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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.

Leptin may lead to new approaches for curbing appetite

Hot fudge sundaes and french fries aside, new research suggests obesity is due at least in part to an attraction between leptin, the hormone that signals the brain when to stop eating, and a protein more recently associated with heart disease.

11 Apr 2006

Removal of a woman's ovaries raises risk of dementia

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that ovariectomy, surgical removal of a woman's ovaries, raises her risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment. Risk is especially increased if a woman has her ovaries removed at a young age.

11 Apr 2006

A history of stroke is related to a progressive decline in memory

A history of stroke may be associated with progressive memory difficulties in patients without dementia or cognitive impairment, according to a study in the April issue of Archives of Neurology.

11 Apr 2006

Large scale study shows success of epilepsy surgery

In one of the largest epilepsy surgery studies ever conducted, Mayo Clinic researchers have found that 81 percent of patients with intractable epilepsy become totally or nearly seizure-free six months following epilepsy surgery. Ten years later, 72 percent remained totally or nearly seizure-free.

11 Apr 2006

Scientists find that growth hormone is produced in the brain

Scientists have found that growth hormone, a substance that is used for body growth, is produced in the brain, according to an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

11 Apr 2006

Evaluation of a shape-based model of human face discrimination using fMRI and behavioral techniques

The mechanism by which the brain recognizes faces has long fascinated neurobiologists, many of whom believe that the brain perceives faces as "special" and very different from other visual objects.

11 Apr 2006

Salmonella bacteria use new mechanism known as the riboswitch to adjust magnesium levels

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have added a gene in the bacterium Salmonella to the short list of genes regulated by a new mechanism known as the riboswitch.

11 Apr 2006

Cognitive impairment in people with AIDS exists in two forms

The researchers say their findings indicate there probably are two separate mechanisms that can cause cognitive impairment in people with AIDS.

10 Apr 2006

No brain no gain

How do we process numbers? A new project from the Austrian Science Fund FWF hopes to find the complex answer to this seemingly simple question by building on the recent findings of a team from Innsbruck.

10 Apr 2006

Ceftriaxone may help fight dementia in HIV patients

An antibiotic commonly used to treat a variety of serious infections may also help prevent dementia in HIV patients, according to a test-tube study of human brain cells by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine neurologist Jeffrey Rumbaugh, M.D., Ph.D.

7 Apr 2006

Discovery of a new mechanism for the neurodegenerative effects of amphetamines

University of Toronto study finds amphetamines are converted in the brain into free radicals whose effects manifest and linger long after the amphetamine has left the body.

7 Apr 2006

Parents need better education to reduce drug overdoses in feverish children

More than 50 per cent of feverish children are given incorrect doses of medicine by parents and overdoses have almost trebled in the last two decades, according to a research review in the latest issue of the British-based Journal of Advanced Nursing.

6 Apr 2006

Scientists gauge pain in premature babies

Scientists at UCL (University College London) have measured responses to pain in the brains of premature babies and have shown that they are likely to experience ‘true’ pain rather than simply displaying reflex reactions.

6 Apr 2006

Doctors must listen when patients talk of a failing memory

A team at the Aging and Memory Research Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, has found that a higher self awareness of memory difficulties may be associated with brain function decline over time, particularly in older adults with a genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease.

6 Apr 2006