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.

Dog food preservative may prevent nerve damage in patients taking chemotherapy

Working with cells in test tubes and in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that a chemical commonly used as a dog food preservative may prevent the kind of painful nerve damage found in the hands and feet of four out of five cancer patients taking the chemotherapy drug Taxol.

20 Sep 2013

Brain exposed to social media browsing can easily become hobbled by information overload

While you are browsing online, you could be squandering memories - or losing important information. Contrary to common wisdom, an idle brain is in fact doing important work - and in the age of constant information overload, it's a good idea to go offline on a regular basis, says a researcher from Stockholm's KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

20 Sep 2013

Study explains indirect burden of malaria on childhood deaths

Recurrent episodes of malaria cause chronic inflammation in blood vessels that might predispose to future infections and may increase susceptibility to cardiovascular disease, a Wellcome Trust study in Malawian children finds.

20 Sep 2013

An in-depth approach to examine placebo effect and its impact on doctor-patient relationship

The findings of a comprehensive review of the placebo phenomenon and its consequences for clinical medicine are contained in a new article, "Placebo and the New Physiology of the Doctor-Patient Relationship," (http://bit.ly/14QfSur) published in Physiological Reviews.

20 Sep 2013

LCT successfully implants first patient with potential Parkinson's disease treatment

Living Cell Technologies Limited today announced that the first patient has been successfully implanted in the Phase I clinical trial of the regenerative cell therapy NTCELL – a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease.

20 Sep 2013

Studies reveal functioning of nerve cells in entorhinal cortex

The entorhinal cortex is a link between the brain's memory centre, the hippocampus, and the other areas of the brain. It is, however, more than an interface that only transfers nervous impulses.

20 Sep 2013

WUSTL engineers apply new imaging technique to understand brain’s biomechanics

The human body has a lot of jobs to do, and its mechanical features, such as strength and flexibility, are important to how well it does them. Washington University in St. Louis engineers are now applying a new imaging technique to a model of brain tissue to see how stiff or soft it might be.

20 Sep 2013

Visual clue to schizophrenia pathology

Researchers say that retinal imaging could be a useful tool for studying some of the pathologic processes associated with schizophrenia.

19 Sep 2013

Research offers new perspectives on cortical structure's development

The cerebral cortex is the most complex and vital structure in our brain. It is the nerve centre for those "higher" functions that characterise our species, such as language and abstract thought. The nerve cells - or neurons - which comprise the cortex are key elements in ensuring its functions effectively.

19 Sep 2013

Blood lipid marker may help predict risk for Parkinson's disease

A genetic mutation, known as GBA, that leads to early onset of Parkinson's disease and severe cognitive impairment (in about 4 to 7 percent of all patients with the disease) also alters how specific lipids, ceramides and glucosylceramides are metabolized. Mayo Clinic researchers have found that Parkinson's patients who do not carry the genetic mutation also have higher levels of these lipids in the blood. Further, those who had Parkinson's and high blood levels were also more likely to have cognitive impairment and dementia.

19 Sep 2013

Omeros announces initiation of enrollment in OMS824 Phase 2 trial for schizophrenia

Omeros Corporation today announced initiation of enrollment in a Phase 2 clinical trial of OMS824, the company's phosphodiesterase 10 inhibitor. The trial will evaluate the compound's tolerability, safety, pharmacokinetics, potential interactions with concomitant antipsychotic medications, and a battery of cognitive tests in patients with stable schizophrenia.

19 Sep 2013

Researchers develop method that improves delimitation of tumours in medical images

A piece of research submitted by the Artificial Intelligence and Approximate Reasoning Group (GIARA) of the NUP/UPNA-Public University of Navarre received an award from the European Association of Fuzzy Logic and Soft Computing (EUSFLAT) during its biennial meeting (EUSFLAT 2013) held in Milan last week.

19 Sep 2013

New technique allows scientists to measure nanoscale neuronal activity

A new technique that allows scientists to measure the electrical activity in the communication junctions of the nervous systems has been developed by a researcher at Queen Mary University of London.

19 Sep 2013

Toxoplasma infection makes mice fearless

The Toxoplasma parasite can be deadly, causing spontaneous abortion in pregnant women or killing immune-compromised patients, but it has even stranger effects in mice.

19 Sep 2013

Study: Bird brain can serve as useful model to study human brain

Pursuing their interests in using the brains of birds as a model for the human brain, an international team of researchers led by Duke neuroscientist Erich Jarvis and his collaborators Chun-Chun Chen and Kazuhiro Wada have just completed a mapping of the bird brain based on a 10-year exploration of the tiny cerebrums of eight species of birds.

19 Sep 2013

Research discovery suggests whole new frontier in human and animal brain functioning

Researchers from the University of Montreal and their colleagues have found brain activity beyond a flat line EEG, which they have called Nu-complexes (from the Greek letter).

19 Sep 2013

Research opens up longer therapy window for children with neurodevelopmental disorders

The development of fine motor control-the ability to use your fingertips to manipulate objects-takes longer than previously believed, and isn't entirely the result of brain development, according to a pair of complementary studies.

19 Sep 2013

NIH announces $45 million grant to find effective interventions for Alzheimer's

The National Institutes of Health announced on Wednesday the award of a new research grant to discover, characterize and validate complex molecular networks and candidate genes that influence susceptibility to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease.

19 Sep 2013

New information about how estrogens regulate memory formation

The loss of estrogens at menopause increases a woman's risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, yet hormone replacement therapy can cause harmful side effects.

19 Sep 2013

First clinical trials to diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s disease

More than a century ago, Alois Alzheimer, a Bavarian physician, first identified the neurodegenerative brain condition that came to be known as Alzheimer's disease. Finding ways to diagnose and treat this disease has frustrated scientists and clinicians ever since.

19 Sep 2013