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.

The smell of sound - researchers look at phenomenon synaesthesia

The research field has grown from grapheme-colour synaesthesia to include other forms of synaesthesia in which flavours are evoked by music or words (lexical-gustatory synaesthesia), space structures by time units, colours by music, etc.

28 Dec 2007

Cancer stem cells may be at the root of brain tumors

Stem cells -- popularly known as a source of biological rejuvenation -- may play harmful roles in the body, specifically in the growth and spread of cancer. Amongst the wildly dividing cells of a tumor, scientists have located cancer stem cells.

27 Dec 2007

Medical myths laid to rest

New research from the United States has revealed that a number of commonly-held medical beliefs are in fact just medical myths.

27 Dec 2007

Key enzyme keeps synapse on track

At its core, healthy neurological function hinges on the efficient passage of information between brain cells via the synapse.

20 Dec 2007

Brain abnormalities found underlying borderline personality disorder

Using new approaches, an interdisciplinary team of scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City has gained a view of activity in key brain areas associated with a core difficulty in patients with borderline personality disorder -- shedding new light on this serious psychiatric condition.

20 Dec 2007

Researchers prevent muscle weakness caused by myasthenia gravis

Severe muscle weakness caused by myasthenia gravis - a highly debilitating autoimmune disorder - can be prevented or reversed by blocking a key step in the immune response that brings on the disease, researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have found.

20 Dec 2007

Seniors who walk regularly lower their risk for dementia

Seniors who walk regularly and also do other forms of moderate exercise are protecting themselves against a certain form of dementia.

20 Dec 2007

Tweaking a gene may fix Fragile X syndrome

According to new research clues to Fragile X syndrome may be connected to one single human gene.

20 Dec 2007

Advanced melanoma - new treatment

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers are participating in a multi-center research trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Allovectin-7, an investigational treatment for advanced melanoma.

20 Dec 2007

The blood-brain barrier: A misunderstood key to finding life-saving cures to brain disease

An international team of scientists that includes a Saint Louis University researcher suggest several strategies to propel research for treatments of brain diseases that include multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, obesity and stroke in the January issue of the Lancet Neurology.

20 Dec 2007

Research may bring new generation of cochlear implants

A Rutgers University team led by neuroscientist Robin Davis is opening new doors to improved hearing for the congenitally or profoundly deaf.

20 Dec 2007

RNA interference therapy heals growth deficiency disorder in a live animal

A team of Vanderbilt researchers have demonstrated for the first time that a new type of gene therapy, called RNA interference, can heal a genetic disorder in a live animal.

20 Dec 2007

Rehabilitation training for patients with spinal cord injuries may help repair brain, spinal cord

Intensive rehabilitation training for patients with spinal cord injuries can stimulate new branches growing from severed nerve fibers, alongside compensatory changes in the brain, say Canadian researchers.

20 Dec 2007

A new brain imaging study identifies 'brain signature' for cigarette cravings

A new brain imaging study by researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania shows that cigarette cravings in smokers who are deprived of nicotine are linked with increased activation in specific regions of the brain.

20 Dec 2007

Intensive training post-spinal cord injury can stimulate repair in brain and spinal cord

20 Dec 2007

Depletion of antioxidant glutathione linked to Parkinson's in mice

Scientists at the Buck Institute have shown that mice suffering from a depletion of the antioxidant glutathione in dopamine-producing neurons developed nerve damage and symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) in humans.

20 Dec 2007

Brains respond differently to thirst depending upon age

Twelve healthy subjects in their 60s and 70s showed a different pattern of brain activations during thirst and satiation than did 10 healthy subjects in their 20s who drank the same amounts and underwent imaging with positron-emission tomography (PET).

20 Dec 2007