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.

Meditation associated with increased cortical thickness

Meditation is known to alter resting brain patterns, suggesting long lasting brain changes, but a new study by researchers from Yale, Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows meditation also is associated with increased cortical thickness.

13 Nov 2005

Cellular signal may determine life or death for damaged brain cells

Scientists at the Universities of Heidelberg and Ulm and a unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, have discovered that a specific signal within brain cells may determine whether they live or die after a stroke.

13 Nov 2005

Statins reduce the risk of stroke after carotid artery endarterectomy

Carotid artery endarterectomy (CEA) is the most commonly performed operation to prevent stroke in the United States. However, the operation itself carries a small risk of stroke.

13 Nov 2005

Human umbilical cord blood cells may widen treatment window for stroke

An experimental treatment that spares disability from acute stroke may be delivered much later than the current three-hour treatment standard – a potential advance needed to benefit more stroke victims.

13 Nov 2005

Older brains store and encode memories differently than younger brains

Researchers working with rats have found the first solid evidence that still "sharp" older brains store and encode memories differently than younger brains.

13 Nov 2005

Hopkins study finds no "cognitive decline" after use of heart-lung machine during bypass surgery

The use of a cardiopulmonary heart pump during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery does not significantly damage such high-level mental tasks as thinking, reasoning and remembering, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers recently published in Neurology.

10 Nov 2005

Young scientists turn to gel to ease side-effects of cancer treatment

Three young scientists in the University of York’s Department of Chemistry have developed a gel that could spare cancer patients some of the unpleasant and dangerous side-effects of radiotherapy.

8 Nov 2005

What a joke! women laugh more than men

Just in case more evidence was needed that men and women are different just look at some cartoons, because according to a new Stanford University School of Medicine study, gender affects the way a person's brain responds to humour.

8 Nov 2005

Those most at risk of Alzheimer's would allow loved ones enroll them in research

According to a new survey most people at high risk of Alzheimer's disease would be willing to have their loved ones enroll them in research studies when they could no longer give consent themselves.

8 Nov 2005

Statin drug reverses learning and attention deficits in a mouse model of the genetic disorder Neurofibromatosis type I

This week, researchers report evidence that a statin drug already shown to be safe for use in humans has proven effective at correcting cell-cell communication and curing learning disfunction in a mouse model of Neurofibromatosis type I, a human genetic disorder that causes learning disabilities in millions of people worldwide.

7 Nov 2005

Antisocial behavior in children associated with gene variant and environmental risk factors

For children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), possessing a variant of a gene involved in brain signaling may predict antisocial behavior and increase susceptibility to the effects of lower birth weight, according to a study in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

7 Nov 2005

Change in neurons' responsiveness marks newly formed sensory associations during learning

During our waking hours, our brains are inundated with sensory information that shifts from one moment to the next.

7 Nov 2005

MRI helps early diagnosis of schizophrenia

Researchers may have discovered a new way that may ultimately assist in the early diagnosis of schizophrenia - by utilizing MRI to study the patient's brain.

7 Nov 2005

Oestrogen helps women concentrate

Scientists at the University of Bradford have discovered that the hormone oestrogen could be responsible for giving women the advantage when performing certain tasks such as driving.

7 Nov 2005

What girls always knew - women are safer drivers!

According to British scientists studying brain differences between the sexes, female sex hormones may be responsible for making women better "multi-taskers" and safer drivers than men.

7 Nov 2005

Studies outline dangers of mixing stress, deprivation and tempting foods

Two studies in the October issue of Behavioral Neuroscience show that when animals are stressed, deprived and exposed to tempting food, they overeat, with different degrees of interaction.

7 Nov 2005

Exposure to movie smoking accounts for smoking initiation among over one-third of U.S. adolescents

The first national study to look at the connection between smoking in movies and smoking initiation among adolescents shows that exposure to smoking in popular films is a primary risk factor in determining whether young people will start smoking.

7 Nov 2005

Resveratrol effective in lowering amyloid-beta peptides

A study published in the November 11 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that resveratrol, a compound found in grapes and red wine, lowers the levels of the amyloid-beta peptides which cause the telltale senile plaques of Alzheimer's disease.

7 Nov 2005

Protein alpha-synuclein associated with causing neurodegenerative conditions may actually protects against neurodegeneration

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered that a protein associated with causing neurodegenerative conditions may, when appearing in normal amounts, actually protects against neurodegeneration.

7 Nov 2005

Genetic link to dyslexia

About five million Germans have serious learning difficulties when it comes to reading and writing. It is frequently the case that several members of the same family are affected. So hereditary disposition seems to play an important role in the occurrence of dyslexia.

7 Nov 2005