Thalamus News and Research

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The Thalamus is an area of the brain that helps process information from the senses and transmit it to other parts of the brain.

Biologists identify how and where the brain processes FM sweeps

In both animals and humans, vocal signals used for communication contain a wide array of different sounds that are determined by the vibrational frequencies of vocal cords. For example, the pitch of someone's voice, and how it changes as they are speaking, depends on a complex series of varying frequencies. Knowing how the brain sorts out these different frequencies-which are called frequency-modulated (FM) sweeps-is believed to be essential to understanding many hearing-related behaviors, like speech.

9 Mar 2012

Scientists reveal how psychostimulant drugs work to control hyperactivity

It has long been known that psychostimulant drugs have the paradoxical effect of reducing hyperactivity. [Psychostimulant drugs include methylphenidate - known by the trade names Ritalin, Concerta, and Methylin - and methamphetamine]. Since the mid-1950s, millions of children and adults have been prescribed stimulant medications to control attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

8 Feb 2012

Magic Mushroom’s compound may help in some mental disorders: Study

There has been little research on the mechanism of action of “magic mushrooms” on the brain. A growing number of studies suggested that perhaps the mushrooms' key ingredient could work magic for certain mental disorders. New research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences sheds light on why one of the mushrooms' hallucinogenic chemical compounds, psilocybin, may hold promise for the treatment of depression.

24 Jan 2012

Radiology researchers discover that MS affects thalamus of the brain

Radiology researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have found evidence that multiple sclerosis affects an area of the brain that controls cognitive, sensory and motor functioning apart from the disabling damage caused by the disease's visible lesions.

23 Dec 2011

Researchers identify genetic factors responsible for neurons in the thalamus

The thalamus is the central translator in the brain: Specialized nerve cells (neurons) receive information from the sensory organs, process it, and transmit it deep into the brain. Researchers from the Institute of Toxicology and Genetics (ITG) of KIT have now identified the genetic factors Lhx2 and Lhx9 responsible for the development of these neurons.

15 Dec 2011

Study reveals key role of melatonin receptor in sleep regulation

A team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and McGill University has made a major breakthrough by unraveling the inner workings of melatonin, also known as the "sleep hormone."

14 Dec 2011

The head plays key role in tiring endurance performances

Researchers from the University of Zurich have now studied in detail what sportsmen and women know from experience: The head plays a key role in tiring endurance performances.

5 Dec 2011

Scientists seek to prove beta oscillations of the cortex

Before she could seek to convince the world that her computer model of a key brain circuit explains a fundamental, 80-year-old mystery of neuroscience with potential relevance to Parkinson's disease, Stephanie Jones sought to convince Christopher Moore.

29 Nov 2011

Study uses fMRI to assess changes in brain after exercise intervention

Areas of the brain responsible for pain processing and cognitive performance changed in fibromyalgia patients who exercised following a medication holiday, say researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center. They say the changes indicate brain functioning is more streamlined after an exercise intervention because less of the brain-s resources is devoted to processing bothersome fibromyalgia perceptions such as pain.

14 Nov 2011

Pitt mathematicians to target symptoms of Parkinson's disease

University of Pittsburgh mathematicians have been collaborating with Pitt's School of Medicine to find ways to stop the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, thanks in part to a four-year, $1.86 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a five-year $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

9 Nov 2011

AiC: Health Research receives U.S. Army grant for neuroimaging studies of human performance

The Arlington Innovation Center: Health Research (AiC: Health Research), of Virginia Tech's National Capital Region, has been awarded a $1.5 million cooperative research and development agreement from the U.S. Army for neuroimaging studies of human performance.

14 Oct 2011

MR-guided focused ultrasound may effectively control essential tremor

In a presentation at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons today, University of Virginia neurosurgeon W. Jeffrey Elias, MD reported that preliminary results of a pilot clinical trial indicate that MR-guided focused ultrasound has the potential to safely and effectively control essential tremor (ET), a common neurological condition that affects 10 million Americans.

4 Oct 2011

Scientists discover two opposing neuronal regulatory circuits for generation, elimination of fear

Emotional balance is regulated by molecular factors behind stress response. When healthy people are faced with threatening situations, they react with a suitable behavioural response and do not descend into a state of either panic or indifference, as is the case, for example, with patients who suffer from anxiety.

7 Sep 2011

Scientists identify brain-circuit defect that triggers absence seizures

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a brain-circuit defect that triggers absence seizures, the most common form of childhood epilepsy.

23 Aug 2011

Patients with MTBI exhibit abnormal functional connectivity in the thalamus

A new study has found that patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) exhibit abnormal functional connectivity in the thalamus, a centrally located relay station for transmitting information throughout the brain.

26 Jul 2011

MR-guided focused ultrasound effective for treating essential tremor

The last ten years have been challenging for Billy R. Williams of Fort Valley, Virginia. The former Pentagon employee, who survived the 9/11 terrorist attack, has suffered from essential tremor, a progressive and debilitating neurological disorder.

30 Jun 2011

Scientists discover how odors are detected and processed by brain

Researchers seeking to unravel the most ancient yet least understood of the five senses - smell - have discovered a previously unknown step in how odors are detected and processed by the brain.

28 Mar 2011

Noninvasive MR-guided focused ultrasound successfully treats essential tremor

A new chapter in medical history opened days ago when noninvasive MR-guided focused ultrasound was used to successfully treat a patient with essential tremor (ET), a progressive neurological disorder that affects millions of people worldwide and causes involuntary shaking of the hands, head, face, eyelids, voice or other muscles.

10 Mar 2011

Sanfilippo syndrome compromises blood-brain barrier, leads to brain damage

A study into the effects of Sanfilippo Syndrome type B (MPS III B) has found that the barrier responsible for protecting the brain from the entry of harmful blood-borne substances is structurally and functionally damaged by the devastating disease. University of South Florida researchers identified damage in specific brain structures involved in the pathology of MPS III B, one of four Sanfilippo syndromes, all of which are inherited diseases of metabolism.

9 Mar 2011

New study provides insight into brain activity of depressed women responding to crying infants

Mothers who are depressed respond differently to their crying babies than do non-depressed moms. In fact, their reaction, according to brain scans at the University of Oregon, is much more muted than the robust brain activity in non-depressed moms.

23 Feb 2011