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McGill researchers identify brain structures involved in delayed gratification

Researchers at McGill have clearly identified, for the first time, the specific parts of the brain involved in decisions that call for delayed gratification. In a paper recently published in the European Journal of Neuroscience, they demonstrated that the hippocampus (associated with memory) and the nucleus accumbens (associated with pleasure) work together in making critical decisions of this type, where time plays a role.

5 Aug 2015

Researchers discover how neurons help learn new motor skills

It takes a surprisingly small cluster of brain cells deep within the cerebellum to learn how to serve a tennis ball or line up a hockey shot. Researchers at McGill University led by Kathleen Cullen from the Department of Physiology have discovered that to learn new motor skills, neurons within the cerebellum engage in elegant, virtually mathematical, computations to quickly compare expected and actual sensory feedback. They then quickly readjust, changing the strength of connections between other neurons to form new patterns in the brain in order to accomplish the task at hand.

4 Aug 2015

Trauma may cause long-lasting effects even in people without PTSD

Trauma may cause distinct and long-lasting effects even in people who do not develop PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), according to research by scientists working at the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry. It is already known that stress affects brain function and may lead to PTSD, but until now the underlying brain networks have proven elusive.

4 Aug 2015

Research finding could help reveal how the human brain learns complex motor skills

Like top musicians, songbirds train from a young age to weed out errors and trim variability from their songs, ultimately becoming consistent and reliable performers. But as with human musicians, even the best are not machines. To learn and improve, the songbird brain needs to shake up its tried-and-true patterns with a healthy dose of creative experimentation. Until now, no one has found a specific mechanism by which this could occur.

4 Aug 2015

FAU pre-medical student and surgeon work together on revolutionary procedure alternative to radical mastectomy

Elizabeth Hopkins, an aspiring physician and pre-medical student in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University, has spent more than 640 hours shadowing Hilton Becker, M.D., a local plastic and reconstructive surgeon, and an affiliate professor in FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine. Together, with Jeffrey Lind II, M.D., they authored a publication in the current issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal, which describes a revolutionary procedure developed by Becker that is an alternative to radical mastectomy.

4 Aug 2015

Shire acquires Foresight Biotherapeutics for $300 million

Shire plc announced today that it has acquired New York-based, privately held Foresight Biotherapeutics Inc. for $300 million.

3 Aug 2015

Isis Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca to develop antisense therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic, renal diseases

AstraZeneca and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced a strategic collaboration to discover and develop antisense therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases.

3 Aug 2015

Brain-controlled prosthesis could improve quality of life in people with spinal cord injuries

When we type or perform other precise tasks, our brains and muscles usually work together effortlessly. But when a neurological disease or spinal cord injury severs the connection between the brain and limbs, once-easy motions become difficult or impossible.

3 Aug 2015

UCLA skills program improves social functioning in young adults with autism

Researchers at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA have found that a social skills program for high-functioning young adults with autism spectrum disorder significantly improved the participants' ability to engage with their peers.

3 Aug 2015

Research shows specific routes of administration can predict risk of drug addiction

Abstinence is the best way to avoid drug addiction. But in many societies, drug use is the norm, not the exception, especially by youth.

3 Aug 2015

Atomic level images reveal how neuropeptide hormone neurotensin may activate its receptors

Many hormones and neurotransmitters work by binding to receptors on a cell's exterior surface. This activates receptors causing them to twist, turn and spark chemical reactions inside cells.

3 Aug 2015

Eisai, Halozyme partner to evaluate eribulin and PEGPH20 in HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer

Eisai Inc. announced today that its parent company Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President and CEO: Haruo Naito) and Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (Headquarters: San Diego, California, President and CEO: Dr. Helen Torley) have signed a clinical collaboration agreement to evaluate Eisai's agent eribulin mesylate (brand name: Halaven, "eribulin") in combination with Halozyme's investigational drug PEGPH20 (PEGylated recombinant human hyaluronidase) in first line HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

31 Jul 2015

University of Southampton research finds that electric fields alter behaviour of fruit flies

A new piece of research led by the University of Southampton has found that the behaviour of fruit flies, which are commonly used in laboratory experiments, is altered by electric fields.

