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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.

Pitt bioengineer wins CAREER Award to improve locomotor learning in stroke patients

For stroke survivors whose ability to walk has been impaired by neurological damage, rehabilitation using robotics has proven to be an effective therapy to improve their gait.

28 Aug 2019

Scientists discover potential novel target for treating deadly brain cancer

Scientists at USC and UC San Diego have discovered a potential novel target for treating glioblastoma, the deadly brain cancer that took the life of Sen. John McCain and kills 15,000 Americans a year.

28 Aug 2019

Maternal high-fat diet may slow learning ability in offspring, study suggests

In a bid to further explore how a mother-to-be's diet might affect her offspring's brain health, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have found that pregnant and nursing rats fed high fat diets have offspring that grow up to be slower than expected learners and that have persistently abnormal levels of the components needed for healthy brain development and metabolism.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 28 Aug 2019

Balancing hormone levels may reverse risk factors of heart disease in female athletes

A review of more than 100 studies suggests that balancing hormone levels may reverse factors that increase heart disease risk in some female athletes.

28 Aug 2019

Researchers win NSF grant to investigate how young kids develop self-regulation

University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have been awarded a $390,483 grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate the role of coordinated brain and heart activity in the rapid development of self-regulation in 3- to 5-year-olds.

28 Aug 2019

Neurological markers in the brain can help detect people at risk for psychotic disorders

Help may be on the way for people who might lose contact with reality through a psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia.

27 Aug 2019

$1.5 million grant from BRAIN Initiative will help develop new tools to study astrocytes

In the brain, cells called astrocytes are at least as abundant as neurons, but are much less understood.

27 Aug 2019

Obesity associated with reduced taste sensation

A new study from researchers at the Binghamton University, State of University of New York has shown that obesity is associated with reduced taste responses and perception. The study on laboratory animals titled, “Taste Responses in the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract of Awake Obese Rats are Blunted Compared with those in Lean Rats” has been published in the latest issue of the journal Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience.

27 Aug 2019

New blood test may flag concussion in CT-negative patients

Many patients with concussion have normal CT scans and are discharged from the hospital without follow-up.

27 Aug 2019

Teens with higher prenatal organophosphate exposure show altered brain activity

Organophosphates are among the most commonly used classes of pesticides in the United States, despite mounting evidence linking prenatal exposure to the chemicals to poorer cognition and behavior problems in children.

27 Aug 2019

Infants with genetic epilepsy show better response to treatment with ketogenic diet

Infants and young children with epilepsy due to a confirmed genetic abnormality had a better response to treatment with ketogenic diet compared to patients with other types of epilepsy, according to a review of 10-year experience at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Results were published in Scientific Reports.

27 Aug 2019

Traumatic brain injuries could be healed using peptide hydrogels

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) –– defined as a bump, blow or jolt to the head that disrupts normal brain function –– sent 2.5 million people in the U.S. to the emergency room in 2014, according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

27 Aug 2019

Retina-on-a-chip may provide useful alternative to existing models for studying eye disease

The development of a retina-on-a-chip, which combines living human cells with an artificial tissue-like system, has been described today in the open-access journal eLife.

27 Aug 2019

Failure of glial cells in the brain triggers epileptic seizures, study finds

Epileptic seizures can happen to anyone. But how do they occur and what initiates such a rapid response?

27 Aug 2019

Multi-site study of noninvasive brain stimulation to improve upper limb function after spinal cord injury

Kessler Foundation is one of three sites participating in a study of noninvasive brain stimulation to improve upper limb function funded by the U.S. Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs titled, "Improving Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Interventions by Retraining the Brain." Ela Plow, PhD, is principal investigator for the Cleveland Clinic; Svetlana Pundik, PhD, is principal investigator for the Louis B. Stokes VA Cleveland Medical Center; and Gail Forrest, PhD, is principal investigator for the Foundation, which received a sub-award of $778,000. Dr. Forrest is director of the new Center for Spinal Stimulation at Kessler Foundation.

27 Aug 2019