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.

Scientists discover link between mutation in immune system gene and Alzheimer's disease

An international research team including scientists from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine has discovered a link between a mutation in an immune system gene and Alzheimer's disease.

15 Nov 2012

Irregular sleep patterns may trigger schizophrenia symptoms

Neuroscientists studying the link between poor sleep and schizophrenia have found that irregular sleep patterns and desynchronised brain activity during sleep could trigger some of the disease's symptoms. The findings, published in the journal Neuron, suggest that these prolonged disturbances might be a cause and not just a consequence of the disorder's debilitating effects.

15 Nov 2012

LanPercept to focus on advanced techniques for studying language and perception

LanPercept, a new Marie Curie Initial Training Network funded through the 7th EU Framework Programme, will develop cutting edge techniques to understand vision-language mapping across the life-span in typically and atypically developing populations. New tools and training software will be tested to help disabled and elderly people negotiate the translation between vision and language.

15 Nov 2012

Strokes affecting people at younger ages

Michelle Nimmerrichter was only 20 years old when she suffered a stroke that left her in a coma and on a ventilator.

15 Nov 2012

Oscillation in brain activity influences listening process

Naturally, our brain activity waxes and wanes. When listening, this oscillation synchronizes to the sounds we are hearing. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences have found that this influences the way we listen. Hearing abilities also oscillate and depend on the exact timing of one's brain rhythms. This discovery that sound, brain, and behaviour are so intimately coupled will help us to learn more about listening abilities in hearing loss.

15 Nov 2012

Scientists eliminate metastasis in laboratory experiments

In laboratory experiments, scientists have eliminated metastasis, the spread of cancer from the original tumor to other parts of the body, in melanoma by inhibiting a protein known as melanoma differentiation associated gene-9 (mda-9)/syntenin. More than 1 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year in the U.S., and melanoma is the deadliest form.

15 Nov 2012

Aggression a trait in bipolar II disorder

Results from a Taiwanese study suggest that aggression may be a trait marker for bipolar II disorder.

14 Nov 2012

Princeton neuroscientists to explore how human brain accomplishes real-world tasks

Princeton neuroscientists have been awarded a $4 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to explore how the human brain enables us to pursue goals and juggle priorities in an environment full of distractions.

14 Nov 2012

Preschool children particularly vulnerable to food-borne toxins

In a sobering study published in the journal Environmental Health, researchers at UC Davis and UCLA measured food-borne toxin exposure in children and adults by pinpointing foods with high levels of toxic compounds and determining how much of these foods were consumed.

14 Nov 2012

Research shows reduced plasticity in brains of preterm teens

New research at the University of Adelaide has demonstrated that teenagers born prematurely may suffer brain development problems that directly affect their memory and learning abilities.

14 Nov 2012

Medulloblastomas that arise from different cell types might require personalized treatments

Cancers arise when a normal cell acquires a mutation in a gene that regulates cellular growth or survival. But the particular cell this mutation happens in-the cell of origin-can have an enormous impact on the behavior of the tumor, and on the strategies used to treat it.

14 Nov 2012

Brevetoxin-2 stimulates nerve cell growth and plasticity in cultured mouse neurons

A new study using brevetoxin-2, a compound produced naturally by marine algae, stimulated nerve cell growth and plasticity in cultured mouse neurons. This research advances a potentially new pharmacological treatment to aid recovery of brain function following a stroke or other traumatic brain injury.

14 Nov 2012

Study reveals how interneurons navigate during cerebral cortex development

As the brain develops, each neuron must find its way to precisely the right spot to weave the intricate network of links the brain needs to function. Like the wiring in a computer, a few misplaced connections can throw off functioning for an entire segment of the brain.

14 Nov 2012

New investments, innovative strategies needed to train health professionals for developing world

Noting "the WHO has estimated that there is a global shortage of more than four million trained health care workers," Robert Bollinger, professor of infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, writes in the Huffington Post "Impact" blog, "It is very clear that new and innovative strategies are needed to train the large number of health professionals needed for Africa, Asia, and Latin America."

14 Nov 2012

Gene variants involved in glutamatergic transmission appear to increase risk of depression

Researchers using a new approach to identifying genes associated with depression have found that variants in a group of genes involved in transmission of signals by the neurotransmitter glutamate appear to increase the risk of depression.

14 Nov 2012

Study evaluates benefits of HBO2 therapy on post-concussion symptoms in military personnel with TBI

The average incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among service members deployed in Middle East conflict zones has increased 117% in recent years, mainly due to proximity to explosive blasts. Therapeutic exposure to a high oxygen environment was hoped to minimize the concussion symptoms resulting from mild TBI, but hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) treatment may not offer significant advantages, according to an article in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

14 Nov 2012

Neuroticism can be good for health under certain circumstances

Under certain circumstances neuroticism can be good for your health, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study showing that some self-described neurotics also tended to have the lowest levels of Interleukin 6 (IL-6), a biomarker for inflammation and chronic disease.

14 Nov 2012

Women with migraines do not appear to experience cognitive decline

Women with migraines did not appear to experience a decline in cognitive ability over time compared to those who didn't have them, according to a nine-year follow up study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

13 Nov 2012

White matter alterations evident before psychosis development

Results from a UK study show that white matter integrity is reduced in patients at ultra-high risk for psychosis, although to a lesser extent than in first-episode psychosis patients.

13 Nov 2012

MRI, EEG may predict children’s epilepsy risk after long febrile seizures

Children who have prolonged febrile seizures are at increased risk for magnetic resonance imaging observed hippocampal injury and abnormal hippocampal and temporal development, show results from the Consequences of Prolonged Febrile Seizures in Childhood study.

13 Nov 2012