Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

Researchers show that linguistic rules are processed in two phylogenetically different brain regions

Researchers found that simple language structures are processed in an area that is phylogenetically older, and which apes also possess. Complicated structures, by contrast, activate processes in a comparatively younger area which only exists in a more highly evolved species: humans.

21 Feb 2006

Lifetime calorie restraint to prevent obesity is the most powerful way to reduce age-related health problems

University of South Florida researcher Barbara Hansen, PhD, will likely never be invited to talk about weight loss on Oprah. Her message is mundanely common sense, not faddish - she doesn't drop phrases like "low carb," or "low fat," or "geared to your body type" or "put your body into fat-burning mode."

20 Feb 2006

Certain chemicals in the blood may indicate brain injury

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh have found that increased levels of certain proteins in the blood or spinal fluid may signal brain injury in infants with vomiting, fussiness and several other common symptoms.

20 Feb 2006

Researchers create animal model of any schizophrenic characteristics

Researchers have developed a mouse strain in which the abnormal activity of the dopamine machinery in a specific part of the brain causes cognitive and behavioral impairments mimicking those in human schizophrenics.

20 Feb 2006

Drug abuse linked to brain hemmorhage in young adults

A fifth of young adults whose blood vessels ruptured inside their brain abused drugs and more than 40 percent had malformed blood vessels, according to a study reported Feb. 17 at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2006 in Kissimmee, FL.

20 Feb 2006

Thrill seekers at less risk of Parkinson's disease

According to a new study by British researchers, risk takers stand less chance of getting Parkinson's disease, live longer, and have more friends.

20 Feb 2006

Double whammy of drugs plus ultrasound unblocks arteries

According to a pilot study led by the University of Cincinnati, standard clot-busting medication when used in combination with low-energy ultrasound appears to re-open clogged arteries in stroke patients better than medication alone.

20 Feb 2006

Lower doses of clot-busting drug safer for stroke patients

A Johns Hopkins study has shown that patients treated for a type of stroke caused by bleeding in the brain, or intracerebral hemorrhage, survived more often if given 1 milligram instead of the previously studied 3 milligram dose of the clot-busting drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA).

19 Feb 2006

Mystery of evolutionary growth in hominid brain size

Forget the textbook story about tool use and language sparking the dramatic evolutionary growth of the human brain. Instead, imagine ancient hominid children chasing frogs. Not for fun, but for food.

19 Feb 2006

Monoclonal antibody targets key tumor growth factor

Monoclonal antibody targets key tumor growth factor; Successfully causes brain tumor regression and improves animal survival

19 Feb 2006

Bathroom scale model of weight loss most effective

According to a researcher in the U.S. losing and keeping off weight requires a lifelong commitment and effort.

19 Feb 2006

Orexin's role in developing addiction

A molecule in the brain essential for wakefulness and appetite has been found to play a central role in strengthening the neuron connections that lead to addiction.

17 Feb 2006

Tetrabenazine cuts down involuntary movements in Huntington's disease

The medication tetrabenazine cut down involuntary movement in patients with Huntington's disease on average by about 25 percent, with many patients experiencing a greater improvement, according to a study in the February 14 issue of the journal Neurology.

17 Feb 2006

Scientists map brain area that may help find human brain stem cells

A study led by a Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon has provided the first comprehensive map of a part of the adult human brain containing astrocytes, cells known to produce growth factors critical to the regeneration of damaged neural tissue and that potentially serve as brain stem cells.

17 Feb 2006

Genetics of human muscular dystrophy

Various forms of human muscular dystrophy result from mutations in genes encoding proteins of the nuclear envelope. A new paper in the February 15th issue of G&D reveals how.

17 Feb 2006

Major Alzheimer's discovery

A team from the Faculty of Medicine at Universiti Laval and the research centre at CHUQ (Centre hospitalier universitaire de Quibec) has discovered a natural defence mechanism that the body deploys to combat nerve cell degeneration observed in persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

17 Feb 2006

Research suggests that a common mechanism may underlie a variety of protein folding diseases

Misfolded and damaged proteins are common to all human neurodegenerative diseases. Clumps of these aggregated proteins destroy neurons within the brain and cause disease.

16 Feb 2006

Researchers develop way to visualize synchronized interactions of nerve cells in the brain

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School and the Brain Sciences Center at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center have discovered a new way to assess how brain networks act together.

16 Feb 2006

Hormone aldosterone linked to quality of hearing

Researchers have linked a hormone known to adjust levels of key brain chemicals to the quality of our hearing as we age. The more of the hormone that older people have in their bloodstream, the better their hearing is, and the less of the hormone, the worse their hearing is.

16 Feb 2006

Mystery of cot death may be explained

A failure to 'gasp' has long been proposed as the basis for sudden infant death syndrome, or cot death. A team at the University of Bristol has discovered a subset of cells in the brain that have the ability to self-generate nervous impulses, which appear essential for gasping. These cells have been termed 'pacemakers'.

16 Feb 2006