Brain News and Research

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The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size.

Researchers find the potential of opioid drug to help mask fear memory

Anxiety disorders such as phobias and PTSD are fairly common problems in society. One of the prime causes of anxiety disorders is the inability to overcome the fear for certain contexts when they no longer apply.

19 Feb 2020

Brain activity can reveal empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of other people. Is it possible to detect a person's empathy through brain activity?

19 Feb 2020

NRG Oncology trial: Hippocampal avoidance during whole-brain radiotherapy reduces risks

Results from the NRG Oncology clinical study NRG-CC001 concluded that lowering radiotherapy dose to hippocampal stem cells improves cognitive and patient-reported outcomes for patients with brain metastases.

18 Feb 2020

Survey: Majority of Americans strongly support organ and tissue donation for research

A strong majority of Americans agree that organ and tissue donation for research contributes to health and medical breakthroughs and acknowledge significant shortfalls for donation.

18 Feb 2020

Researchers uncover why Zika virus caused most harmful brain damage to Brazilian newborns

Due to Zika virus, more than 1,600 babies were born in Brazil with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads, from September 2015 through April 2016.

18 Feb 2020

Study reveals how cells remove misfolded proteins from tissues

Researchers in Japan have identified a new quality control system that allows cells to remove damaged and potentially toxic proteins from their surroundings.

18 Feb 2020

Factors that may contribute to elevated risk of alcohol use disorder in adolescence

Alcohol misuse is common among adolescents, and increases the risk of developing a chronic alcohol use disorder in the future.

18 Feb 2020

Drugs targeting T cells may be effective in treating cerebral malaria

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found evidence that specific immune cells may play a key role in the devastating effects of cerebral malaria, a severe form of malaria that mainly affects young children.

18 Feb 2020

Persistent antisocial behavior linked to smaller brain size

Antisocial behavior is characterized by disruptive acts of intentional aggression that causes distress, alarm, or harassment toward others. People who exhibit antisocial behavior since they were children through adulthood are more likely to have smaller brains, a new study found.

18 Feb 2020

Researchers uncover genetic mechanisms that govern brain plasticity

Genetic mechanisms that govern brain plasticity - the brain's ability to change and adapt - have been uncovered by researchers at the University of Birmingham.

18 Feb 2020

Study uses MRI to probe non-invasively inside a living brain

The wiring network of the brain is made up of billions of nerve fibers called axons. The thickness of axons - together with other properties - significantly impacts the way in which they conduct neural signals, and therefore the overall processing speed of connected neurons and brain areas.

18 Feb 2020

Low folate levels associated with malnutrition in hospital patients

About 10% of patients who come to complex care hospitals may have low levels of folate and other indicators of malnutrition, investigators say.

18 Feb 2020

VTC scientists study new approach to help people with alcohol use disorder

People with alcohol use disorder know that when it comes to immediate satisfaction, nothing works quicker than liquor.

18 Feb 2020

Mediterranean diet promotes healthy aging with healthier gut microbiome

A new study published online in the journal Gut in February 2020 reports the striking health-promoting effects of switching to a Mediterranean diet for just one year. The results were due to an increase in the health and number of gut bacteria that favor a healthy diet.

17 Feb 2020

Research suggests new approach to block tau pathology in FTLD, Alzheimer's

The protein β-arrestin-2 increases the accumulation of neurotoxic tau tangles, a cause several forms of dementia, by interfering with removal of excess tau from the brain, a new study by the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine found.

17 Feb 2020

Measles re-emerging globally

Measles is a common childhood illness but can cause more than a passing fever with rash. It could turn out to be a complicated and severe illness, warn doctors in a new paper published in February 2020 in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

17 Feb 2020

Neuroscientist breaks the communication code of mice

You can't call it a dictionary just yet, but University of Delaware neuroscientist Joshua Neunuebel is starting to break the code mice use to communicate with each other.

17 Feb 2020

Sustained efforts to reduce Pakistan's epilepsy treatment gap

With a countrywide prevalence of 0.98%, more than 2.2 million people have epilepsy in Pakistan. A 1987 population-based study estimated Pakistan's treatment gap at 72.5% in urban areas, and 98.1% in rural ones.

17 Feb 2020

England reports highest rates of mumps

Mumps is a contagious condition affecting the parotid glands. In some cases, mumps can lead to complications, especially in men, including sterility. Other serious complications of mumps include meningitis, encephalitis, and pancreatitis. There is a readily available vaccine against mumps, but despite this, there has been a sharp rise in mumps cases in England.

17 Feb 2020