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Ground-breaking study characterizes early-stage Alzheimer's abnormalities in the intact brain

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition that strikes at the heart of what makes us human: the ability to think, to feel, to remember and to communicate with those around us. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that there is currently no cure, no treatment, and no diagnostic method capable of identifying Alzheimer's at its early stages.

6 May 2015

New study shows that depression can make your brain go 'fuzzy'

People with depression or bipolar disorder often feel their thinking ability has gotten "fuzzy", or less sharp than before their symptoms began. Now, researchers have shown in a very large study that effect is indeed real - and rooted in brain activity differences that show up on advanced brain scans.

5 May 2015

Electroclinical triggers for repeat MRI in intractable epilepsy identified

Researchers have outlined the electroclinical features typically associated with bottom-of-sulcus dysplasia, the surgical removal of which often cures epilepsy in affected patients.

30 Apr 2015

Emotion regulation deficits specific to bipolar I disorder

Emotion regulation deficits associated with bipolar I disorder may not extend to bipolar II disorder, say researchers.

29 Apr 2015

UO researchers uncover how the brain encodes and translates sounds

When people hear the sound of footsteps or the drilling of a woodpecker, the rhythmic structure of the sounds is striking, says Michael Wehr, a professor of psychology at the University of Oregon.

24 Apr 2015

Researchers pinpoint specific brain regions that control defensive and offensive strategies

We often make quick strategic decisions to attack an opponent or defend our position, yet how we make them is not well understood. Now, researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have pinpointed specific brain regions related to this process by examining neural activity in people playing shogi, a Japanese form of chess.

21 Apr 2015

Study provides detailed brain map of language impairments in aphasia after stroke

The exchange of words, speaking and listening in conversation, may seem unremarkable for most people, but communicating with others is a challenge for people who have aphasia, an impairment of language that often happens after stroke or other brain injury.

16 Apr 2015

Study paves way for greater understanding of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Researchers at the Angiocardioneurology Department of the Neuromed Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalisation and Health Care of Pozzilli (Italy), have found, in animal models, that the absence of a certain enzyme causes a syndrome resembling the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

16 Apr 2015

Lack of fish oil fatty acids can limit brain growth during fetal development and early in life

While recent reports question whether fish oil supplements support heart health, UC Irvine scientists have found that the fatty acids they contain are vitally important to the developing brain.

16 Apr 2015

Phase–amplitude coupling changes may underlie DBS success in parkinsonism

Deep-brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus may improve motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease by reducing excessive cortical phase–amplitude coupling, researchers report in Nature Neuroscience.

14 Apr 2015

Mindfulness meditation can reduce pain, anxiety in healthy individuals

When Rebecca Erwin was a varsity rower at the University of North Carolina, the coach had the team's members take a yoga and meditation class.

10 Apr 2015

Study changes our understanding of how position and touch signals are combined in brain

Two types of touch information — the feel of an object and the position of an animal's limb — have long been thought to flow into the brain via different channels and be integrated in sophisticated processing regions.

10 Apr 2015

fMRI can predict language development outcomes in ASD toddlers

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers say it may be possible to predict future language development outcomes in toddlers with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), even before they've been formally diagnosed with the condition.

10 Apr 2015

Mental practice, physical therapy effective for stroke survivors

A combination of mental practice and physical therapy is an effective treatment for people recovering from a stroke, according to researchers at Georgia State University.

9 Apr 2015

Study looks at connections between cerebral cortex and cerebellum in children with autism

In early childhood, the neurons inside children's developing brains form connections between various regions of brain "real estate." As described in a paper published last week in the journal Biological Psychiatry, cognitive neuroscientists at San Diego State University found that in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, the connections between the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum appear to be overdeveloped in sensorimotor regions of the brain.

9 Apr 2015

Brain's primary visual cortex can drive the timing of actions

When managing, assigning each task to a specialist is often the most efficient strategy. Most researchers regard the brain as working similarly, with each region specialized to a given task. But Johns Hopkins neuroscientists have found, in rats, that the brain's primary visual cortex (VC) not only portrays the visual world but can also drive the timing of actions.

8 Apr 2015

Study: Broken communication in brain regions appears to worsen Huntington's disease

Indiana University researchers have found that broken communication in a specific part of the brain plays a role in the involuntary physical movements that affect individuals with Huntington's disease.

7 Apr 2015

UV researchers study neurobiological link between ASD and epilepsy

Researchers at the University of Veracruz (UV), in the west coast of Mexico, study the neurobiological link between the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and epilepsy, in order to understand the reason why the brain of an autistic child is 20-30 percent more susceptible to seizures that an infant without this condition.

6 Apr 2015

NTU Singapore scientists find new way to treat dementia

Pushing new frontiers in dementia research, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have found a new way to treat dementia by sending electrical impulses to specific areas of the brain to enhance the growth of new brain cells.

6 Apr 2015

Research shows that hippocampus is dedicated to memory formation, not to spatial skills

In work that reconciles two competing views of brain structures involved in memory and spatial perception, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have conducted experiments that suggest the hippocampus - a small region in the brain's limbic system - is dedicated largely to memory formation and not to spatial skills, such as navigation.

3 Apr 2015

Cortex News and Research

Ground-breaking study characterizes early-stage Alzheimer's abnormalities in the intact brain

New study shows that depression can make your brain go 'fuzzy'

Electroclinical triggers for repeat MRI in intractable epilepsy identified

Emotion regulation deficits specific to bipolar I disorder

UO researchers uncover how the brain encodes and translates sounds

Researchers pinpoint specific brain regions that control defensive and offensive strategies

Study provides detailed brain map of language impairments in aphasia after stroke

Study paves way for greater understanding of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Lack of fish oil fatty acids can limit brain growth during fetal development and early in life

Phase–amplitude coupling changes may underlie DBS success in parkinsonism

Mindfulness meditation can reduce pain, anxiety in healthy individuals

Study changes our understanding of how position and touch signals are combined in brain

fMRI can predict language development outcomes in ASD toddlers

Mental practice, physical therapy effective for stroke survivors

Study looks at connections between cerebral cortex and cerebellum in children with autism

Brain's primary visual cortex can drive the timing of actions

Study: Broken communication in brain regions appears to worsen Huntington's disease

UV researchers study neurobiological link between ASD and epilepsy

NTU Singapore scientists find new way to treat dementia

Research shows that hippocampus is dedicated to memory formation, not to spatial skills

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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