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.

New understanding of vagus nerve's role in regulating inflammation

It used to be dogma that the brain was shut away from the actions of the immune system, shielded from the outside forces of nature.

24 Oct 2007

Alcoholism in the family linked to greater sweet preferences among women

More than 250 million women worldwide smoke tobacco. Compared to men, women have a greater risk of smoking-related diseases, and also have more difficulty quitting. A new study, the first of its kind, has found that cigarette smoking and having a family history of alcoholism have different effects on sweet-taste perception and food cravings.

24 Oct 2007

Video game reduces production of stress-related hormone cortisol

A video game designed by McGill University researchers to help train people to change their perception of social threats and boost their self-confidence has now been shown to reduce the production of the stress-related hormone cortisol.

24 Oct 2007

Synthetic form of THC is an effective anti-depressant at low doses

A new neurobiological study has found that a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, is an effective anti-depressant at low doses.

24 Oct 2007

Darkness increases the impact of social stress

Just in time for Halloween, researchers are releasing new data that show darkness increases the impact of social stress, in an article scheduled for publication in the November 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry.

24 Oct 2007

Study looks at religion in health care

Research shows that religion and spirituality are linked to positive physical and mental health; however, most studies have focused on people with life threatening diseases.

24 Oct 2007

Researchers pinpoint brain waves that distinguish false memories from real ones

For the first time, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are able to pinpoint brain waves that distinguish true from false memories, providing a better understanding of how memory works and creating a new strategy to help epilepsy patients retain cognitive function.

24 Oct 2007

Orexigen presents findings on obesity drug candidates

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders including obesity, has presented the results of a preclinical study that further supports the Company's understanding of an aspect of the mechanism of action of Contrave, one of its two late-stage obesity drug candidates.

24 Oct 2007

MSU researcher helps develop computer game for Ugandan children recovering from cerebral malaria

The computer program Captain's Log - originally used with individuals diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, brain injuries or learning disabilities - is being adapted to rehabilitate Ugandan children who are survivors of cerebral malaria.

24 Oct 2007

A better education means dementia comes later but when it does it's faster

According to new research a high level of education delays a decline in memory as people age, but once the decline begins it occurs faster.

24 Oct 2007

Can a lack of sleep drive you crazy?

Scientists in the U.S. have linked a lack of sleep to mental illness; they say brain scans can show how the brain gets tired and over-emotional when someone is deprived of sleep.

24 Oct 2007

One sniff may clear away that awful phobia!

Scientists from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, have found that a simple nasal spray may help people deal with irrational fears.

23 Oct 2007

Stem cells from a person's own umbilical cord effectively treat blood and immune disorders, juvenile diabetes

Two separate data abstracts displayed at the annual scientific meeting of the AABB - an international association of medical professionals and institutions focused on transfusion, transplantation and cellular therapy - highlight the increasing therapeutic use of autologous (one's own) cord blood stem cells for transplant and regenerative medicine, including treatments for blood and immune disorders, juvenile diabetes and neurological repair.

22 Oct 2007

Sleep-deprivation causes brain to overreact to negative experiences

Without sleep, the emotional centers of the brain dramatically overreact to negative experiences, reveals a new brain imaging study in the October 23rd issue of Current Biology, a publication of Cell Press.

22 Oct 2007

Study looks at physician migration

Physicians moving from developing countries to work in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom are more likely to originate from wealthier developing countries than less developed countries.

22 Oct 2007

More educated people who develop dementia lose their memory faster

People with more years of education lose their memory faster than those with less education in the years prior to a diagnosis of dementia, according to a study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, published in the October 23rd issue of the medical journal Neurology.

22 Oct 2007

The biomedical and sociological effects of sleep restriction

In spring 2005 a large European research and training network was established to investigate the causes and implications of poor sleep from a medical as well as from a social point of view. This EU-financed sleep research project, “The biomedical and sociological effects of sleep restriction”, is coordinated by Dr. Tarja Porkka-Heiskanen (Stenberg) MD, PhD, at the University of Helsinki, Institute of Biomedicine.

22 Oct 2007