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.

Academic Health Center receives 128 grants totaling nearly $35 million in federal stimulus money

Academic Health Center scientists, physicians, and research centers have attracted 128 grants totaling nearly $35 million in federal stimulus money (as of Nov. 10) since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was approved in February 2009. This will result in a total economic impact of more than $105 million; according to the National Institutes of Health, $1 of research funding multiplies to more than $2 of goods and services in the economy.

11 Nov 2009

NIDA supports new drug detection research

Every time a person snorts cocaine, it doesn't just go to his or her head: It also provokes a response in the immune system, creating special biomolecules that may serve as a permanent record of each exposure.

11 Nov 2009

Negative and positive emotions have a direct impact on pain, says new study

Getting a flu shot this fall? Canadians scientists have found that focusing on a pretty image could alleviate the sting of that vaccine. According to a new Universit- de Montr-al study, published in the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), negative and positive emotions have a direct impact on pain.

11 Nov 2009

HFSP grant to develop molecular probes to study "cellular GPS" system

An international group of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Goettingen Medical School in Germany and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have received a Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) grant to develop molecular probes that will help researchers better understand the "cellular GPS" system that guides neurons to create a properly wired nervous system.

11 Nov 2009

Children with autism have slower pupil responses to light change: Study

Autism affects 1 in 150 children today, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. Despite its widespread effect, autism is not well understood and there are no objective medical tests to diagnose it. Recently, University of Missouri researchers have developed a pupil response test that is 92.5 percent accurate in separating children with autism from those with typical development. In the study, MU scientists found that children with autism have slower pupil responses to light change.

11 Nov 2009

U.S. DOD grant to study vigabatrin in combination with opiates to manage pain

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. today reported that a team of neuroscientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System (LIJ) has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct an animal study of the use of vigabatrin in combination with opiates to effectively manage pain while reducing the potential for opiate addiction.

10 Nov 2009

Study suggests a new improved treatment option for children with Hurler's syndrome

Researchers have transplanted genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells into mice so that their developing red blood cells produce a critical lysosomal enzyme - preventing or reducing organ and central nervous system damage from the often-fatal genetic disorder Hurler's syndrome.

10 Nov 2009

Weizmann Institute scientists reveal how some aromas are bound up in our memories

From Proust's Madeleines to the overbearing food critic in the movie Ratatouille who's transported back to his childhood at the aroma of stew, artists have long been aware that some odors can spontaneously evoke strong memories

10 Nov 2009

Mouse with "golden ears"

What do you get when you cross a mouse with poor hearing and a mouse with even worse hearing? Ironically, a new strain of mice with "golden ears" - mice that have outstanding hearing as they age.

10 Nov 2009

St. Jude collaborates with UF Proton Therapy Institute to commence proton therapy clinical study

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute have formed a collaboration to provide proton therapy for St. Jude patients. The announcement follows the approval of the first clinical study to evaluate the use of proton therapy for rare brain cancers in children younger than 3 years old.

10 Nov 2009

Dark side of compulsive eating

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that intermittent access to foods rich in fat and sugar induces changes in the brain which are comparable to those observed in drug dependence. The findings, reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may explain how abstinence from these foods contributes to relapse eating among dieters as well as related eating disorders.

10 Nov 2009

Low-fat diet improves mood and memory skills, says new study

After one year, a low-calorie, low-fat diet appears more beneficial to dieters' mood than a low-carbohydrate plan with the same number of calories, according to a report in the November 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Nov 2009

Children with ASD have problem with handwriting: Study

Handwriting skills are crucial for success in school, communication, and building children's self-esteem. The first study to examine handwriting quality in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has uncovered a relationship between fine motor control and poor quality of handwriting in children with ASD, according to research published in the November 10, 2009, issue of Neurology-, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Nov 2009

Recollections of traumatic incidents can be controlled

It is well known that fear memories are permanent. However, a recent paper in Science, evaluated by three Faculty Members for F1000, reports an extraordinary finding that supports the use of a drug to control recollections of traumatic incidents.

10 Nov 2009

Yo-yo dieting and sugar-bingeing can lead to anxiety and withdrawal symptoms

In research that sheds light on the perils of yo-yo dieting and repeated bouts of sugar-bingeing, researchers from The Scripps Research Institute have shown in animal models that cycling between periods of eating sweet and regular-tasting food can activate the brain's stress system and generate overeating, anxiety, and withdrawal-like symptoms.

10 Nov 2009

Teenage women who are obese at higher risk to develop MS as adults

Teenage women who are obese may be more than twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) as adults compared to female teens who are not obese, according to a study published in the November 10, 2009, print issue of Neurology-, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Nov 2009

Low doses of amyloid beta protein in healthy brains can cause Alzheimer's disease, say scientists

While too much amyloid beta protein in the brain is linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease, not enough of the protein in healthy brains can cause learning problems and forgetfulness, Saint Louis University scientists have found.

10 Nov 2009

Alzheimer's disease research draws national attention

Research that is targeting the early diagnosis of Alzheimer disease has drawn national attention to the work of Michael Seidenberg, PhD, a faculty member at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

10 Nov 2009

Children with autism may have lower quality handwriting, says study

Children with autism may have lower quality handwriting and trouble forming letters compared to children without autism, according to a study published in the November 10, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Nov 2009