Cognitive Function News and Research

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Cognition is a concept used in different ways by different disciplines, but is generally accepted to mean the process of thought. For example, in psychology and cognitive science it refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological functions.

Degeneration of fornix in brain may provide clues to future cognitive decline in healthy old people

The degeneration of a small, wishbone-shaped structure deep inside the brain may provide the earliest clues to future cognitive decline, long before healthy older people exhibit clinical symptoms of memory loss or dementia, a study by researchers with the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center has found.

10 Sep 2013

Negative symptom clue to smoking in schizophrenia patients

Patients with schizophrenia may have a preponderance to cigarette smoking because it reduces negative symptom severity, researchers report.

5 Sep 2013

Study confirms Mediterranean diet associated with better cognitive function

Over recent years many pieces of research have identified a link between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and a lower risk of age-related disease such as dementia.

4 Sep 2013

Alzheimer’s drug trial: an interview with Geoffrey Kempler, Chairman & CEO Prana Biotechnology

Approval for the IMAGINE trial was granted by the Austin Health Research Ethics Committee in November 2011, with the first patients dosed in March the following year. However, well before the trial was approved, PBT2 had already shown promise in significantly changing Abeta levels in spinal fluid while improving cognition in a previous 12-week trial conducted in 2006.

28 Aug 2013

Sangamo BioSciences signs definitive agreement to buy Ceregene

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ceregene, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on developing adeno-associated virus gene therapies.

26 Aug 2013

Stem cell therapy improves radiation-induced cognitive impairment

Patients receiving cranial irradiation treatment for brain cancer may find the treatment life-saving, but often suffer progressive and debilitating cognitive detriments, including spatial learning and memory deficits. The cognitive deficits are a contributing factor to the often significant adverse impacts on the surviving patients' quality of life after radiation therapy. In an effort to improve post-irradiation cognitive impairment, scientists at the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues at Neuralstem, Inc. (Rockville, MD), have transplanted fetal stem cells into laboratory animals with radiation-induced cognitive impairments and found that this led to a number of cognitive improvements.

23 Aug 2013

Study: Teenagers seriously injured in fight show reduction in cognitive ability

Teenagers who have been seriously injured in a fight show a reduction in intelligence and cognitive ability, according to a large study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

14 Aug 2013

Infants fed with DHA-enriched formula score better intelligence in early childhood

University of Kansas scientists have found that infants who were fed formula enriched with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) from birth to 12 months scored significantly better than a control group on several measures of intelligence conducted between the ages of three to six years.

13 Aug 2013

Nine risk factors for YOD in late adolescence

A study of Swedish men suggests nine risk factors, most of which can be traced to adolescence, account for most cases of young-onset dementia (YOD) diagnosed before the age of 65 years, according to a report published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

13 Aug 2013

Study reveals gray matter atrophy in multiple sclerosis correlated with emotional decline

In multiple sclerosis, gray matter atrophy is extensive, and cognitive deficits and mood disorders are frequently encountered. It has been conjectured that focal atrophy is associated with emotional decline.

12 Aug 2013

L-3-n-butylphthalide is potentially beneficial drug for treatment of vascular dementia

3-N-butylphthalide, a green botanical medicine, is a successfully synthesized and stable chemical drug used for the treatment of ischemic stroke that has independent intellectual property rights in China.

12 Aug 2013

Mother's perceived social status predicts child's brain development, stress indicators

A mother's perceived social status predicts her child's brain development and stress indicators, finds a study at Boston Children's Hospital. While previous studies going back to the 1950s have linked objective socioeconomic factors—such as parental income or education—to child health, achievement and brain function, the new study is the first to link brain function to maternal self-perception.

9 Aug 2013

Cognitive decline with age is natural part of life, OSU researchers find

If you forget where you put your car keys and you can't seem to remember things as well as you used to, the problem may well be with the GluN2B subunits in your NMDA receptors.

8 Aug 2013

UCSF researchers develop assessment tool to predict patient's risk of delirium

UC San Francisco researchers have developed a two-minute assessment tool to help hospital staff predict a patient-s risk of delirium, a change in mental cognition characterized by severe confusion and disorientation that can prolong hospital stays.

7 Aug 2013

Health benefits of sufficient sleep: an interview with Dr Monique Verschuren, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, the Netherlands

We used 6 hours or less per 24 hours as the definition of insufficient sleep, with 7 hours or more as sufficient sleep. In general, this is considered the amount of sleep that is sufficient for adults, although there can be differences between persons with respect to the amount of sleep needed.

6 Aug 2013

Research reveals employment gaps may promote but also reduce cognitive function in older age

Employment gaps may promote but also reduce cognitive function in older age, as new research from the University of Luxembourg has shown. In particular, some of the findings suggest that leaves reported as unemployment and sickness are associated with higher risk of cognitive impairment indicating that these kinds of employment gaps may decrease cognitive reserve in the long run.

6 Aug 2013

Neuroscientists identify protein that contributes to cognitive deficits in AS

A team of neuroscientists has identified a protein in laboratory mice linked to impairments similar to those afflicted with Angelman syndrome (AS)—a condition associated with symptoms that include autism, intellectual disability, and motor abnormalities.

2 Aug 2013

Nutritional supplement may prevent neurodegenerative disease affecting children

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified the gene mutation responsible for a particularly severe form of pontocerebellar hypoplasia, a currently incurable neurodegenerative disease affecting children.

2 Aug 2013

University of Maryland study links exercise to improved memory in Alzheimer's patients

New research out of the University of Maryland School of Public Health shows that exercise may improve cognitive function in those at risk for Alzheimer's by increasing the efficiency of brain activity associated with memory.

31 Jul 2013

Interferon-free treatment for genotype-1b hepatitis C patients: an interview with Professor Wulf Boecher, Boehringer Ingelheim

Genotype 1 is, worldwide, the most prevalent genotype of the hepatitis C virus. It accounts for around seventy percent of all hepatitis C infections.

30 Jul 2013