Neuroscience News and Research

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MC3R gene plays an important role in maintaining steady weight

Against the backdrop of the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have made an important new discovery regarding a specific gene that plays an important role in keeping a steady balance between our food intake and energy expenditure. The study may help scientists better understand the keys to fighting obesity and related disorders such as diabetes.

24 Nov 2011

Physicians can do better if they learn from their failures

When seeking a physician, you should look for one with experience. Right? Maybe not. Research on physicians' decision-making processes has revealed that those who pay attention to failures as well as successes become more adept at selecting the correct treatment.

24 Nov 2011

Stress chemicals shut down and brain processes emotional experiences during REM sleep

They say time heals all wounds, and new research from the University of California, Berkeley, indicates that time spent in dream sleep can help. UC Berkeley researchers have found that during the dream phase of sleep, also known as REM sleep, our stress chemistry shuts down and the brain processes emotional experiences and takes the painful edge off difficult memories.

24 Nov 2011

Study reveals principal mechanism of action for paracetamol

Researchers at King's College London have discovered how one of the most common household painkillers works, which could pave the way for less harmful pain relief medications to be developed in the future.

23 Nov 2011

Bioengineering delivers innovative solutions to diagnose and repair TBI

Bioengineering -- the application of engineering principles to understand and treat medical conditions -- is delivering innovative solutions for diagnosing and repairing damage to the brain caused by a traumatic injury.

23 Nov 2011

Virtues of a simple “Thank You” a day

Gratitude is a positive emotion with strong psychological effects say researchers. Now psychologists are trying to figure out the brain chemistry behind gratitude and the best ways of showing it.

22 Nov 2011

Study examines link between early-stage Alzheimer's and lower BMI

Studies have shown that people who are overweight in middle age are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease decades later than people at normal weight, yet researchers have also found that people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease are more likely to have a lower body mass index (BMI). A current study examines this relationship between Alzheimer's disease and BMI.

22 Nov 2011

FDA accepts Otsuka's aripiprazole depot formulation NDA for review

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and H. Lundbeck A/S announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that a new drug application (NDA) for Otsuka's investigational once-monthly aripiprazole depot formulation for the indication of maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adults is sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review.

22 Nov 2011

MIT, Pfizer announce new location for CVMED and Neuroscience research units

Pfizer Inc. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) today held the official groundbreaking of the new location of Pfizer's Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Endocrine Diseases (CVMED) and Neuroscience research units at 610 Main Street, Cambridge, MA.

22 Nov 2011

New way to enhance effects of anandamide in the body

UC Irvine and Italian researchers have discovered a new means of enhancing the effects of anandamide - a natural, marijuana-like chemical in the body that provides pain relief.

22 Nov 2011

Scientists discover second faulty gene linked to ALS

Following a major Northwestern Medicine breakthrough that identified a common converging point for all forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS and Lou Gehrig's disease), a new finding from the same scientists further broadens the understanding of why cells in the brain and spinal cord degenerate in the fatal disease.

21 Nov 2011

Convergence commences CNV2197944 multiple ascending dose Phase I study for chronic pain

Convergence Pharmaceuticals Limited, the company focused on the development of novel and high value analgesic medicines, today announces that the multiple ascending dose Phase I study of the novel, first in class calcium channel blocker CNV2197944, for the treatment of chronic pain has been initiated.

21 Nov 2011

Scientists unravel how brain combines different sensory cues to make sense of our world

The human brain is bombarded with a cacophony of information from the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin. Now a team of scientists at the University of Rochester, Washington University in St. Louis, and Baylor College of Medicine has unraveled how the brain manages to process those complex, rapidly changing, and often conflicting sensory signals to make sense of our world.

21 Nov 2011

Scientists show that the sense of smell can be improved

In a new study scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center have shown that the sense of smell can be improved. The new findings, published online November 20, 2011, in Nature Neuroscience, suggest possible ways to reverse the loss of smell due to aging or disease.

20 Nov 2011

Senator Klein opens new Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory at Albert Einstein College of Medicine

New York State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein joined administrators and faculty members of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University last Friday to officially open their new Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory.

19 Nov 2011

Entomologists explain why flies are attracted to beer

Ever wondered why flies are attracted to beer? Entomologists at the University of California, Riverside have, and offer an explanation. They report that flies sense glycerol, a sweet-tasting compound that yeasts make during fermentation.

18 Nov 2011

Researchers describe how brain handles spatial resolution

Everybody knows how to zoom in and out on an online map, to get the level of resolution you need to get you where you want to go. Now researchers have discovered a key mechanism that can act like a zoom button in the brain, by controlling the resolution of the brain's internal maps.

18 Nov 2011