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Joint use of tobacco and alcohol may increase neural damage in brain regions

Along with many other harmful health consequences, smoking tobacco causes chemical changes, oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain. Excessive alcohol use can have similar effects.

28 Feb 2019

New strategy may alleviate motor disorders in Parkinson's patients

Scientists of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the University Medical Center Goettingen have been able to alleviate motor disorders in mice that resemble those seen in Parkinson's patients.

28 Feb 2019

Study makes breakthrough in identifying cause of severe child speech impediment

An international study led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute has made a breakthrough in identifying a potential cause of the most severe child speech impediment - apraxia.

27 Feb 2019

Review shows reciprocal relationship between obesity and prefrontal cortex activity

In a review published February 26 in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, researchers explore the age-old chicken-or-the-egg conundrum but this time looking at whether obesity reduces self-control or if reduced self-control leads to obesity.

27 Feb 2019

Scientists develop tool to screen children for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Scientists at the University of Southern California, Queen's University and Duke University have developed a new tool that can screen children for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder quickly and affordably, making it accessible to more children in remote locations worldwide.

27 Feb 2019

Study provides new understanding of how the nose adapts to smells

Our noses may be able to adapt themselves to tell the brain, as efficiently as possible, about the most typical smells in our environment, suggests new research published in eLife.

27 Feb 2019

New study shows that people with dyslexia have structural dysfunction in subcortical region

Developmental dyslexia is one of the most widespread learning disabilities. Different therapeutic approaches and learning strategies are used to tackle the reading and writing difficulties associated with dyslexia, but to-date it is impossible to cure dyslexia.

27 Feb 2019

National Multiple Sclerosis Society awards grant for pilot study of social interaction in individuals with MS

Ekaterina Dobryakova, PhD, and Pei-Pei Liu, PhD, were awarded a $50,000 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to conduct a novel study of outcome processing in individuals with MS.

26 Feb 2019

Scientists discover puzzle piece that plays key role in development of epilepsies

When an epileptic seizure occurs in the brain, the nerve cells lose their usual pattern and fire in a very fast rhythm. The cause is a complex interplay of various factors.

25 Feb 2019

Researchers observe brain's ability to reconstruct facts from clues

What's an s-shaped animal with scales and no legs? What has big ears, a trunk and tusks? What goes 'woof' and chases cats? The brain's ability to reconstruct facts - 'a snake', 'an elephant' and 'a dog' - from clues has been observed using brain scanning by researchers at Aalto university.

25 Feb 2019

Scientists identify cause of devastating pediatric brain disorder

An international effort led by physician-scientists at Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, in collaboration with a team at the Montreal Children's Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre, has identified the cause of a devastating pediatric brain disorder paving the way for the first step in developing potential therapies for this rare neurodegenerative condition.

25 Feb 2019

Neuron-derived estrogen key to making memories

Estrogen in the brain is important to keep neurons communicating and memories being made, scientists report.

25 Feb 2019

Different sleep schedules among teens may have dissimilar effects on cognition and glucose levels

Many adolescent students sleep less than the recommended duration of 8-10 hours a night. It is unclear; however, whether short night sleep combined with an afternoon nap is as good as having the same amount of sleep continuously during the night without a nap.

23 Feb 2019

Novel MRI sensor can peer deep into the brain to detect intracellular calcium activity

Calcium is a critical signaling molecule for most cells, and it is especially important in neurons. Imaging calcium in brain cells can reveal how neurons communicate with each other; however, current imaging techniques can only penetrate a few millimeters into the brain.

22 Feb 2019

New design guidance could advance development of disease-sensing nanomaterials

Scientists have long sought to develop drug therapies that can more precisely diagnose, target and effectively treat life-threatening illness such as cancer, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases.

22 Feb 2019

New study finds how high-fat diets fuel colorectal cancer growth

As cancer death rates drop overall, doctors have noted a frightening anomaly: deaths from colorectal cancer in people under 55 appear to be creeping up. According to the American Cancer Society, deaths in this younger group increased by 1 percent between 2007 and 2016.

22 Feb 2019