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.

Findings provide insight into how brain represents innermost feelings

Although feelings are personal and subjective, the human brain turns them into a standard code that objectively represents emotions across different senses, situations and even people, reports a new study by Cornell University neuroscientist Adam Anderson.

10 Jul 2014

Trial to evaluate safety of FRED- flow diversion system for treatment of aneurysms

After Susan Wakulich was told she had an aneurysm, she figured an invasive brain surgery and lengthy recovery lay ahead of her.

10 Jul 2014

New paper states that doctors have ethical obligation to educate, protect athletes from concussion

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the largest professional association of neurologists and a leading authority on sports concussion, is releasing a new position paper that states doctors have an ethical obligation to educate and protect athletes from sports concussion and clear them to play only when the athlete is medically ready, standing firm against objections from players, parents or coaches.

10 Jul 2014

People can be conditioned to feel less pain when they hear neutral sound

People can be conditioned to feel less pain when they hear a neutral sound, new research from the University of Luxembourg has found. This lends weight to the idea that we can learn to use mind-over-matter to beat pain. The scientific article was published recently in the online journal "PLOS One".

10 Jul 2014

Parkinson's disease drug could also help people with phobias or PTSD

A drug used to treat Parkinson's disease could also help people with phobias or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Scientists of the Translational Neurosciences Research Center at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz are currently exploring the effects of psychotherapy to extinguish fears in combination with L-dopa.

10 Jul 2014

NIH funds Phase II 90-subject pediatric clinical trial at UCLA

NeuroSigma, Inc., a California-based life sciences company focused on commercialization of its non-invasive Monarch eTNS System for the treatment of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, today announced that the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded UCLA a grant that funds a Phase II 90-subject pediatric clinical trial at the University of California, Los Angeles focused on the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with NeuroSigma's external trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) System.

10 Jul 2014

Lung cancer and melanoma funders form first-ever research collaboration

LUNGevity Foundation today announced a partnership with the Lung Cancer Research Foundation and Melanoma Research Alliance to co-fund new innovative research on PD-1 inhibitor treatment options for both non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and metastatic melanoma (MM) patients with brain metastases.

9 Jul 2014

Viewpoints: Misreading Hobby Lobby; calmer climate for ACA; danger of tuberculosis, measles

Liberals should spend less time lauding the dissents in last week's Hobby Lobby decision by the U.S. Supreme Court and more time reading them.

9 Jul 2014

Research project on risk taking behaviour in teenagers

By looking at 40 different factors in a 14 year old teens, including brain structure and function, personality, life experiences and genetics, researchers can predict with 70% accuracy who will go on to develop binge drinking within the next two years.

9 Jul 2014

Researchers evaluate surgeons' cognition during robot-assisted surgery

What clues might brain metrics hold about the skill levels of surgeons who perform robot-assisted surgeries? Looking for better ways to assess the proficiency of surgeons performing these complex procedures, researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) and the University at Buffalo (UB) determined whether cognitive assessment can effectively measure the expertise of robotic surgeons with varying levels of experience.

9 Jul 2014

New therapeutic targets release mechanisms in reactive astrocytes for treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common cause of dementia, is fatal and currently, there is no cure. In Alzheimer's disease, brain cells are damaged and destroyed, leading to devastating memory loss.

9 Jul 2014

Cinnamon can be used to halt disease progression in Parkinson's patients

Neurological scientists at Rush University Medical Center have found that using cinnamon, a common food spice and flavoring material, can reverse the biomechanical, cellular and anatomical changes that occur in the brains of mice with Parkinson's disease (PD).

9 Jul 2014

Scientists find a new strategy for brain cancer treatment

Scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University and McGill University Health Centre have shown that a member of the protein family known as SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) is a key to why tumour cells multiply uncontrollably, especially in the case of glioblastoma. T

9 Jul 2014

Patient goes on fishing trip after undergoing complex brain surgery

Just two weeks after undergoing delicate and complex brain surgery for a life-threatening condition, Bill Abt's surgeon cleared him to take a previously scheduled fishing trip.

9 Jul 2014

Research on brain and neurological disorders wins best illusion of the year

In a packed house of more than a 1,000 people, University of Nevada, Reno graduate psychology student Christopher Blair presented the Dynamic Ebbinghaus illusion at the 10th annual Best Illusion of the Year Contest hosted by the Neural Correlate Society in St. Petersburg, Fla.

9 Jul 2014

UCLA project receives $15M to restore lost memory functions in brain-injured people

The UCLA Program in Memory Restoration has been awarded up to $15 million by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for a four -year project aiming to help brain-injured people restore lost memory functions.

9 Jul 2014

Research finding offers potential therapeutic avenues for glioblastoma

Invading glioblastoma cells may hijack cerebral blood vessels during early stages of disease progression and damage the brain's protective barrier, a study in mice indicates. This finding could ultimately lead to new ways to bring about the death of the tumor, as therapies may be able to reach these deadly cells at an earlier time point than was previously thought possible.

9 Jul 2014

Maternal inflammation in maternal blood linked with greater risk for schizophrenia in offspring

Maternal inflammation as indicated by the presence in maternal blood of early gestational C-reactive protein-an established inflammatory biomarker-appears to be associated with greater risk for schizophrenia in offspring, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

8 Jul 2014

Researchers examine link between full moon and sleep

A Swiss research study conducted last year showed that the full moon affects sleep. The findings demonstrated that people average 20 minutes less sleep, take five minutes longer to fall asleep and experience 30 minutes more of REM sleep, during which most dreaming is believed to occur.

8 Jul 2014