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.

Neuronetrix selected to support upcoming ANAVEX 2-73 Phase 2a clinical trial

Neuronetrix has been selected by Anavex Life Sciences Corp. to support the upcoming Phase 2a clinical trial for ANAVEX 2-73, a symptomatic and potentially disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Neuronetrix will be utilizing their COGNISION System to measure and analyze cognitive biomarkers in study participants.

7 Nov 2014

McLean Hospital lab explores use of stem cell therapy to treat epilepsy

McLean Hospital and Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists have new evidence that stem cell transplantation could be a worthwhile strategy to help epileptics who do not respond to anti-seizure drugs.

7 Nov 2014

Applying lessons learnt from failed Alzheimer's studies for future research

Disappointing results in clinical Alzheimer's studies discourage doctors and scientists from continuing their research into ɣ-secretases and a possible treatment against Alzheimer's disease. In the prestigious journal Cell, the Alzheimer's expert Bart De Strooper (VIB-KU Leuven) argues that these studies are not pointless, but merely indicate what the next steps should be for the Alzheimer's research.

7 Nov 2014

New algorithm could help determine how to treat patients having difficulty breathing

Paramedics respond to a 911 call to find an elderly patient who's having difficulty breathing. Anxious and disoriented, the patient has trouble remembering all the medications he's taking, and with his shortness of breath, speaking is difficult. Is he suffering from acute emphysema or heart failure? The symptoms look the same, but initiating the wrong treatment regimen will increase the patient's risk of severe complications.

7 Nov 2014

Researchers edging closer to first ever stem cell transplants for people with Parkinson's disease

A major breakthrough in the development of stem cell-derived brain cells has put researchers on a firm path towards the first ever stem cell transplantations in people with Parkinson's disease. A new study presents the next generation of transplantable dopamine neurons produced from stem cells. These cells carry the same properties as the dopamine neurons found in the human brain.

7 Nov 2014

Cue processing altered in siblings of schizophrenia patients

The siblings of patients with schizophrenia have altered activity in the ventral striatum during reward anticipation and receipt, a study shows.

6 Nov 2014

U-M researchers show how neurons perform multiple functions

Researchers at the University of Michigan have shown how a single neuron can perform multiple functions in a model organism, illuminating for the first time this fundamental biological mechanism and shedding light on the human brain.

6 Nov 2014

Scientists awarded grant to investigate new drug-based treatment for NF2

Scientists from Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry have been awarded a grant from young person's cancer charity The Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust to investigate a new drug-based treatment for a multi-tumour brain and nervous system cancer which affects teenagers and young adults.

6 Nov 2014

Johns Hopkins researchers capture images of protein complex that keeps hearts beating

For years, a multidisciplinary team of Johns Hopkins researchers has tracked an elusive creature, a complex of proteins thought to be at fault in some cases of sudden cardiac death. As they report Nov. 5 in the online edition of Nature Communications, they have finally captured images of the complex.

6 Nov 2014

D-LIVER project aims to help patients with chronic liver disease

A European ICT for Health project aims to improve the quality of life of patients with chronic liver disease, by developing a remote support system to monitor their condition at home.

6 Nov 2014

NIH boosts funding for first large-scale clinical trial aimed at identifying drugs for Alzheimer's

The National Institutes of Health has boosted funding for the first large-scale clinical trial aimed at identifying drugs to stop or slow Alzheimer's disease in people destined to get the debilitating illness.

6 Nov 2014

Joslin researcher identifies molecular pathway that causes neural tube defects in diabetic pregnancies

Mary R. Loeken, Ph.D., Investigator in the Section on Islet Cell and Regenerative Biology at Joslin Diabetes Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has discovered a molecular pathway responsible for neural tube defects in diabetic pregnancies. Her latest research findings in this pathway were published in the October issue of Diabetes.

6 Nov 2014

Eight organizations to receive IHF grants to improve care for military veterans

Infinite Hero Foundation today announced that eight organizations will receive charitable grants to fund therapies that address the most critical mental and physical challenges facing returning military veterans and their families.

6 Nov 2014

Johns Hopkins study suggests ways to avoid choking under pressure

Everyone knows the scene: a basketball player at the free throw line, bouncing the ball as he concentrates on the basket. It’s a tight game, and his team needs this point. He regularly makes baskets from much farther away while avoiding defenders, but now, when all is calm, he chokes and misses the basket, and his team loses. Recent research from The Johns Hopkins University suggests that in situations like this, performance depends on two factors: the framing of the incentive in terms of a loss or a gain, and a person’s aversion to loss.

6 Nov 2014

Study provides answers regarding scientific controversies about brain anatomy in autism research

In the largest MRI study to date, researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Carnegie Mellon University have shown that the brain anatomy in MRI scans of people with autism above age six is mostly indistinguishable from that of typically developing individuals and, therefore, of little clinical or scientific value.

6 Nov 2014

New study finds link between conflict and reinforcement learning

We celebrate our triumphs over adversity, but let's face it: We'd rather not experience difficulty at all. A new study ties that behavioral inclination to learning: When researchers added a bit of conflict to make a learning task more difficult, that additional conflict biased learning by reducing the influence of reward and increasing the influence of aversion to punishment.

6 Nov 2014

Study looks at new diagnostic, treatment approaches to neurological conditions

Despite great advances in understanding how the human brain works, psychiatric conditions, neurodegenerative disorders, and brain injuries are on the rise. Progress in the development of new diagnostic and treatment approaches appears to have stalled. In a special issue of the Cell Press journal Neuron, experts look at the challenges associated with "translational neuroscience," or efforts to bring advances in the lab to the patients who need them.

6 Nov 2014

Latest findings on Chiari malformation to be presented at Akron conference

Researchers from around the country will gather Friday and Saturday at The University of Akron to share the latest findings on Chiari malformation, a neurological disorder at the bottom of the brain that causes at least 300,000 Americans to endure head and neck pain, loss of fine motor control and many other symptoms.

6 Nov 2014

VTT develops innovative magnetometer for applications such as medical imaging

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed an innovative magnetometer that can replace conventional technology in applications such as neuroimaging, mineral exploration and molecular diagnostics. Its manufacturing costs are between 70 and 80 per cent lower than those of traditional technology, and the device is not as sensitive to external magnetic fields as its predecessors. The design of the magnetometer also makes it easier to integrate into measuring systems.

6 Nov 2014

New research suggests that brain aging can be postponed if placed on a high-fat diet

New Danish-led research suggests that signs of brain aging can be postponed in mice if placed on a high-fat diet. In the long term, this opens the possibility of treatment of children suffering from premature aging and patients with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The research project is headed by the Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen and the National Institute of Health.

6 Nov 2014