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.

HHMI investigator to discuss how brain creates and controls emotions

Scientists know little about how the brain creates and controls emotions - an uncertainty that presents a major obstacle in the effort to develop treatments for emotional disorders. "The study of the brain science of emotion is in its infancy," says Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator David Anderson, "yet emotional and psychiatric disorders continue to take an enormous toll on human society."

22 Feb 2010

Researchers identify common gene variant associated with atrial fibrillation

An international research team has identified a common gene variant associated with a form of the irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation. In their report in the journal Nature Genetics, being published online, the investigators describe finding that variations affecting a protein that may help control the heart's electrical activity appear to increase the risk of what is called lone atrial fibrillation (AF), a type seen in younger individuals with no other form of heart disease.

22 Feb 2010

Study proposes potential molecular mechanism at play in mild TBI

Douglas Smith, MD, director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair and professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, will present information on the molecular mechanism at play in mild TBI (mTBI), commonly called concussions. Although mTBI affects over 1 million people each year in the United States, it is generally ignored as a major health issue. However, this 'mild' form of injury induces persisting neurological and cognitive problems in many of these patients, exacting an enormous emotional and financial toll on society.

22 Feb 2010

Information on early brain development and the importance of sleep during early life to be presented

Marcos Frank, PhD, associate professor of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, will present information on early brain development and the importance of sleep during early life when the brain is rapidly maturing and highly changeable.

22 Feb 2010

Roots of many adult diseases sprout in poverty: Scientist to discuss at AAAS meeting

The roots of many adult diseases sprout in poverty and other burdens on the socially disadvantaged. Rockefeller University-s Bruce S. McEwen, a self-described molecular sociologist, will talk about the effects such environmental stressors have on the brain and in turn other organ systems in a talk in San Diego this Friday at the 2010 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

22 Feb 2010

Cash-strapped school districts are making mistake by cutting music from K-12 curriculum: Neuroscientist

At an 11 a.m. press briefing, Saturday, Feb. 20, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, a Northwestern University neuroscientist will argue that music training has profound effects that shape the sensory system and should be a mainstay of K-12 education.

22 Feb 2010

Let babies sleep: Napping supports abstract learning

Anyone who grew up in a large family likely remembers hearing "Don't wake the baby." While it reinforces the message to older kids to keep it down, research shows that sleep also is an important part of how infants learn more about their new world.

22 Feb 2010

Siestas can dramatically boost and restore brain power

If you see a student dozing in the library or a co-worker catching 40 winks in her cubicle, don't roll your eyes. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that an hour's nap can dramatically boost and restore your brain power. Indeed, the findings suggest that a biphasic sleep schedule not only refreshes the mind, but can make you smarter.

21 Feb 2010

Brain and tissue sample repository to help advance understanding and treatment of psychiatric diseases

Johns Hopkins Children's Center neurovirologist Robert Yolken, M.D., and collaborators from the Stanley Medical Research Institute have developed a large repository of brain and tissue samples to advance the understanding and treatment of bipolar disorder, major depression and schizophrenia.

20 Feb 2010

Religious belief and practice of psychiatry: Beyond boundaries

"The boundary between religious belief and the practice of psychiatry is becoming increasingly porous," say the editors in the Preface to Religion and Psychiatry: Beyond Boundaries. "No longer can psychiatrists in a multi-faith, multi-cultural globalized world hide behind the dismissal of religious belief as pathological, or behind a biomedical scientism, as they are more frequently confronted by distressed patients for whom religious belief may determine their choice of symptoms and their compliance with treatment."

20 Feb 2010

Civil fraud and racketeering lawsuit against several entities affiliated with Dahn Yoga filed

Andrew Myers, a 29-year-old former Virginia resident, filed a civil fraud and racketeering lawsuit this week in U.S. District Court against several entities affiliated with Dahn Yoga®, a nationwide chain of facilities that purports to offer a "unique type of yoga" for the body and mind using "Brain Education™" techniques.

20 Feb 2010

Enzyme can allow nerve cells in brain to grow and form complex networks: Study

Brain researcher Hiroshi Kawabe has discovered the workings of a process that had been completely overlooked until now, and that allows nerve cells in the brain to grow and form complex networks. The study shows that an enzyme which usually controls the destruction of protein components has an unexpected function in nerve cells: it controls the structure of the cytoskeleton and thus ensures that nerve cells can form the tree-like extensions that are necessary for signal transmission in the brain.

