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.

Study finds novel function of non-protein coding RNA

While studying Parkinson's disease, an international research group made a discovery which can improve industrial protein synthesis for therapeutic use. They managed to understand a novel function of non-protein coding RNA: the protein synthesis activity of coding genes can be enhanced by the activity of the non-coding one called "antisense."

17 Oct 2012

New findings on sleep deprivation presented at Neuroscience 2012

New findings presented today report the important role sleep plays, and the brain mechanisms at work as sleep shapes memory, learning, and behavior. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.

17 Oct 2012

UAF scientists discover evolutionary origin of air breathing in vertebrates

University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists have identified what they think is the ancestral trait that allowed for the evolution of air breathing in vertebrates. They will present their research at the 42nd annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience Oct. 17 in New Orleans.

17 Oct 2012

Adults with HIV can benefit from cognitive training exercises

As more effective antiretroviral therapy has evolved over the past 30 years, HIV/AIDS has shifted from an acute to a chronic condition. But as patients live longer, research indicates that they are experiencing cognitive impairments at a higher rate than people without the disease.

17 Oct 2012

Positive results from PROLOR's Rpeg preclinical toxicology study

PROLOR Biotech, Inc. today announced positive results from a preclinical toxicology study designed to assess the safety and tolerability of PROLOR's proprietary long-acting reversible-pegylation technology.

17 Oct 2012

Prion protein helps the brain to absorb zinc

Scientists from the University of Leeds have found that the protein called prion helps our brains to absorb zinc, which is believed to be crucial to our ability to learn and the wellbeing of our memory.

17 Oct 2012

Nine Sydney researchers to receive funding for biomedical research projects

The Ramaciotti Foundations will award nearly $645,000 in grants to nine Sydney researchers at a gala dinner tonight, to support continued outstanding biomedical research. The Ramaciotti Foundations will award over $1.6 million to 23 recipients at the annual awards evening in Brisbane.

16 Oct 2012

Mephedrone and memory loss: an interview with Craig Motbey

Mephedrone is a fairly new designer drug which has been around for a few years. It exploded in popularity in Europe (and particularly in the UK) before it started to spread in a major way elsewhere.

16 Oct 2012

Sustained attention deficits in bipolar patients, relatives

Patients with bipolar disorder and their first-degree relatives exhibit deficits in sustained attention, study results show.

16 Oct 2012

Mixing mitochondrial DNA bad for physiology

Mice with mitochondrial DNA from two sources have abnormal physiology and cognition, researchers report in Cell.

16 Oct 2012

Simulation training can vastly improve trainee surgeons' skills prior to live procedures

In a paper published today in Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery entitled "Criterion-Based Training to Improve Surgical Performance," researchers at Montefiore Medical Center have demonstrated that current requirements for surgical proficiency, including the performance of a fixed number of surgeries, insufficiently assesses surgical capabilities and does not take into consideration individual learning differences.

16 Oct 2012

LRRK2 inhibitors may provide neuroprotection for patients with Parkinson's

For decades, patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have had the same experience. Their hands start to shake uncontrollably, their limbs become rigid and they lose their balance. Years before those movement problems set in, many begin struggling with fainting, incontinence, sexual dysfunction, anxiety and depression. Many patients are still treated with a 42-year-old drug called L-DOPA, which temporarily staves off symptoms but can itself cause heart arrhythmias, stomach bleeding and hallucinations.

16 Oct 2012

Companionship can reduce nerve-related pain

Companionship has the potential to reduce pain linked to nerve damage, according to a new study.

16 Oct 2012

Transcranial magnetic stimulation can benefit patients with depression, debilitating tinnitus

Three patients who have suffered periodic major depression throughout their adult lives told an audience attending a Loyola Grand Rounds presentation how their lives have been transformed by a new magnetic therapy.

16 Oct 2012

New radiation therapy can reduce risk of neurocognitive adverse effects in children

Children who undergo brain radiation therapy run a significant risk of suffering from permanent neurocognitive adverse effects. These adverse effects are due to the fact that the radiation often encounters healthy tissue. This reduces the formation of new cells, particularly in the hippocampus - the part of the brain involved in memory and learning.

16 Oct 2012

Animal research shows promise in treating AD, brain damage and heart problems resulting from SCIs

New animal studies provide additional support for investigating stem cell treatments for Parkinson's disease, head trauma, and dangerous heart problems that accompany spinal cord injury, according to research findings released today.

16 Oct 2012

U-M professor receives 2012 ASA Excellence in Research Award

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today presented Ralph Lydic, Ph.D. with its 2012 ASA Excellence in Research Award. Dr. Lydic, well known for his research on the neurobiology of sleep and breathing, received the award at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2012 annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

16 Oct 2012

Fat cells need sleep to function properly: Study

In a study that challenges the long-held notion that the primary function of sleep is to give rest to the brain, researchers have found that not getting enough shut-eye has a harmful impact on fat cells, reducing by 30 percent their ability to respond to insulin, a hormone that regulates energy.

16 Oct 2012

Mother rats respond much differently to cocaine than non-mothers

Mother rats respond much differently to cocaine than female rats that have never given birth, according to new University of Michigan research that looks at both behavior and brain chemistry.

16 Oct 2012

Maryland scientists create stem cell model for Gaucher disease

A new method of using adult stem cells as a model for the hereditary condition Gaucher disease could help accelerate the discovery of new, more effective therapies for this and other conditions such as Parkinson's, according to new research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

16 Oct 2012