31 Jul 2015

Roche submits cobas EGFR v2 test PMA to FDA as companion diagnostic test for AZD9291

Roche today announced it has submitted the cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 for Premarket Approval (PMA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as a companion diagnostic test for AZD9291, an AstraZeneca investigational therapy for non-small cell lung cancer patients with an acquired resistant mutation.

30 Jul 2015

Study reveals new way to help medical students learn about Alzheimer's disease

With the growing number of people with Alzheimer's disease, understanding their care is vital for doctors. Yet medical students often just learn the facts and may only see people with advanced disease who are at the hospital or nursing home. A study shows a new way to help medical students learn about the disease—at the art museum.

30 Jul 2015

Innovative course helps make medical students more confident about dealing with health disparities

An innovative three-month elective course has helped make some first-year medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine more confident about dealing with health disparities they'll likely encounter as physicians, according to a follow-up study published online today in the journal Academic Medicine.

30 Jul 2015

TGen scientist named a recipient of 2015 Bisgrove Scholars award

Dr. Candace Lewis, a research scientist at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, is one of five recipients of the 2015 Bisgrove Scholars award, Science Foundation Arizona announced today.

30 Jul 2015

Study sheds new light on the brain’s learning capacity

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? New research on the brain's capacity to learn suggests there's more to it than the adage that "practise makes perfect." A music-training study by scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital -The Neuro, at McGill University and colleagues in Germany found evidence to distinguish the parts of the brain that account for individual talent from the parts that are activated through training.

29 Jul 2015

AAN's Behavioral Neurology Section Group provides recommendations for improving clinical cognitive testing

Recommendations for improving clinical cognitive testing were reported by the American Academy of Neurology's Behavioral Neurology Section Group, led by Kirk R. Daffner, MD, of Boston, Mass. The Group focused on the Neurobehavioral Status Exam (NBSE), conducting evidence-based reviews of testing used for five domains - attention, language, memory, spatial cognition, and executive function).

29 Jul 2015

Study could pave way for more targeted treatments for individuals with brain disorders

Like Duke Ellington's 1931 jazz standard, the human brain improvises while its rhythm section keeps up a steady beat. But when it comes to taking on intellectually challenging tasks, groups of neurons tune in to one another for a fraction of a second and harmonize, then go back to improvising, according to new research led by UC Berkeley.

29 Jul 2015

Neuroscience News and Research

McGill researchers identify brain structures involved in delayed gratification

Researchers discover how neurons help learn new motor skills

Trauma may cause long-lasting effects even in people without PTSD

Research finding could help reveal how the human brain learns complex motor skills

FAU pre-medical student and surgeon work together on revolutionary procedure alternative to radical mastectomy

Shire acquires Foresight Biotherapeutics for $300 million

Isis Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca to develop antisense therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic, renal diseases

Brain-controlled prosthesis could improve quality of life in people with spinal cord injuries

UCLA skills program improves social functioning in young adults with autism

Research shows specific routes of administration can predict risk of drug addiction

Atomic level images reveal how neuropeptide hormone neurotensin may activate its receptors

Eisai, Halozyme partner to evaluate eribulin and PEGPH20 in HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer

University of Southampton research finds that electric fields alter behaviour of fruit flies

Roche submits cobas EGFR v2 test PMA to FDA as companion diagnostic test for AZD9291

Study reveals new way to help medical students learn about Alzheimer's disease

Innovative course helps make medical students more confident about dealing with health disparities

TGen scientist named a recipient of 2015 Bisgrove Scholars award

Study sheds new light on the brain’s learning capacity

AAN's Behavioral Neurology Section Group provides recommendations for improving clinical cognitive testing

Study could pave way for more targeted treatments for individuals with brain disorders

eBook: Advancing neurodegenerative research with iPSC-derived microglia models eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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