20 Feb 2010

Emory School of Medicine to enroll nearly 1,140 people for Phase III clinical trial of progesterone for TBI

Researchers at 17 medical centers across the country soon will begin using the hormone progesterone to treat patients who experience traumatic brain injury (TBI). The treatment is part of a randomized, double-blind Phase III clinical trial that will enroll approximately 1,140 people over a three- to six-year period beginning in March, 2010. The trial is funded by a grant to Emory University from the National Institutes of Health.

20 Feb 2010

Scientists develop new way to make simple oil droplets smart enough to navigate through complex maze

Call them oil droplets with a brain or even "chemo-rats." Scientists in Illinois have developed a way to make simple oil droplets "smart" enough to navigate through a complex maze almost like a trained lab rat. The finding could have a wide range of practical implications, including helping cancer drugs to reach their target and controlling the movement of futuristic nano-machines, the scientists say.

19 Feb 2010

Petzel takes oath to lead nation's largest integrated health care system

Dr. Robert A. Petzel has taken the oath of office as the Under Secretary for Health within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), stepping up to lead the nation's largest integrated health care system.

19 Feb 2010

Embrella Embolic Deflector device highlighted during JIM 2010 meeting in Rome

Embrella Cardiovascular™, Inc., a privately held company announced that the Embrella Embolic Deflector™ device was highlighted during a live case transmission last week at the Joint Interventional Meeting (JIM) in Rome, Italy.

19 Feb 2010

Most genetic abnormalities shared across multiple cancers

An international team of researchers has created a genome-scale map of 26 different cancers, revealing more than 100 genomic sites where DNA from tumors is either missing or abnormally duplicated compared to normal tissues. The study, the largest of its kind, finds that most of these genetic abnormalities are not unique to one form of cancer, but are shared across multiple cancers. The work appears in the February 18 issue of the journal Nature.

19 Feb 2010

University of California researchers awarded AAN's 2010 Potamkin Prize

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is awarding its 2010 Potamkin Prize to two researchers for their work in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), a common type of dementia. Bruce L. Miller, MD, and Lennart Mucke, MD, both of the University of California San Francisco will receive the Award during the AAN's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 - 17, 2010. The AAN Annual Meeting is the world's largest gathering of neurologists with more than 2,000 presentations made on the latest advances in neurologic research.

19 Feb 2010

Roseville ROC commences cancer treatment with Elekta VMAT

The first treatments with Elekta Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) began November 17, 2009 at Roseville Radiation Oncology Center (ROC) at Radiological Associates of Sacramento (RAS). RAS, a large private medical group, includes diagnostics as well as therapy in its centers. ROC treats 30-35 patients per day, mainly with prostate and breast lesions.

From Elekta 19 Feb 2010

PsychoGenics announces alliance with experimental neuropharmacology expert for specialized microdialysis services

PsychoGenics Inc. today announced the establishment of an exclusive alliance with Dr. Jan Kehr, an internationally recognized expert in experimental neuropharmacology, to provide specialized microdialysis services to complement PsychoGenics’ in vivo testing capabilities.

19 Feb 2010

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

HHMI investigator to discuss how brain creates and controls emotions

Researchers identify common gene variant associated with atrial fibrillation

Study proposes potential molecular mechanism at play in mild TBI

Information on early brain development and the importance of sleep during early life to be presented

Roots of many adult diseases sprout in poverty: Scientist to discuss at AAAS meeting

Cash-strapped school districts are making mistake by cutting music from K-12 curriculum: Neuroscientist

Let babies sleep: Napping supports abstract learning

Siestas can dramatically boost and restore brain power

Brain and tissue sample repository to help advance understanding and treatment of psychiatric diseases

Religious belief and practice of psychiatry: Beyond boundaries

Civil fraud and racketeering lawsuit against several entities affiliated with Dahn Yoga filed

Enzyme can allow nerve cells in brain to grow and form complex networks: Study

Emory School of Medicine to enroll nearly 1,140 people for Phase III clinical trial of progesterone for TBI

Scientists develop new way to make simple oil droplets smart enough to navigate through complex maze

Petzel takes oath to lead nation's largest integrated health care system

Embrella Embolic Deflector device highlighted during JIM 2010 meeting in Rome

Most genetic abnormalities shared across multiple cancers

University of California researchers awarded AAN's 2010 Potamkin Prize

Roseville ROC commences cancer treatment with Elekta VMAT

PsychoGenics announces alliance with experimental neuropharmacology expert for specialized microdialysis services

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