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Planum temporale found to be responsible for perceiving auditory space

While the visual regions of the brain have been intensively mapped, many important regions for auditory processing remain terra incognita.

20 Sep 2007

Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation and BG Medicine collaborate

The Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation and BG Medicine have announced a collaboration to discover plasma biomarkers of drug efficacy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading genetic cause of mortality in infants and toddlers.

18 Sep 2007

Reverse-engineering brain neurons to build better computers

By understanding how neurons process chemical signals when a person learns and remembers information, researchers believe they can create more reliable computers that employ stochastic computing components.

18 Sep 2007

New understanding of gene mutation responsible for fragile X syndrome

Scientists have discovered how the gene mutation responsible for fragile X syndrome - the most common inherited form of mental retardation - alters the way brain cells communicate.

18 Sep 2007

Cell death in sparrow brains may provide clues in age-related human diseases

A remarkable change takes place in the brains of tiny songbirds every year, and some day the mechanism controlling that change may help researchers develop treatments for age-related degenerative diseases of the brain such as Parkinson's and dementia.

18 Sep 2007

N-cofilin molecule protects from neuronal disorders

Many neuronal disorders, including epilepsy, schizophrenia and lissencephaly – a form of mental retardation - result from abnormal migration of nerve cells during the development of the brain.

17 Sep 2007

New insight into the mechanisms of Lou Gehrig's disease

There is no known cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often known as Lou Gehrig disease and motor neuron disease.

13 Sep 2007

Proteins Nox1 and Nox2 play important role in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

University of Iowa researchers investigating the basic biology of cell signaling have made a discovery that may have therapeutic implications for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases.

13 Sep 2007

New clues to cracking brain's neural code

Decoding the complex electrical signals that brain cells use to "talk" to each other is a new and important frontier in neuroscience, one that could revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disease.

12 Sep 2007

Fetal neurons play role in adult brain

Subplate neurons - once thought to die after directing the wiring of the cerebral cortex or gray matter - remain in the white matter of the adult brain in small numbers and maintain activity, communicating with other neurons in the brain said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Alabama at Birmingham in a report that appears in today's issue of the Journal of Neuroscience

12 Sep 2007

Customized virus kills brain tumor stem cells that drive lethal cancer

A tailored virus destroys brain tumor stem cells that resist other therapies and cause lethal re-growth of cancer after surgery, a research team led by scientists at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Sept. 18 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

12 Sep 2007

New discovery for Fragile X Syndrome

An important finding has been made by McMaster researchers about Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), a sex-linked genetic disorder that affects approximately one in 4,000 males and one in 6,000 females.

11 Sep 2007

Novel mechanism discovered that balances the sizes of functional areas in the brain

In the cerebral cortex, the brain's powerful central processing unit responsible for higher functions, specialized subdivisions known as areas are laid out like a map, but little is known about the genetic forces that shape the geography of our brains.

11 Sep 2007

Schizophrenia-linked gene keeps new adult brain cells under control

The study reveals that the gene, known as Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), directs the incorporation of new neurons into the adult brain and keeps the process under control. The gene's newly discovered roles might help to explain why schizophrenia's symptoms generally arise in adolescence or early adulthood, the researchers suggested.

10 Sep 2007

Researchers develop mouse model of autism spectrum disorders

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have genetically engineered mice that harbor the same genetic mutation found in some people with autism and Asperger syndrome.

10 Sep 2007

Fruit flies have a taste for carbonated water

That fruit fly hovering over your kitchen counter may be attracted to more than the bananas that are going brown; it may also want a sip of your carbonated water.

4 Sep 2007

A drug-sensitive 'traffic cop' tells potassium channels to get lost

Our brains are buzzing with electrical activity created by sodium and potassium ions moving in and out of neurons through specialized pores. To prevent the constant chatter from descending into chaos the activity of these ion channels has to be tightly regulated.

3 Sep 2007