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.

Subconscious change of heart could happen in response to failure in a competitive situation

You may think of your love for your mate as the noble emotion of a pure heart, but some primitive parts of your brain are taking a decidedly more pragmatic approach to the subject, according to Stanford biologists.

25 Nov 2010

Breastfeeding while remaining on epilepsy medications may not affect child's IQ

There's good news for women with epilepsy. Breastfeeding your baby while taking your seizure medication may have no harmful effect on your child's IQ later on, according to a study published in the November 24, 2010, online issue of Neurology-, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

25 Nov 2010

American Board Diplomat joins Ascendant Neuro for treating pain management

Ascendant Neuro is pleased to announce the addition of Jack A. Chapman, M.D., a nationally recognized pain management specialist, who will work to further advance the group's minimally invasive pain treatment techniques through the innovative use of neurostimulators and other conservative treatments.

25 Nov 2010

Chronic jet lag alters brain's intricate role in memory processing

Chronic jet lag alters the brain in ways that cause memory and learning problems long after one's return to a regular 24-hour schedule, according to research by University of California, Berkeley, psychologists.

25 Nov 2010

Mercury from dental fillings exceeds Reference Exposure Level: Report

A new risk assessment report submitted by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology this month to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that mercury from dental fillings is estimated to cause 67.2 million Americans to exceed the Reference Exposure Level (REL) of 0.3 ug/m3 established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) in 1995.

25 Nov 2010

Brain sees same face as male or female depending on field of view

Neuroscientists at MIT and Harvard have made the surprising discovery that the brain sees some faces as male when they appear in one area of a person's field of view, but female when they appear in a different location.

25 Nov 2010

Researchers discover cells’ response to sour tastes

This Thanksgiving, when you bite into the cranberry sauce and the tartness smacks your tongue as hard as that snide comment from your sister, consider the power of sour. Neurobiology researchers at the University of Southern California have made a surprising discovery about how some cells respond to sour tastes.

25 Nov 2010

Chronic high fat cholesterol diet may lead to Alzheimer's disease

Research from the Laboratory of Psychiatry and Experimental Alzheimers Research at the Medical University Innsbruck (Austria) demonstrated that chronic high fat cholesterol diet in rats exhibited pathologies similar to Alzheimer's disease. The results were published in Molecular Cellular Neuroscience with lead author Dr. Christian Humpel. The study was co-authored by PhD students, Celine Ullrich and Michael Pirchl, from the same Laboratory.

24 Nov 2010

Diabetes drug may counteract against Alzheimer's disease: Research

Metformin, a drug used in type 2-diabetes might have the potential to also act against Alzheimer's disease. This has been shown in a study from scientists of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the University of Dundee and the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics.

24 Nov 2010

Toshiba launches Volume Navigation 3D roadmapping for InfinixTM-i vascular X-ray product line

During complex interventional procedures, it is challenging to accurately navigate and interpret the vascular anatomy for precise device deployment. To aid physicians during such interventions, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc., has introduced Volume Navigation 3D roadmapping for the InfinixTM-i vascular X-ray product line, providing greater confidence during difficult interventional procedures.

24 Nov 2010

Association for Psychological Science journal presents new research

Adults with insecure attachment styles may have difficulties regulating emotions and this may put them at an increased risk for mental health problems. Volunteers underwent fMRI scans while performing an emotion-word Stroop task. Participants with tendencies towards insecure attachment demonstrated more activity in the right orbitofrontal cortex and superior frontal gyrus for unpleasant words, suggesting that insecure attachment may involve intense reactions to negative words.

24 Nov 2010

Plant-derived bioscavenger protects against pesticide and nerve agent organophosphate poisoning

The brain is forever chattering to itself, via electrical impulses sent along its hard-wired neuronal "Ethernet." These e-messages are translated into chemical transmissions, allowing communication across the narrow cleft separating one neuron from another or between neurons and their target cells. Of the many kinds of molecules involved in this lively chemical symposium, acetylcholine is among the most critical, performing a host of functions in the central and peripheral nervous system.

24 Nov 2010

Hepcidin hormone may be potential therapeutic tool for anemic blood disorders

A hormone made by the body may be a potential therapeutic tool for the treatment of two anemic blood disorders beta-thalassemia and hemochromatosis. The new research was led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College and published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and the journal Blood.

24 Nov 2010

Amorfix introduces high affinity antibodies against cancer primary cells

Amorfix Life Sciences, a product development company focused on diagnostics and therapeutics for misfolded protein diseases, today announced that together with its partner Epitomics, high affinity antibodies to prion protein disease specific epitopes (DSEs) have been produced, which bind preferentially to several cancer primary cells and tumor cell lines, but not normal cells.

24 Nov 2010

XenoPort receives grant from Michael J. Fox Foundation to support Parkinson's disease therapies

XenoPort, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research to support a preclinical study of the efficacy and safety of a novel, orally administered prodrug of acamprosate in reducing L-Dopa induced dyskinesias (LID) in a pre-clinical model of Parkinson's disease.

24 Nov 2010

Combination of caffeine and glucose can improve cognitive performance: Study

The combination of caffeine and glucose can improve the efficiency of brain activity, according to a recent study in which functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to identify the neural substrate for the combined effects of these two substances.

23 Nov 2010

Parkinson Society Canada awards Quebec scientists $573,384 for research

Quebec Parkinson researchers receive a record $573,384 in funding from Parkinson Society Canada to increase their efforts to identify the causes of this degenerative brain disease for which there is currently no cure. At a Research Innovation event in Montreal this evening, hosted by Parkinson Society Quebec in partnership with McGill University and the CHUM, 11 Parkinson scientists will be lauded for their efforts in getting closer to a cure.

23 Nov 2010

Children cannot accurately judge speed of vehicles travelling faster than 20 mph, reveals study

To coincide with Road Safety Week (22-28 November) new research is published today (23 November) revealing primary school children cannot accurately judge the speed of vehicles travelling faster than 20mph.

23 Nov 2010

Scientists establish new biological links between early puberty and obesity

An international group of scientists, including researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC), has discovered 30 genes that control the age at which girls reach sexual maturity. They found that many of the genes responsible for puberty also play a strong role in how the body metabolises fat, establishing new biological links between going through puberty at a young age and being at increased risk of obesity.

23 Nov 2010