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.

First Edition: November 29, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, and working in collaboration with The Washington Post, Sandra G. Boodman writes: "Propelled by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which took effect in 2009, 2 million veterans, many of whom served in Iraq and Afghanistan, are eligible for generous benefits that can amount to a full scholarship.

29 Nov 2011

Ferrer introduces citicoline oral solution medical food

Ferrer Therapeutics, the U.S. subsidiary of the international pharmaceutical group, Ferrer Grupo, is introducing CerAxon- Oral Solution to the U.S. market, the first and only oral solution medical food containing citicoline, a nutrient naturally produced by the body and found in the brain.

29 Nov 2011

Post traumatic stress disorder and concussion syndrome treatable three years after injury: Study

Research led by Dr. Paul Harch, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has found that treatment with hyperbaric oxygen nearly three years after injury significantly improved function and quality of life for veterans with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

29 Nov 2011

More neural connecting pathways in the language network than originally thought

While it has long been recognized that certain areas in the brain's left hemisphere enable us to understand and produce language, scientists are still figuring out exactly how those areas divvy up the highly complex processes necessary to comprehend and produce language.

29 Nov 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

Scientists use genetic methods to successfully repair cleft lips in mice embryos

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College used genetic methods to successfully repair cleft lips in mice embryos specially engineered for the study of cleft lip and cleft palate. The research breakthrough may show the way to prevent or treat the conditions in humans.

29 Nov 2011

Repeated heading of a soccer ball increases risk for brain injury, cognitive impairment

Using advanced imaging techniques and cognitive tests, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center , the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, have shown that repeatedly heading a soccer ball increases the risk for brain injury and cognitive impairment.

29 Nov 2011

Sensorimotor experience influences brain’s linking of signals from different senses

Over the years pianists develop a particularly acute sense of the temporal correlation between the movements of the piano keys and the sound of the notes played. However, they are no better than non-musicians at assessing the synchronicity of lip movements and speech.

29 Nov 2011

First time mothers may put themselves and baby at risk by choosing home-birth: Report

A new report suggests that first time mothers who opt for a home birth are almost three times more likely to have a baby who dies or suffers brain damage. It also found that traditional maternity units in hospital are the safest place for women to have their first child.

28 Nov 2011

Violent video game play has a long-term effect on brain functioning

A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis of long-term effects of violent video game play on the brain has found changes in brain regions associated with cognitive function and emotional control in young adult men after one week of game play.

28 Nov 2011

IsoRay initiates shipment of GliaSite radiation therapy system

IsoRay, Inc. announced today it has shipped its first GliaSite radiation therapy system. The Company initiated sales after receiving final approval this week from the State of Washington Department of Health to manufacture its GliaSite radiation therapy system.

28 Nov 2011

Potential biomarkers for ADHD

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers have identified abnormalities in the brains of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that may serve as a biomarker for the disorder, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

28 Nov 2011

Rare syndrome's workings could help explain how brain wiring goes awry

Potential clues to how autism miswires the brain are emerging from a study of a rare, purely genetic form of the disorders that affects fewer than 20 people worldwide. Using cutting-edge "disease-in a-dish" technology, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have grown patients' skin cells into neurons to discover what goes wrong in the brain in Timothy Syndrome.

28 Nov 2011

Most people with Timothy syndrome mutation have autistic symptoms

Neuroscientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have homed in on potential differences in autistic people's brain cells by studying brainlike spheres grown in an elaborate process from skin cells.

28 Nov 2011

Migraines and depression risk: Study finds link

According to a new Canadian study, people who get attacks of migraine may be at a higher risk for developing clinical depression.

27 Nov 2011

Moleac launches NurAiD II in France and Belgium

Biopharmaceutical Company Moleac has announced the launch in France and Belgium of NurAiD II. NurAiD II is a natural health supplement engineered to stimulate neuroplasticity and recovery.

25 Nov 2011

Transplantation of new neurons into damaged area of the brain could restore brain functions

Without neurons reacting to the blood leptin level, the brain does not control the feeling of hunger and fullness. This type of genetic defects results in severe obesity in humans and animals.

25 Nov 2011

Researchers take a step toward neuronal replacement therapy

A new study has revealed that immature neurons taken from healthy mouse embryos can repair damaged brain circuitry and partially normalize metabolism when transplanted into adult mice that have grown morbidly obese due to a genetic deficiency.

24 Nov 2011

Scientists decode how Machado-Joseph disease arises

Neurodegenerative diseases represent one of the greatest challenges of our aging society. However, investigation into these diseases is made particularly difficult due to the limited availability of human brain tissue. Scientists from the Life & Brain Research Center and Neurology Clinic of Bonn University have now taken a roundabout path: They reprogrammed skin cells from patients with a hereditary movement disorder into so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and obtained functional nerve cells from them.

24 Nov 2011

Dantrolene reduces severity of walking and balance problems linked with HD

Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by ongoing destruction of specific neurons within the brain. It affects a person's ability to walk, talk, and think - leading to involuntary movement and loss of muscle co-ordination. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Molecular Neurodegeneration shows that the RyanR inhibitor Dantrolene is able to reduce the severity of walking and balance problems in a mouse model of HD.

24 Nov 2011