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.

Zebrafish provide clues to cure for Lou Gehrig's disease

A small tropical fish, the curiosity of a Geisinger research scientist and some college students have created the perfect storm of sorts in an attempt to find a cure for one of the world's most devastating neurological diseases.

1 Aug 2007

donepezil improves symptoms of severe Alzheimer's

A drug initially used to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease improved the memory and global function of people with severe Alzheimer's disease and was safe and effective, according to a study published in the July 31, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

1 Aug 2007

Stem cell therapy rescues motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis model

In a study that demonstrates the promise of cell-based therapies for diseases that have proved intractable to modern medicine, a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has shown it is possible to rescue the dying neurons characteristic of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neuromuscular disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

31 Jul 2007

New findings on how brain processes visual information

Neuroscientists have long believed that vision is processed in the brain along circuits made up of neurons, similar to the way telephone signals are transferred through separate wires from one station to another.

31 Jul 2007

Severe trauma affect kid's brain function

The first study to examine brain activity patterns in severely traumatized children showed their brains function differently than those of healthy children, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

30 Jul 2007

Managing emotions as a teenager

Can teenagers experiencing powerful emotions learn to manage those emotions" A University of Illinois study in this month's Child Development reports that teens can become quite insightful about their emotional patterns and they can learn to intervene in their emotional episodes so they unfold positively.

27 Jul 2007

Brain regions that regulate different aspects of behavior may affect an adolescent's response to peer influence

Brain regions that regulate different aspects of behavior are more interconnected in children with high resistance to peer influence than those with low resistance, according to a new study published in the July 25 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience .

27 Jul 2007

Severe trauma affects kids' brain function

27 Jul 2007

Hearing test results may predict sudden infant death syndrome

One of the greatest medical mysteries of our time has taken a leap forward in medical understanding with new study results announced by Dr. Daniel D. Rubens of Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle.

27 Jul 2007

New view on role of protein synthesis in memory formation

New research from the University of Illinois challenges the premise that the brain must build new proteins in response to an experience for that experience to be recorded in long-term memory.

27 Jul 2007

Women more prone to brain damage from alcohol abuse than men

Alcoholism has traditionally been considered a male disease because there are many more alcoholic males than females.

27 Jul 2007

Study links brain anatomy to the ability to learn a second language in adulthood

Think you haven't got the aptitude to learn a foreign language, New research led by Northwestern University neuroscientists suggests that the problem, quite literally, could be in your head.

26 Jul 2007

New understanding of Sly Syndrome

The scientist who discovered “Sly Syndrome” nearly four decades ago and a team of colleagues at Saint Louis University are a step closer to finding an approach to treat the rare genetic disease.

26 Jul 2007

Smoking may not help relieve real anxiety

Many smokers excuse their habit by claiming that smoking relieves their feelings of stress.

26 Jul 2007

Combination of blood pressure-lowering drugs stops loss of kidney function in rare genetic disease

A combination of two types of blood pressure-lowering drugs, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) plus an angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB), added to enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with agalsidase-beta (Fabrazyme, Genzyme Corporation, Cambridge, MA) is the first treatment shown to stop progressive loss of kidney function in patients with severe kidney involvement due to the rare genetic disorder Fabry disease, reports a study in the September Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

26 Jul 2007