Neuroscience News and Research

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Scientists find a clue as to why muscles weaken with age

Scientists from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have found a clue as to why muscles weaken with age. In a study published Feb. 5 in The Journal of Neuroscience, they report the first evidence that "set points" in the nervous system are not inalterably determined during development but instead can be reset with age. They observed a change in set point that resulted in significantly diminished motor function in aging fruit flies.

9 Feb 2014

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

While the function of eating is to nourish the body, this is not what actually compels us to seek out food. Instead, it is hunger, with its stomach-growling sensations and gnawing pangs that propels us to the refrigerator - or the deli or the vending machine. Although hunger is essential for survival, abnormal hunger can lead to obesity and eating disorders, widespread problems now reaching near-epidemic proportions around the world.

9 Feb 2014

DP stimulation in spinal cord-injured patients is successful in weaning patients from mechanical ventilators

A new study published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery finds that diaphragm pacing (DP) stimulation in spinal cord-injured patients is successful not only in weaning patients from mechanical ventilators but also in bridging patients to independent respiration, where they could breathe on their own without the aid of a ventilator or stimulation.

9 Feb 2014

Researchers identify protein that promotes growth of brain cells damaged by MS

Vittorio Gallo, PhD, Director of the Center for Neuroscience Research at Children's National Health System, and other researchers have found a "potentially novel therapeutic target" to reduce the rate of deterioration and to promote growth of brain cells damaged by multiple sclerosis (MS). Current therapies can be effective in patients with relapsing MS, but have little impact in promoting tissue growth.

9 Feb 2014

Moderate aerobic exercise helps preserve nerve cells in retina after damage

Moderate aerobic exercise helps to preserve the structure and function of nerve cells in the retina after damage, according to an animal study appearing February 12 in The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings suggest exercise may be able to slow the progression of retinal degenerative diseases.

9 Feb 2014

Research highlights need to integrate global strategies to tackle development within first 1000 days of childhood

Safeguarding the healthy development of the next generation is vital for the long term success of the United Nation’s Millennium Development goals. New research in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences highlights the need to integrate global strategies aimed at tackling nutrition and cognitive development within the first thousand days of childhood.

7 Feb 2014

Research highlights global strategies aimed at tackling nutrition, cognitive development within first 1000 days of childhood

Safeguarding the healthy development of the next generation is vital for the long term success of the United Nation's Millennium Development goals. New research in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences highlights the need to integrate global strategies aimed at tackling nutrition and cognitive development within the first thousand days of childhood.

7 Feb 2014

Proprietary supplement improves cognitive processing speed of older adults

Declines in the underlying brain skills needed to think, remember and learn are normal in aging. In fact, this cognitive decline is a fact of life for most older Americans.

7 Feb 2014

UTHealth unveils country's first Mobile Stroke Unit

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, in partnership with Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, has unveiled the country's first Mobile Stroke Unit.

6 Feb 2014

Minimizing person's sight may help improve brain's ability to process hearing

Minimizing a person's sight for as little as a week may help improve the brain's ability to process hearing, neuroscientists have found.

6 Feb 2014

Study provides evidence for importance of omega-3 fatty acids in healthy brain development

Monkeys that ate a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids had brains with highly connected and well organized neural networks - in some ways akin to the neural networks in healthy humans - while monkeys that ate a diet deficient in the fatty acids had much more limited brain networking, according to an Oregon Health & Science University study.

5 Feb 2014

6-month-old infants later diagnosed with autism divert gaze from facial features

From birth, infants naturally show a preference for human contact and interaction, including faces and voices. These basic predispositions to social stimuli are altered in individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

5 Feb 2014

Pleasant auditory representations can help blind "see" colors and shapes

Using auditory or tactile stimulation, Sensory Substitution Devices (SSDs) provide representations of visual information and can help the blind "see" colors and shapes. SSDs scan images and transform the information into audio or touch signals that users are trained to understand, enabling them to recognize the image without seeing it.

5 Feb 2014

MORE intervention reduces pain and opioid misuse

With nearly one-third of Americans suffering from chronic pain, prescription opioid painkillers have become the leading form of treatment for this debilitating condition. Unfortunately, misuse of prescription opioids can lead to serious side effects-including death by overdose.

5 Feb 2014

New study correlates brain activity with how people make decisions when they engage in risky behavior

A new study correlating brain activity with how people make decisions suggests that when individuals engage in risky behavior, such as drunk driving or unsafe sex, it's probably not because their brains' desire systems are too active, but because their self-control systems are not active enough.

5 Feb 2014

Experts identify key challenges in youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities

In a study published today by the medical journal Paediatrics & Child Health, IRCM researchers address shortcomings in transitional care in the Canadian healthcare system. The team led by Eric Racine and Emily Bell, Montr-al neuroethics experts, identified important challenges in the transition from paediatric to adult health care, especially among youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities (such as autism spectrum disorders, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and cerebral palsy).

4 Feb 2014

Chemical "signature" in blood may predict which AML patients would benefit from chemotherapy

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have found a chemical "signature" in blood-forming stem cells that predicts whether patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) will respond to chemotherapy.

4 Feb 2014

Study shows how pesticides may contribute to development of Parkinson's disease

New research shows how pesticides may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease and that people with certain gene variants may be more susceptible to the disease. The research is published in the February 4, 2014, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Feb 2014

Research: Shy toddlers delay in speaking but not in understanding

Scientists have known that shy toddlers often have delayed speech, but a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder shows that the lag in using words does not mean that the children don't understand what's being said.

4 Feb 2014

Brains of autistic children generate 42% more information while at rest

New research from Case Western Reserve University and University of Toronto neuroscientists finds that the brains of autistic children generate more information at rest – a 42% increase on average. The study offers a scientific explanation for the most typical characteristic of autism – withdrawal into one’s own inner world. The excess production of information may explain a child’s detachment from their environment.

3 Feb 2014

Neuroscience News and Research

Scientists find a clue as to why muscles weaken with age

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

DP stimulation in spinal cord-injured patients is successful in weaning patients from mechanical ventilators

Researchers identify protein that promotes growth of brain cells damaged by MS

Moderate aerobic exercise helps preserve nerve cells in retina after damage

Research highlights need to integrate global strategies to tackle development within first 1000 days of childhood

Research highlights global strategies aimed at tackling nutrition, cognitive development within first 1000 days of childhood

Proprietary supplement improves cognitive processing speed of older adults

UTHealth unveils country's first Mobile Stroke Unit

Minimizing person's sight may help improve brain's ability to process hearing

Study provides evidence for importance of omega-3 fatty acids in healthy brain development

6-month-old infants later diagnosed with autism divert gaze from facial features

Pleasant auditory representations can help blind "see" colors and shapes

MORE intervention reduces pain and opioid misuse

New study correlates brain activity with how people make decisions when they engage in risky behavior

Experts identify key challenges in youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities

Chemical "signature" in blood may predict which AML patients would benefit from chemotherapy

Study shows how pesticides may contribute to development of Parkinson's disease

Research: Shy toddlers delay in speaking but not in understanding

Brains of autistic children generate 42% more information while at rest

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