Hippocampus News and Research

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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.

How brain's memory center repairs itself after severe trauma

Researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have described for the first time how the brain's memory center repairs itself following severe trauma - a process that may explain why it is harder to bounce back after multiple head injuries.

1 Apr 2011

Amyloid plaques in normal older individuals may be early signs of Alzheimer's

Researchers using two brain-imaging technologies have found that apparently normal older individuals with brain deposits of amyloid beta - the primary constituent of the plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients - also had changes in brain structure similar to those seen in Alzheimer's patients.

31 Mar 2011

Mother's gene variation can influence alcohol-related disorders in fetus

Exposure to alcohol in the womb doesn't affect all fetuses equally. Why does one woman who drinks alcohol during pregnancy give birth to a child with physical, behavioral or learning problems -- known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder -- while another woman who also drinks has a child without these problems?

24 Mar 2011

Gut bacteria and state of immune system influence personality

Researchers at McMaster University discovered that the "cross-talk" between bacteria in our gut and our brain plays an important role in the development of psychiatric illness, intestinal diseases and probably other health problems as well including obesity.

24 Mar 2011

Larger hippocampal volume linked with recovery of PTSD

The hippocampus, a brain region implicated in memory and interpreting environmental contexts, has been the focus of a controversy in posttraumatic stress disorder.

22 Mar 2011

Study investigates physiological changes within brain due to Prozac treatment

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) such as Prozac are regularly used to treat severe anxiety and depression. They work by immediately increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain and by causing long term changes in brain function. However it can take weeks of treatment before a patient feels any effect and both beneficial effects and side effects can persist after treatment is stopped.

16 Mar 2011

Neurogenesis plays a beneficial role in exercise-induced response to stress, sexual behavior and reproduction

Two studies published by an interdisciplinary team of Hong Kong researchers in the current special issue of Cell Transplantation (20:1), now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/ , link the regrowth of key adult brain cells (neurogenesis) in two critical areas of the brain to both the benefits of exercise as a stress reducer and also to sexual behavior and reproductive issues.

11 Mar 2011

New study reveals brain networks are involved in 'cross-modal' person recognition

Human social interactions are shaped by our ability to recognise people. Faces and voices are known to be some of the key features that enable us to identify individual people, and they are rich in information such as gender, age, and body size, that lead to a unique identity for a person.

11 Mar 2011

Sanfilippo syndrome compromises blood-brain barrier, leads to brain damage

A study into the effects of Sanfilippo Syndrome type B (MPS III B) has found that the barrier responsible for protecting the brain from the entry of harmful blood-borne substances is structurally and functionally damaged by the devastating disease. University of South Florida researchers identified damage in specific brain structures involved in the pathology of MPS III B, one of four Sanfilippo syndromes, all of which are inherited diseases of metabolism.

9 Mar 2011

Brain's learning capacity recharges during light, dreamless slumber

Scientists have long puzzled over the many hours we spend in light, dreamless slumber. But a new study from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests we're busy recharging our brain's learning capacity during this traditionally undervalued phase of sleep, which can take up half the night.

9 Mar 2011

Novel gene therapy can promote removal of amyloid plaques and prevent Alzheimer's disease

Gene therapy that boosts the ability of brain cells to gobble up toxic proteins prevents development of Alzheimer's disease in mice that are predestined to develop it, report researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center. They say the treatment - which is given just once - could potentially do the same in people at the beginning stages of the disease.

5 Mar 2011

Researchers transform human embryonic stem cell into neuron that dies early in Alzheimer's disease

Northwestern Medicine researchers for the first time have transformed a human embryonic stem cell into a critical type of neuron that dies early in Alzheimer's disease and is a major cause of memory loss.

4 Mar 2011

Neuralstem announces initiation of NSI-189 Phase Ia trial for major depressive disorder

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that the first subject was dosed yesterday in a Phase Ia trial to evaluate the safety of its drug, NSI-189, which is being developed for the treatment of major depressive disorder and other psychiatric indications. NSI-189 is the lead compound in Neuralstem's neurogenerative small molecule drug platform. This phase of the trial is in healthy volunteers and seeks to determine the maximum tolerated single dose.

2 Mar 2011

Brain reward center responds to good and bad experiences

The so-called reward center of the brain may need a new name, say scientists who have shown it responds to good and bad experiences. The finding, published in PLoS One, may help explain the "thrill" of thrill-seeking behavior or maybe just the thrill of surviving it, according to scientists at Georgia Health Sciences University and East China Normal University.

23 Feb 2011

Scientists find working memory highly dependent on fast inhibitory cells

Usually, we associate rhythms with dance and music. But they also play an important role in the brain. When billions of neurons communicate with each other, certain rhythmic activity patterns arise. The proper metre in this interplay is provided by nerve cells that do not excite other cells, but inhibit their activity instead. One type of these inhibiting cells acts in a particularly fast and efficient way and is therefore thought to be crucial for memory formation and information processing in neuronal networks.

18 Feb 2011

Scientists discover axons can send signals to cell body

Neurons are complicated, but the basic functional concept is that synapses transmit electrical signals to the dendrites and cell body, and axons carry signals away.

18 Feb 2011

Deactivation of tau gene may help reverse memory loss in Alzheimer disease

Amyloid-beta and tau protein deposits in the brain are characteristic features of Alzheimer disease. The effect on the hippocampus, the area of the brain that plays a central role in learning and memory, is particularly severe. However, it appears that the toxic effect of tau protein is largely eliminated when the corresponding tau gene is switched off.

16 Feb 2011

Mg significantly reduces neonatal brain injury linked with maternal inflammation, infection

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in San Francisco, researchers will present findings that showed that in rats, the use of magnesium sulfate significantly reduced the neonatal brain injury associated with maternal inflammation or maternal infection.

10 Feb 2011

Specific gene variation linked to late-onset Alzheimer's

A new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found evidence suggesting that a variation of a specific gene may play a role in late-onset Alzheimer's, the disease which accounts for over 90% of Alzheimer's cases. This innovative study has combined genetics and brain imaging to determine who may be at risk for developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease long before symptoms appear.

9 Feb 2011

Specific gene variation may play a role in late-onset Alzheimer's disease: New study

A new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has found evidence suggesting that a variation of a specific gene may play a role in late-onset Alzheimer's, the disease which accounts for over 90% of Alzheimer's cases. This innovative study has combined genetics and brain imaging to determine who may be at risk for developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease long before symptoms appear.

9 Feb 2011