Neuroscience News and Research

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Brain cells 'talk' with each other in more ways than previously thought

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered to their surprise that nerves in the mammalian brain's white matter do more than just ferry information between different brain regions, but in fact process information the way gray matter cells do.

8 May 2007

Antidepressants induce new nerve cell growth in the hippocampus

The growth of new nerve cells in the hippocampus has been suggested as the way antidepressants work in rodents, says Eric Nestler, MD, PhD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

8 May 2007

Children with autism cannot read facial expressions

When we have a conversation with someone, we not only hear what they say, we see what they say.

8 May 2007

US control strategies may make flu epidemics worse

Regular as clockwork, the flu arrives every year. And, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population on average will come down with it. About 36,000 people will die.

4 May 2007

Noise effects in ion channels in the brain are much larger than previously assumed

Addressing a current issue in neuroscience, Aldo Faisal and Simon Laughlin from Cambridge University investigate the reliability of thin axons for transmitting information.

4 May 2007

Losing money may be intrinsically linked with fear and pain in the brain

In a Wellcome Trust study published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers have shown that during a gambling task, losing money activated an area of the brain involved in responding to fear and pain.

4 May 2007

Eli Lilly to publish grant and contribution information

Eli Lilly and Company has announced that it will begin posting online all educational grant funding and other monetary contributions provided to U.S.-based organizations.

2 May 2007

Culture can alter the brain's perceptive mechanisms

Researchers in Illinois and Singapore have found that the aging brain reflects cultural differences in the way that it processes visual information.

2 May 2007

Losing money may be intrinsically linked with fear and pain in the brain

In a Wellcome Trust study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers have shown that during a gambling task, losing money activated an area of the brain involved in responding to fear and pain.

2 May 2007

Migraine sufferers may have form of brain damage

Scientists in the U.S. are suggesting that people with migraines may also be suffering from some form of brain damage.

2 May 2007

Discovery of backup stem cells that can repair damage to olfactory nerves

Hopkins researchers have identified a backup supply of stem cells that can repair the most severe damage to the nerves responsible for our sense of smell.

30 Apr 2007

Anti-dandruff compound may be a potential treatment for seizures

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that the same ingredient used in dandruff shampoos to fight the burning, itching and flaking on your head also can calm overexcited nerve cells inside your head, making it a potential treatment for seizures.

30 Apr 2007

Headaches may act like tiny transient strokes

Migraines may be doing more than causing people skull-splitting pain. Scientists have found evidence that the headaches may also be acting like tiny transient strokes, leaving parts of the brain starved for oxygen and altering the brain in significant ways.

30 Apr 2007

Scientists identify key mechanism for successfully transplanting tissue into the adult central nervous system

Scientists at the Schepens Eye Research Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, have identified a key mechanism for successfully transplanting tissue into the adult central nervous system.

27 Apr 2007

Mice on Prozac may help improve serotonin-based antidepressants

Depressed mice, like depressed humans, often appear listless and antisocial , the result of aberrant levels of brain chemicals such as serotonin.

26 Apr 2007

UNC-45 protein critical to proper formation of muscles

Proper formation of the proteins that power heart and skeletal muscle seems to rely on a precise concentration of a "chaperone" protein known as UNC-45, according to a new study.

24 Apr 2007

Non-coplanar PCBs and related chemicals warrant serious attention for health reasons

Scientists have determined that a specific class of PCB causes significant developmental abnormalities in rat pups whose mothers were exposed to the toxicant in their food during pregnancy and during the early weeks when the pups were nursing.

24 Apr 2007

New insights into how the brain controls movements

In the children's game "red light green light," winners are able to stop, and take off running again, more quickly than their comrades.

19 Apr 2007

Scientists find genes involved in memory and learning

Researchers have long recognized that for learning and memory to take place, certain genes must be activated to alter neuron activity inside the brain.

19 Apr 2007

Researchers observer proteins important in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's moving along axons

Using a novel video-imaging system, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have been able to observe proteins important in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease moving along axons, extensions of nerve cells that carry proteins away from the cell body.

18 Apr 2007