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 identify genes linked to most severe symptoms of multiple sclerosis

In a bid to determine factors linked to the most debilitating forms of multiple sclerosis, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have identified three so-called "complement system" genes that appear to play a role in MS-caused vision loss.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 31 Oct 2019

Study finds altered brain asymmetry in autism spectrum disorder

The left and right halves of our brains develop differently, as each hemisphere 'specialises' in certain functions. For example, for most people the left hemisphere--controlling the right hand--is dominant for language.

31 Oct 2019

Education level and socioeconomic status can predict thinking and memory performance

How well eight-year-olds score on a test of thinking skills may be a predictor of how they will perform on tests of thinking and memory skills when they are 70 years old, according to a study published in the October 30, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

31 Oct 2019

Tick-borne brain infection reported in UK

Tick bites are known to spread infections. An infectious condition that can affect the brain has been identified for the first time in the United Kingdom and the disease has been found to spread via tick bites say sources.

30 Oct 2019

New study sheds light on artificial networks and human face recognition

Our brains are so primed to recognize faces - or to tell people apart - that we rarely even stop to think about it, but what happens in the brain when it engages in such recognition is still far from understood. In a new study reported today in Nature Communications, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have shed new light on this issue.

30 Oct 2019

Researchers develop new therapeutic concept for treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy

Teams of researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Medical University of Innsbruck have developed a new therapeutic concept for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy.

30 Oct 2019

Shared abnormalities found in brain's control circuit of patients with mood, anxiety disorders

New research published today in JAMA Psychiatry shows for the first time that patients with mood and anxiety disorders share the same abnormalities in regions of the brain involved in emotional and cognitive control.

30 Oct 2019

New way to slow and reverse fibrosis identified

In cell and mouse models, Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators have identified a way to slow and reverse the process of uncontrolled internal scarring, called fibrosis.

30 Oct 2019

Education may erase risk of cognitive decline linked to APOE e4 gene in black people

Education may erase the risk of cognitive decline associated with the APOE e4 gene--the biggest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease--in older non-Hispanic black people, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

30 Oct 2019

UVA research sheds light on why infant seizures have lifelong effects

A doctor at University of Virginia Children's is using an elegant new approach to mapping brain activity to shed light on what happens during seizures in newborns that can lead to behavioral issues and learning disabilities much later.

30 Oct 2019

Steps to take to help people with dementia

Many older Americans worry about their risk for developing some form of dementia, and with good reason.

30 Oct 2019

MGH researchers create highest resolution MRI scan of the human brain

A new paper describes a breakthrough 100 micron resolution scan of the human brain that was created by a multidisciplinary team of Massachusetts General Hospital researchers.

30 Oct 2019

Key gene mutated in familial Alzheimer's regulates differentiation of neurons

An international team of researchers led by the Institute of Neuroscience at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona describes a new route that promotes differentiation of neurons.

30 Oct 2019

Rilpivirine drug used for HIV treatment also suppresses Zika virus infection

Like an adjustable wrench that becomes the "go-to" tool because it is effective and can be used for a variety of purposes, an existing drug that can be adapted to halt the replication of different viruses would greatly expedite the treatment of different infectious diseases.

30 Oct 2019

Study shows how infections during pregnancy are linked to psychiatric disorders

The mother's health is very important for the fetus's brain development during pregnancy. Many factors play key roles for healthy brain development, including nutrition, stress, hormonal balance and the mother's immune system.

30 Oct 2019

Researchers develop new leucocyte markers

An article entitled "Human Peripheral Blood Eosinophils Express High Levels of the Purinergic Receptor P2X4" written by an international immunology research group was recently published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Immunology.

30 Oct 2019

Liquid biopsy can predict prognosis in patients with glioblastoma

A blood test that measures the amount of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in the bloodstream - called a liquid biopsy - correlates with how patients will progress after they are diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM), the deadliest and most common primary brain tumor in adults.

30 Oct 2019

New approach holds great potential to track tremor severity in Parkinson's patients

One of the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD) is tremors. This involuntary movement disorder reduces quality of life by interrupting patients' activities such as writing and eating.

30 Oct 2019

Newly discovered immune control switch could protect the brains of premature babies

Researchers have discovered an immune control switch that could protect the brains of premature babies, who often suffer brain injuries when their immune response goes into overdrive.

30 Oct 2019

Functional connectome of fetal brain begins to take form in utero

The fundamental organization of brain networks is established in utero during the second and third trimesters of fetal development, according to research published in JNeurosci. The finding lays the groundwork for understanding how the prenatal period shapes future brain function.

From Society for Neuroscience 30 Oct 2019