Hippocampus News and Research

RSS

The hippocampus is a part of the forebrain, located in the medial temporal lobe. It belongs to the limbic system and plays major roles in short term memory and spatial navigation. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain.

Study provides answers regarding scientific controversies about brain anatomy in autism research

In the largest MRI study to date, researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Carnegie Mellon University have shown that the brain anatomy in MRI scans of people with autism above age six is mostly indistinguishable from that of typically developing individuals and, therefore, of little clinical or scientific value.

6 Nov 2014

Study measures effects of high-fat maternal diet on the cognitive functioning of offspring

New research suggests that a high-fat maternal diet during pregnancy and while breastfeeding could have significant and lasting detrimental effects on the brain function and behavior of children.

5 Nov 2014

Nanostructures around brain cells may have role in central nervous system function

An accumulation of a protein called amyloid-beta into large insoluble deposits called plaques is known to cause Alzheimer's disease. One aspect of this illness that has not received much attention is which role the structure of the brain environment plays.

30 Oct 2014

Study sheds light on why we remember some things and not others

Why do we remember some things and not others? In a unique imaging study, two Northwestern University researchers have discovered how neurons in the brain might allow some experiences to be remembered while others are forgotten. It turns out, if you want to remember something about your environment, you better involve your dendrites.

27 Oct 2014

Research: MHCI protein moonlights in nervous system to regulate synapses

When it comes to the brain, "more is better" seems like an obvious assumption. But in the case of synapses, which are the connections between brain cells, too many or too few can both disrupt brain function.

21 Oct 2014

Vanderbilt engineers develop robotic device for less invasive epilepsy surgery

For those most severely affected, treating epilepsy means drilling through the skull deep into the brain to destroy the small area where the seizures originate - invasive, dangerous and with a long recovery period.

16 Oct 2014

Researchers use light to erase specific memories in mice

Just look into the light: not quite, but researchers at the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology have used light to erase specific memories in mice, and proved a basic theory of how different parts of the brain work together to retrieve episodic memories.

10 Oct 2014

Scientists use novel way to identify new gene linked to Alzheimer's

Scientists at The University of Manchester have used a new way of working to identify a new gene linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. The discovery fills in another piece of the jigsaw when it comes to identifying people most at risk of developing the condition.

From The University of Manchester 10 Oct 2014

New findings link obesity and dietary factors to late-life dementias

Difficulties learning, remembering, and concentrating. An inability to resist environmental temptations to eat. A lifetime of progressive deterioration in the brain.

9 Oct 2014

USC researchers develop new methods to advance study of human brains, epilepsy

USC biomedical engineers, neurologists and neurosurgeons develop new methods to advance the study of human brains and epilepsy. Studying the human brain is logistically complicated. Living samples of the complex and sensitive organ are limited and difficult to preserve, which means that research on them must be conducted quickly before they expire.

8 Oct 2014

Sugar consumption linked to memory problems, brain inflammation in adolescent rats

Studying rats as model subjects, scientists found that adolescents were at an increased risk of suffering negative health effects from sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.

8 Oct 2014

Research findings could help find ways to enhance overall learning, memory

The more curious we are about a topic, the easier it is to learn information about that topic. New research publishing online October 2 in the Cell Press journal Neuron provides insights into what happens in our brains when curiosity is piqued.

3 Oct 2014

New study sheds light on longstanding question about role of mitochondria in motor neuron diseases

A new study by researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine sheds light on a longstanding question about the role of mitochondria in debilitating and fatal motor neuron diseases and resulted in a new mouse model to study such illnesses.

22 Sep 2014

Researchers identify control mechanism for mood disorders

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a control mechanism for an area of the brain that processes sensory and emotive information that humans experience as "disappointment."

19 Sep 2014

Activation of MMP-9 enzyme leads to behavioral problems connected to chronic stress

Why is it that when people are too stressed they are often grouchy, grumpy, nasty, distracted or forgetful? Researchers from the Brain Mind Institute at EPFL have just highlighted a fundamental synaptic mechanism that explains the relationship between chronic stress and the loss of social skills and cognitive impairment. When triggered by stress, an enzyme attacks a synaptic regulatory molecule in the brain. This was revealed by a work published in Nature Communications.

19 Sep 2014

UAB researchers discover novel mechanism involved in formation of memory, learning

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham report the discovery of a novel mechanism in the brain involved in the formation of memory and learning. In findings reported online this week in Nature, the research team describes the role of a histone subunit known as H2A.Z.

18 Sep 2014