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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.

Scientists work to detect chronic traumatic encephalopathy in earliest stages

Autopsies have shown that some high-profile athletes who suffered repeated blows to the head during their careers have unusual protein clumps in their brains.

24 Jul 2014

Blood flow to the brain significantly affected by dehydration

It’s a lesson riders in the Tour de France know all too well – drinking water while cycling in extreme heat is vital if they are to remain at peak performance.

23 Jul 2014

Astrocytes may be behind mental disorders, new research reveals

Astrocytes, the cells that make the background of the brain and support neurons, might be behind mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, according to new research by a Portuguese team from the ICVS at the University of Minho.

23 Jul 2014

Shire, ArmaGen partner to develop AGT-182 drug for treatment of Hunter syndrome

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, and ArmaGen, a US privately held biotechnology company, today announced a worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement for AGT-182, an investigational enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for the potential treatment of both the central nervous system (CNS) and somatic manifestations in patients with Hunter syndrome (MPS II).

23 Jul 2014

Research findings could lead to new approaches for treating schizophrenia

As part of a multinational, collaborative effort, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have helped identify over 100 locations in the human genome associated with the risk of developing schizophrenia, in the largest genomic study published on any psychiatric disorder to date, conducted with 80,000 people.

23 Jul 2014

Understanding how some cells in the brain and nervous system turn cancerous

Scientists from the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in New York with the help of Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry have completed research which for the first time brings us nearer to understanding how some cells in the brain and nervous system become cancerous.

23 Jul 2014

Study explores how changes in dopamine transporter function linked to brain disorders

Recent published research in the Journal of Clinical Investigation demonstrates how changes in dopamine signaling and dopamine transporter function are linked to neurological and psychiatric diseases, including early-onset Parkinsonism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

23 Jul 2014

Study reveals novel epilepsy pathway linked to neurodegenerative diseases

A recent scientific discovery showed that mutations in prickle genes cause epilepsy, which in humans is a brain disorder characterized by repeated seizures over time. However, the mechanism responsible for generating prickle-associated seizures was unknown.

23 Jul 2014

Stimulating specific brain pathway may induce active emergence from anesthesia

Researchers may be one step closer to better understanding how anesthesia works. A study in the August issue of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists- (ASA-), found stimulating a major dopamine-producing region in the brain, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), caused rats to wake from general anesthesia, suggesting that this region plays a key role in restoring consciousness after general anesthesia.

23 Jul 2014

Study suggests possible link between immune system and schizophrenia

Nancy Buccola, MSN, APRN, PMHCNS-BC, CNE, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Nursing, contributed samples used in a study reporting new locations of genetic material associated with schizophrenia and also suggesting a possible link between the immune system and schizophrenia.

23 Jul 2014

Researchers identify molecular mechanisms of cognitive decline using high-throughput proteomics

From telephone numbers to foreign vocabulary, our brains hold a seemingly endless supply of information. However, as we are getting older, our ability to learn and remember new things declines.

22 Jul 2014

Signs and symptoms of Lewy body dementia

"I watched my husband experience a decline in cognition followed by a period of what seemed like improved function only to plunge again into confusion with more frequent hallucinations," says one caregiver newly acquainted with Lewy body dementia (LBD).

22 Jul 2014

Brain stimulation effective for treating depression

Brain stimulation treatments, like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), are often effective for the treatment of depression. Like antidepressant medications, however, they typically have a delayed onset.

22 Jul 2014

Trying harder makes it more difficult to learn certain aspects of language, shows study

When it comes to learning languages, adults and children have different strengths. Adults excel at absorbing the vocabulary needed to navigate a grocery store or order food in a restaurant, but children have an uncanny ability to pick up on subtle nuances of language that often elude adults.

22 Jul 2014

Automatic word processing skills are not fully developed in young readers, shows study

Teachers-in-training have long been taught that fourth grade is when students stop learning to read and start reading to learn.

22 Jul 2014

Study finds microglia increase neuronal firing and enhance brain cell survival after injury

A type of immune cell widely believed to exacerbate chronic adult brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis (MS), can actually protect the brain from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and may slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, according to Cleveland Clinic research published today in the online journal Nature Communications.

22 Jul 2014

New discovery links two important hypotheses in Alzheimer's disease research

In Alzheimer's disease, accumulation of amyloid plaque in the brain is believed to play an important role in many characteristic disease symptoms, including memory loss and other mental state changes.

22 Jul 2014

Study analyses whether connectivity of infant's brain is related to children's impulsiveness

Researchers from the University of Murcia have studied the changes in the brain that are associated with impulsiveness, a personality trait that causes difficulties in inhibiting a response in the face of a stimulus and leads to unplanned actions without considering the negative consequences.

22 Jul 2014

New molecules and biopharmaceuticals enhance patient's immune response against tumors

Researchers at the University of Arkansas have been awarded $1.5 million from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health to develop new molecules and biopharmaceuticals that enhance a patient's immune response against tumors.

22 Jul 2014

Researchers explore brain estrogens to mitigate learning and memory problems

New studies being launched by neurobiologist Luke Remage-Healey at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will investigate how estrogens produced in the brains of young birds enhance their ability to learn songs during a critical window during development.

22 Jul 2014