Brain Stimulation News and Research

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Researchers examine new technique to help patients recover from coma even after several years

Researchers have shown that transcranial direct-current stimulation allows patients in a minimally conscious state to recover cognitive and motor skills. This simple, safe and relatively low-cost technique could offer clinicians a new way to help these patients recover, even several years after their coma. However, the positive effects appear to be temporary at this stage of research.

27 Feb 2014

Neuroscientists develop stimulation glove for patients suffering from stroke-related impairments

Improving the sense of touch and motor skills without active training - what sounds impossible, does actually work. Neuroscientists at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have developed a glove that uses weak electrical pulses to stimulate the nerve fibres that connect the hands with the brain.

24 Feb 2014

Electrical stimulation of hippocampus activates dormant memory cells

The electrical stimulation of the hippocampus in in-vivo experiments activates precisely the same receptor complexes as learning or memory recall. This has been discovered for the first time and the finding has now been published in the highly respected journal "Brain Structure Function".

24 Feb 2014

Researchers conduct pioneering translational study on immediate antidepressant effect of DBS

A team of UCA researchers led by Professor Esther Berrocoso and in joint collaboration with the mental health research groups of the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental have carried out a pioneering project in Spain.

17 Feb 2014

New treatments for depression on the horizon

New insights into the physiological causes of depression are leading to treatments beyond common antidepressants such as Prozac and Zoloft, researchers are reporting in the in the journal Current Psychiatry.

15 Feb 2014

Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies receives another patent for Parkinson’s disease monitoring technology

Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies announced today they have received another allowance of claims from the U.S. Patent Office. The application covers a system and method of controlling Parkinson's therapy in response to motor symptoms.

5 Feb 2014

Continuing spinal cord stimulation improves symptoms of Parkinson's disease

Researchers at Duke Medicine have shown that continuing spinal cord stimulation appears to produce improvements in symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and may protect critical neurons from injury or deterioration.

24 Jan 2014

Gene therapy edges closer for Parkinson’s disease

Lentiviral vector-based gene therapy is well tolerated and may improve motor function in patients with Parkinson’s disease, shows an open-label study published in The Lancet.

20 Jan 2014

GLNT study to evaluate abnormal muscle tone caused by neurological disorders

Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies announced today that it is launching a study to determine the feasibility of a clinician-worn glove to objectively evaluate abnormal muscle tone, such as stiff joints or muscle tightness, due to neurological disorders.

16 Jan 2014

Deep-brain stimulation boosts PD patients’ driving performance

Deep-brain stimulation reduces errors among patients with Parkinson’s disease undergoing a driving simulator test, a study shows.

14 Jan 2014

Ultrasound can modulate brain activity to heighten sensory perception in humans

Whales, bats, and even praying mantises use ultrasound as a sensory guidance system - and now a new study has found that ultrasound can modulate brain activity to heighten sensory perception in humans.

13 Jan 2014

New ways to treat substance abuse, neurological diseases and mental illnesses

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have found a way to change alcohol drinking behavior in rodents, using the emerging technique of optogenetics, which uses light to stimulate neurons.

7 Jan 2014

Parkinson's disease patients from lower socioeconomic status less likely to receive DBS

Among Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, female, black, Asian and patients are substantially less likely to receive proven deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery to improve tremors and motor symptoms, according to a new report by a Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania researcher who identified considerable disparities among Medicare recipients receiving DBS for Parkinson's disease.

5 Jan 2014

Parkinson's disease patients may find difficulties in recognizing emotions

Patients affected by Parkinson's disease may experience, in addition to the more obvious motor symptoms (such as tremors and stiffness), difficulties recognizing emotions in the facial expressions and speech prosody (intonation) of other people. A number of investigations have shown that even deep brain stimulation, a treatment that has become widely used in recent years, may cause similar disorders.

20 Dec 2013

Study investigates about emotions that affects patients with Parkinson's disease

Is it the disease itself or the treatment that impairs the perception of emotions? A study conducted with the collaboration of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste investigates the origins of the difficulty recognizing certain emotions that affects patients with Parkinson's disease.

19 Dec 2013

Deep brain stimulation may have beneficial effect on driving ability for Parkinson's disease patients

Deep brain stimulation may have a beneficial effect on driving ability for people with Parkinson's disease, according to a new study published in the December 18, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Deep brain stimulation uses a surgical implant similar to a pacemaker to send electrical impulses to the brain.

19 Dec 2013

Researchers gain better understanding of neurochemical basis of addiction with optogenetics

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers are gaining a better understanding of the neurochemical basis of addiction with a new technology called optogenetics.

16 Dec 2013

Neuroscientists use new technique to enhance a form of self-control through brain stimulation

If you have ever said or done the wrong thing at the wrong time, you should read this. Neuroscientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the University of California, San Diego, have successfully demonstrated a technique to enhance a form of self-control through a novel form of brain stimulation.

14 Dec 2013

Names of 2014 Breakthrough Prize winners in Fundamental Physics and Life Sciences unveiled

The names of the 2014 Breakthrough Prize winners in Fundamental Physics and Life Sciences were unveiled at an exclusive ceremony at the NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA. At a total awarded amount of $21 million, sponsored by Sergey Brin & Anne Wojcicki, Jack Ma & Cathy Zhang, Yuri & Julia Milner and Mark Zuckerberg & Priscilla Chan, the prizes aim to celebrate scientists and generate excitement about the pursuit of science as a career.

13 Dec 2013

Researchers discover new mechanism in brain which controls tics in children with TS

A mechanism in the brain which controls tics in children with Tourette Syndrome (TS) has been discovered by scientists at The University of Nottingham.

12 Dec 2013