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.

Physical activity improves brain function in older generations

The physical benefits of regular exercise and remaining physically active, especially as we age, are well documented. However, it appears that it is not only the body which benefits from exercise, but the mind too. The evidence for this is published in a new review by Hayley Guiney and Liana Machado from the University of Otago, New Zealand, which focuses on the importance of physical activity in keeping and potentially improving cognitive function throughout life.

13 Dec 2012

New ESF strategic report identifies opportunities for research on human brain

A new strategic report, The Human Brain - From Cells to Society, Toward Better Mental Health in Europe, has been published today by the European Science Foundation (ESF). In a Europe where an estimated 38% of the population is affected by a disorder of the brain, it is becoming increasingly important to bring greater support to research in all areas of neuroscience.

13 Dec 2012

New way to effectively make designer drugs that hit collections of protein targets simultaneously

An international research collaboration led by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the University of Dundee, in the U.K., have developed a way to efficiently and effectively make designer drugs that hit multiple protein targets at once.

13 Dec 2012

Change of fatty diet can cause feelings like drug withdrawal and depression

Even before obesity occurs, eating fatty and sugary foods causes chemical changes in the brain, meaning that going on a diet might feel similar to going through drug withdrawal, according to a study published today by Dr. Stephanie Fulton of the University of Montreal's Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated CRCHUM Hospital Research Centre.

13 Dec 2012

Bumetanide could treat children with severe autism or Asperger's syndrome

Although this therapy is not curative, it nevertheless reduced the autistic disorders' severity in three-quarters of the children. The researchers have filed a request for authorisation to perform a multi-centre European clinical trial in order to determine more precisely the population concerned by this therapy.

13 Dec 2012

AZD6765 briefly improves treatment-resistant patients' depression symptoms in minutes

A drug that works through the same brain mechanism as the fast-acting antidepressant ketamine briefly improved treatment-resistant patients' depression symptoms in minutes, with minimal untoward side effects, in a clinical trial conducted by the National Institutes of Health. The experimental agent, called AZD6765, acts through the brain's glutamate chemical messenger system.

13 Dec 2012

Takeda, Lundbeck announce FDA acceptance of vortioxetine NDA submission

Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc., (Takeda) and H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) jointly announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing their submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) for vortioxetine for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adult patients.

13 Dec 2012

Kessler's Northern New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury System receives $2.2M NIDRR grant

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education awarded a $2.2 million federal grant to Kessler Foundation.

13 Dec 2012

Skin vibrations convey information to the brain much the same way as auditory system

When you walk into a darkened room, your first instinct is to feel around for a light switch. You slide your hand along the wall, feeling the transition from the doorframe to the painted drywall, and then up and down until you find the metal or plastic plate of the switch. During the process you use your sense of touch to develop an image in your mind of the wall's surface and make a better guess for where the switch is.

12 Dec 2012

UBC researcher helps create new gel that could glue blood vessels back together

A University of British Columbia researcher has helped create a gel - based on the mussel's knack for clinging to rocks, piers and boat hulls - that can be painted onto the walls of blood vessels and stay put, forming a protective barrier with potentially life-saving implications.

12 Dec 2012

Tips for parents to tackle kids' Christmas wish lists

In an era when iPads are beating out Legos for the top spot on kids' Christmas wish lists, parents need to be mindful that moderation is the key in this digital age, according to Montefiore Medical Center child psychologist Rahil Briggs, Psy.D.

12 Dec 2012

Drugs that bind to specific serotonin receptors can improve and impair female sexual function

Drugs that bind to specific serotonin receptors in the brain can both improve and impair female sexual function in non-human primates.

12 Dec 2012

Cognitive retrieval impaired in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia show impairments in the autobiographical memory retrieval brain network, French researchers report.

12 Dec 2012

Scientists determine specific genetic switches that sync liver activity to the circadian cycle

When it's dark, and we start to fall asleep, most of us think we're tired because our bodies need rest. Yet circadian rhythms affect our bodies not just on a global scale, but at the level of individual organs, and even genes.

12 Dec 2012

Edith and Peter O'Donnell Awards to recognize Texas researchers on Jan.17

The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas (TAMEST) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2013 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Awards who will be honored during a banquet on Thursday, January 17, 2013, in conjunction with TAMEST's 10th Annual Conference at the Westin Galleria Hotel in Dallas.

12 Dec 2012

Emotion helps us recognize words quicker and more accurately straight away

Does the emotion in our voice have a lasting effect? According to Annett Schirmer and colleagues from the National University of Singapore, emotion helps us recognize words quicker and more accurately straight away.

12 Dec 2012

Study identifies KNDy neurons as a likely control switch of hot flushes

Hot flushes affect millions of people, and not just women. Yet, it is still unclear what causes the episodes of temperature discomfort, often accompanied by profuse sweating.

12 Dec 2012

Autism associated with reductions in cellular adhesion molecules in the blood

A new study published in Biological Psychiatry suggests that autism is associated with reductions in the level of cellular adhesion molecules in the blood, where they play a role in immune function.

12 Dec 2012

AC253 drug appears to restore memory in Alzheimer's brain cells

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a drug intended for diabetes appears to restore memory in Alzheimer's brain cells.

11 Dec 2012

Dementia therapy: an interview with Assoc Prof. Olivier Piguet and Sharon Savage

Dementia is the umbrella term used to describe a number of neurodegenerative brain disorders that cause progressive changes in thinking abilities and behaviour. The kind of deficits experienced by individuals diagnosed with dementia depends on the location and severity of the pathology in the brain.

11 Dec 2012