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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.

New federal grant to expand outreach to help underserved communities battle opioid epidemic

According to government data, more than 70,000 Americans died in 2017 by overdosing on opioids. In response to the opioid crisis, the US Department of Health and Human Services outlined several key priorities, including improved treatment access, use of overdose-reversing drugs and improved pain management strategies.

15 Oct 2019

Preference for music with medium complexity may be rooted in how humans learn

People prefer songs with only a moderate amount of unfamiliarity and unpredictability, according to research recently published in JNeurosci.

From Society for Neuroscience 15 Oct 2019

Electrical brain implants enable patient to have 'mind control' of motorized prosthetic arms

In a set of proof-of-concept experiments, Johns Hopkins researchers have implanted electrodes in both sides of the brain of a person who is mostly paralyzed — with minimal sensation in his hands — to enable him to have some “mind control” of motorized prosthetic arms.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 15 Oct 2019

Discovery could lead to new therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases

Research led by Drs. Miguel Burguillos (University of Seville, Spain) and Miguel Branco (Queen Mary University of London, UK), has revealed new findings about mechanisms regulating brain inflammation which open a new pathway in the field of neuroinflammation.

15 Oct 2019

Finnish study offers new information about molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have discovered new changes in blood samples associated with Alzheimer's disease. A new international study was conducted on disease-discordant Finnish twin pairs: one sibling suffering from Alzheimer's disease and the other being cognitively healthy.

15 Oct 2019

UNICEF: 'Unhealthy diets are damaging children’s health across the world'

A flagship report by UNICEF has warned that the number of children worldwide suffering as a result of poor diets and a failing food system is alarmingly high.

15 Oct 2019

Advances in translational genetics unlocked by Bio-Rad technologies to be presented at ASHG 2019

Scientists will present 24 abstracts and three talks, highlighting research driven in part by Bio-Rad Laboratories' Droplet Digital PCR and single-cell ATAC-Seq (scATAC-Seq) technologies, at the 2019 American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting in Houston, October 15-19.

15 Oct 2019

How dementia spreads: new study says it’s through neural networks

Scientists have found out a way to forecast the spread of brain atrophy, using prior research that shows how brain networks connect with each other to form a continuously linked pathway.

14 Oct 2019

Risk of genetic seizure disorder: new scoring system

A Cleveland Clinic-led initiative has come up with a new risk scoring system for epileptic or seizure disorders of genetic origin. The researchers summed up the risks for a very large number of genes weakly implicated in some common forms of epilepsy, to create a polygenic risk score.

14 Oct 2019

New study blames vascular rather than nerve injury for concussion

Brain concussion occurs when the soft cottage cheese-like brain tissue is slammed against the hard skull surface, sustaining transient and reversible injury which causes brain dysfunction for a period.

14 Oct 2019

Study shows microbleeds after head injury signal danger to brain function

A new study published in the journal Brain shows that microbleeds appearing after trauma can cause patients with head injury to have poor outcomes. Advanced imaging techniques were used to establish this finding.

14 Oct 2019

Signs of aging detected by a simple walking test at age 45

A new study has shown that the speed at which persons over 45 years of age walk could be an indicator of their brain and body age. The team of researchers from Duke University found that persons who walked slowly were more likely to have “accelerated aging” compared to those who walked faster.

14 Oct 2019

New therapeutic approach for children born to mothers who used cannabis during pregnancy

As a growing number of U.S. states legalize the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana, an increasing number of American women are using cannabis before becoming pregnant and during early pregnancy often to treat morning sickness, anxiety, and lower back pain.

14 Oct 2019

Dementia spreads via synaptic connections between brain networks

In a new study, UC San Francisco scientists used maps of brain connections to predict how brain atrophy would spread in individual patients with frontotemporal dementia, adding to growing evidence that the loss of brain cells associated with dementia spreads via the synaptic connections between established brain networks.

14 Oct 2019

Highly sensitive method can 'track' fat metabolism

Without fat, nothing works in the body: These substances serve as energy suppliers and important building blocks - including for the envelopes of living cells.

14 Oct 2019

Blood vessel damage is more widespread than expected in patients with TBI

The effects of a traumatic brain injury are pretty clear – problems with memory, headaches, and emotions – but what's unclear is the underlying pathological causes for those symptoms.

14 Oct 2019

Custom-made oligonucleotide therapy for girl with fatal Batten disease

Sufferers of fatal Batten disease have been given new hope as scientists develop a custom-made oligonucleotide therapy for a young girl.

14 Oct 2019

Hyperfine and Yale School of Medicine team up to pioneer the use of world's first portable MRI system

Hyperfine Research Inc. announced today its collaboration with the Yale School of Medicine to pioneer the use of the world's first portable, low-cost magnetic resonance imaging system at the bedside of patients in the neuro intensive care unit of Yale New Haven Hospital. Hyperfine's system can move directly to the bedside, plug into a wall outlet, and operate in any healthcare setting.

14 Oct 2019

Cleveland Clinic-led researchers develop novel genetic-based epilepsy risk scores

An international team of researchers led by Cleveland Clinic has developed new genetic-based epilepsy risk scores which may lay the foundation for a more personalized method of epilepsy diagnosis and treatment.

14 Oct 2019