Neuroscience News and Research

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Sensory substitution devices provide visual information to the blind via existing senses

Common wisdom has it that if the visual cortex in the brain is deprived of visual information in early infanthood, it may never develop properly its functional specialization, making sight restoration later in life almost impossible.

8 Nov 2012

Nanofiber technique to build new nerves from stem cells

Every week in his clinic at the University of Michigan, neurologist Joseph Corey, M.D., Ph.D., treats patients whose nerves are dying or shrinking due to disease or injury.

8 Nov 2012

BMI may not be best measure for estimation of cancer risk

A study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests that body mass index (BMI)-the most commonly used weight-for-height formula for estimating fatness-may not be the best measure for estimating disease risk, and particularly the risk of certain types of cancer. The study was published today in the online edition of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

8 Nov 2012

In silico drug design may lead to new approach in treatment of Alzheimer's

Researchers at Dalhousie University have discovered a new technique using "computer-aided" drug design that may lead to an entirely new approach in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

8 Nov 2012

Brain switches into special mode when pushed to make rapid decisions

Why do our brains make more mistakes when we act quickly? A new study demonstrates how the brain follows Ben Franklin's famous dictum, "Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste."

8 Nov 2012

UC Irvine researchers create new stem cell-derived cell type for treatment of Alzheimer's

UC Irvine researchers have created a new stem cell-derived cell type with unique promise for treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

8 Nov 2012

Aspirin viable alternative to warfarin in preventing clots after joint replacement surgery

If you've had joint replacement surgery, it's likely you've been given warfarin, a common blood thinner and clot-preventer, prior to surgery. While effective, research from the Rothman Institute at Jefferson has shown aspirin to be just as effective in preventing clots, specifically pulmonary emboli, life-threatening blood clots that can develop in the arteries of the lungs following joint replacement surgery.

8 Nov 2012

Two-level cervical disc from LDR receives approvable letter from U.S. FDA

LDR, a privately held medical device company offering innovative spinal implants for both non-fusion and fusion applications, announced that it has received an Approvable Letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Mobi-C® Cervical Disc (Mobi-C). Mobi-C is a metal and polyethylene mobile bearing prosthesis specifically designed as a low-profile cervical intervertebral disc replacement for both one and two level applications.

7 Nov 2012

Alpha-herpesvirus axon-to-cell spread involves limited virion transmission

New research suggests that just one or two individual herpes virus particles attack a skin cell in the first stage of an outbreak, resulting in a bottleneck in which the infection may be vulnerable to medical treatment.

7 Nov 2012

UCLA study to uncover risk profiles of breast cancer survivors likely to suffer from depression

UCLA researchers received a five-year, $5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute that will fund a study seeking to uncover risk profiles of breast cancer survivors likely to suffer from depression.

7 Nov 2012

Brain bleeds in premature babies: an interview with Edward Ahn

Premature babies are born during their third trimester and they are vulnerable to having brain bleeds because their brains are not completely developed. There are some fragile blood vessels that are present in every developing infant, but when the babies are born early, these blood vessels can be subject to changes in blood pressure and changes in breathing patterns and, due to their fragility, they can develop a hemorrhage.

6 Nov 2012

Testosterone exposure early in life can have lasting impact on brain function and behavior

New findings led by Dr. Michael Lombardo, Prof. Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues at the University of Cambridge indicate that testosterone levels early in fetal development influence later sensitivity of brain regions related to reward processing and affect an individual's susceptibility to engage in behavior, that in extremes, are related to several neuropsychiatric conditions that asymmetrically affect one sex more than the other.

6 Nov 2012

Study shows how local anesthetics can improve motor skills of patients after stroke

Painkilling drugs that make many therapies possible are a blessing for patients. Thanks to modern anesthetics, not only can surgical operations be conducted without causing pain, they are also used for various diagnostic procedures. Anesthetics can be very useful in therapies for stroke patients, as psychologists and physicians of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) and the University Hospital Jena are now able to prove.

6 Nov 2012

New insight into process of sensing

Rats use a sense that humans don't: whisking. They move their facial whiskers back and forth about eight times a second to locate objects in their environment. Could humans acquire this sense? And if they can, what could understanding the process of adapting to new sensory input tell us about how humans normally sense? At the Weizmann Institute, researchers explored these questions by attaching plastic "whiskers" to the fingers of blindfolded volunteers and asking them to carry out a location task.

6 Nov 2012

Scientists decipher the brain's code for visual working memory in monkeys

The brain holds in mind what has just been seen by synchronizing brain waves in a working memory circuit, an animal study supported by the National Institutes of Health suggests. The more in-sync such electrical signals of neurons were in two key hubs of the circuit, the more those cells held the short-term memory of a just-seen object.

3 Nov 2012

UC Santa Barbara reports key discovery in interdisciplinary study of split-brain research

UC Santa Barbara has reported an important discovery in the interdisciplinary study of split-brain research. The findings uncover dynamic changes in brain coordination patterns between left and right hemispheres.

3 Nov 2012

Some types of bariatric surgery may cause bone loss, say endocrinologists

Bariatric surgery, which significantly curtails the amount of food a person can eat, is the most effective treatment against obesity and is being recognized as a potentially valuable tool in the fight against diabetes related to obesity.

3 Nov 2012

PET scans allow scientists to study link between caffeine and neurodegenerative disorders

Molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) has enabled scientists for the first time to visualize binding sites of caffeine in the living human brain to explore possible positive and negative effects of caffeine consumption.

2 Nov 2012

Researchers unlock complex cellular mechanics that instruct glial progenitor cells to divide

In a new study appearing this month in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers have unlocked the complex cellular mechanics that instruct specific brain cells to continue to divide. This discovery overcomes a significant technical hurdle to potential human stem cell therapies; ensuring that an abundant supply of cells is available to study and ultimately treat people with diseases.

2 Nov 2012

Janssen, Vertex to evaluate TMC435 and VX-135 in Phase 2 HCV study

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a non-exclusive collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated to evaluate in a Phase 2 study the safety and efficacy of an all-oral regimen for the treatment of hepatitis C (HCV).

2 Nov 2012

Neuroscience News and Research

Sensory substitution devices provide visual information to the blind via existing senses

Nanofiber technique to build new nerves from stem cells

BMI may not be best measure for estimation of cancer risk

In silico drug design may lead to new approach in treatment of Alzheimer's

Brain switches into special mode when pushed to make rapid decisions

UC Irvine researchers create new stem cell-derived cell type for treatment of Alzheimer's

Aspirin viable alternative to warfarin in preventing clots after joint replacement surgery

Two-level cervical disc from LDR receives approvable letter from U.S. FDA

Alpha-herpesvirus axon-to-cell spread involves limited virion transmission

UCLA study to uncover risk profiles of breast cancer survivors likely to suffer from depression

Brain bleeds in premature babies: an interview with Edward Ahn

Testosterone exposure early in life can have lasting impact on brain function and behavior

Study shows how local anesthetics can improve motor skills of patients after stroke

New insight into process of sensing

Scientists decipher the brain's code for visual working memory in monkeys

UC Santa Barbara reports key discovery in interdisciplinary study of split-brain research

Some types of bariatric surgery may cause bone loss, say endocrinologists

PET scans allow scientists to study link between caffeine and neurodegenerative disorders

Researchers unlock complex cellular mechanics that instruct glial progenitor cells to divide

Janssen, Vertex to evaluate TMC435 and VX-135 in Phase 2 HCV study

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition 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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