithelium.

10 Apr 2015

Mental practice, physical therapy effective for stroke survivors

A combination of mental practice and physical therapy is an effective treatment for people recovering from a stroke, according to researchers at Georgia State University.

9 Apr 2015

Nielsen BioSciences launches skin test that helps physicians manage Valley Fever infections

Nielsen BioSciences announced today the launch of SPHERUSOL (Coccidioides immitis Spherule-Derived Skin Test Antigen), a skin test that provides valuable data to physicians managing Valley Fever infections. SPHERUSOL has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as the only skin test to detect an immune response to the fungus called Coccidioides, or "cocci," in patients with history of the disease.

9 Apr 2015

Arts and craft activities, computer use may stave off memory problems

People who participate in arts and craft activities and who socialize in middle and old age may delay the development in very old age of the thinking and memory problems that often lead to dementia, according to a new study published in the April 8, 2015, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Apr 2015

Neuro-oncology researchers identify mechanism responsible for tumor cell invasion in glioblastoma

A neuro-oncology research team at Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center, led by the Director Mark A. Israel, MD with first author Gilbert J. Rahme, PhD, recently identified the transcription factor Id4 as a suppressor of tumor cell invasion in glioblastoma.

9 Apr 2015

Simple dietary intervention can help reduce weight gain

A University of Calgary study has found that rats fed a fibre supplement while on a high fat and high sugar diet show a much lower weight gain than those who did not eat the fibre. A team of researchers from the university's Cumming School of Medicine and the Faculty of Kinesiology says the study helps scientists better understand the mechanisms of weight control and energy balance.

9 Apr 2015

Study looks at connections between cerebral cortex and cerebellum in children with autism

In early childhood, the neurons inside children's developing brains form connections between various regions of brain "real estate." As described in a paper published last week in the journal Biological Psychiatry, cognitive neuroscientists at San Diego State University found that in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, the connections between the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum appear to be overdeveloped in sensorimotor regions of the brain.

9 Apr 2015

Biologists discover vulnerability of brain cancer cells

Biologists at MIT and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have discovered a vulnerability of brain cancer cells that could be exploited to develop more-effective drugs against brain tumors.

9 Apr 2015

Plymouth researchers receive grant to develop effective therapy for Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease is an hereditary disorder of the nervous system caused by a faulty gene on chromosome four. The faulty gene leads to nerve damage in the area of the brain resulting in gradual physical, mental and emotional changes. Those born to a parent with Huntington's disease have a 50:50 chance of developing it, and there is currently no cure.

9 Apr 2015

Understanding emotional processing deficit

Kessler Foundation researchers have linked the inability to recognize facial affect (emotion) with white matter damage after traumatic brain injury (TBI), an important first step toward understanding this emotional processing deficit. Their findings indicate a pattern of white matter damage and gray matter atrophy associated with this specific impairment of social cognition after TBI.

9 Apr 2015

Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon awarded Cortes de Cadiz Prize by the city council of Cadiz, Spain

Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa has been awarded the Cortes de Cadiz Prize in the category of surgery by the city council of Cadiz, Spain. The jury prize, in which members of the Royal Academy of Medicine and Surgery took part, was awarded to Quinones-Hinojosa not only for his renowned scientific career but also for his “moving life experience,” which, the judges noted, is full of “self-improvement and success.”

9 Apr 2015

Public Health Agency of Canada issues statement on measles

The Public Health Agency of Canada is again reminding Canadians of the importance of ensuring their immunizations are up to date, following the confirmation of additional cases of measles in the Vancouver region.

8 Apr 2015

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

White matter integrity supports cognitive performance, signal variability in aging brain

Mindfulness meditation can reduce pain, anxiety in healthy individuals

Study changes our understanding of how position and touch signals are combined in brain

DFG selects 10 researchers to receive 2015 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize

Administration of selenide protects heart tissue post cardiac arrest, shows study

Scientists identify chemical compounds that block cancer-causing oncoprotein

Stroke patients can benefit from clot-busting drug, shows brain scan study

fMRI can predict language development outcomes in ASD toddlers

Hedione scent generates sex-specific activation patterns in brain

Mental practice, physical therapy effective for stroke survivors

Nielsen BioSciences launches skin test that helps physicians manage Valley Fever infections

Arts and craft activities, computer use may stave off memory problems

Neuro-oncology researchers identify mechanism responsible for tumor cell invasion in glioblastoma

Simple dietary intervention can help reduce weight gain

Study looks at connections between cerebral cortex and cerebellum in children with autism

Biologists discover vulnerability of brain cancer cells

Plymouth researchers receive grant to develop effective therapy for Huntington's disease

Understanding emotional processing deficit

Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon awarded Cortes de Cadiz Prize by the city council of Cadiz, Spain

Public Health Agency of Canada issues statement on measles

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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