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.

Interhemispheric coordination reduced in schizophrenia

Results from a US study show that patients with schizophrenia have significantly decreased interhemispheric coordination compared with mentally healthy individuals.

21 Aug 2012

Neurally-interfaced hand prosthesis re-establishes communication between nervous systems

Amputation disrupts not only the peripheral nervous system but also central structures of the brain. While the brain is able to adapt and compensate for injury in certain conditions, in amputees the traumatic event prevents adaptive cortical changes. A group of scientists reports adaptive plastic changes in an amputee's brain following implantation of multielectrode arrays inside peripheral nerves.

21 Aug 2012

Berry wines may help people with diabetes decrease their blood sugar

In evaluating the bioactive compounds of Illinois blueberry and blackberry wines, University of Illinois scientists have found compounds that inhibit enzymes responsible for carbohydrate absorption and assimilation. And that could mean a tasty way to help people with diabetes decrease their blood sugar.

21 Aug 2012

New tool reveals surprising clues about how cancer cells respond to therapy

A new tool to observe cell behavior has revealed surprising clues about how cancer cells respond to therapy, and may offer a way to further refine personalized cancer treatments.

21 Aug 2012

MitoTarget Project and neurodegenerative diseases: an interview with Rebecca Pruss, Ph.D., CSO of Trophos

The MitoTarget Project was a project funded by the European Commission, under their FP7 programme. It was funding for a call published in 2007.

21 Aug 2012

Study demonstrates MRI role in defining and understanding causes of MS

New magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research shows that changes in brain blood flow associated with vein abnormalities are not specific for multiple sclerosis (MS) and do not contribute to its severity, despite what some researchers have speculated. Results of the research are published online in the journal Radiology.

21 Aug 2012

Muscle synergies activated in altered ways after stroke

The simple act of picking up a pencil requires the coordination of dozens of muscles: The eyes and head must turn toward the object as the hand reaches forward and the fingers grasp it. To make this job more manageable, the brain's motor cortex has implemented a system of shortcuts. Instead of controlling each muscle independently, the cortex is believed to activate muscles in groups, known as "muscle synergies." These synergies can be combined in different ways to achieve a wide range of movements.

21 Aug 2012

Spirituality often enhances health regardless of a person's faith

Despite differences in rituals and beliefs among the world's major religions, spirituality often enhances health regardless of a person's faith, according to University of Missouri researchers. The MU researchers believe that health care providers could take advantage of this correlation between health - particularly mental health - and spirituality by tailoring treatments and rehabilitation programs to accommodate an individual's spiritual inclinations.

21 Aug 2012

People with metabolic abnormalities may experience rapid decline in their cognitive skills

People who are obese and also have high blood pressure and other risk factors called metabolic abnormalities may experience a faster decline in their cognitive skills over time than others, according to a study published in the August 21, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

21 Aug 2012

Study utilizes integrative approach to probe biology of bipolar disorder

The more that we understand the brain, the more complex it becomes. The same can be said about the genetics and neurobiology of psychiatric disorders. For "Mendelian" disorders, like Huntington disease, mutation of a single gene predictably produces a single clinical disorder, following relatively simple genetic principals. Compared to Mendelian disorders, understanding bipolar disorder has been extremely challenging. Its biology is not well understood and its genetics are complex.

21 Aug 2012

High-definition fiber tractography shows white matter tracts in living brain

A technique called high-definition fiber tractography (HDFT) provides a powerful new tool for tracing the course of nerve fiber connections within the brain—with the potential to improve the accuracy of neurosurgical planning and to advance scientific understanding of the brain's structural and functional networks, reports a paper in the August issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

21 Aug 2012

Studies raise possibility of new DBS approaches to treat obesity

Scientific advances in understanding the "addiction circuitry" of the brain may lead to effective treatment for obesity using deep brain stimulation (DBS), according to a review article in the August issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

21 Aug 2012

New neurotechnology aims to help rehabilitate stroke survivors

What comes naturally to most people - to think and then do - is difficult for stroke patients who have lost the full use of their limbs. New research by Rice University, the University of Houston (UH) and TIRR Memorial Hermann aims to help victims recover that ability to the fullest extent possible with a $1.17 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the President's National Robotics Initiative (NRI).

21 Aug 2012

Semen protein acts on the female brain to prompt ovulation

An international team of scientists led by Gregg Adams at the University of Saskatchewan has discovered that a protein in semen acts on the female brain to prompt ovulation, and is the same molecule that regulates the growth, maintenance, and survival of nerve cells.

21 Aug 2012

Three-step risk-screening method devised for Parkinson’s disease

Researchers have proposed a three-step screening battery to identify people at risk for developing Parkinson’s disease, using a combination of age, family history, hyposmia, and substantia nigra enlargement.

20 Aug 2012

FDA approves InSightec's ExAblate Neuro system clinical trial for tremor dominant Parkinson's Disease

InSightec Ltd, the global leader in MR guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS), announced that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin a Phase I clinical trial evaluating the use of its ExAblate Neuro system for the treatment of patients with tremor dominant Parkinson's Disease.

20 Aug 2012

Protein toxic to nerve cells in AD also contributes to memory loss

The underlying causes of Alzheimer's disease are not fully understood, but a good deal of evidence points to the accumulation of β-amyloid, a protein that's toxic to nerve cells. β-amyloid is formed by the activity of several enzymes, including one called BACE1. Most Alzheimer's disease patients have elevated levels of BACE1, which in turn leads to more brain-damaging β-amyloid protein.

20 Aug 2012