Cortex News and Research

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Efficiency of brain function depends on family's genetic makeup

How well our brain functions is largely based on our family's genetic makeup, according to a University of Melbourne led study.

4 Mar 2011

Tobacco smoking leads to less activity in the 'executive center' of brain

Tobacco smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the U.S., with more than 400,000 deaths each year attributable to smoking or its consequences. And yet teens still smoke. Indeed, smoking usually begins in the teen years, and approximately 80 percent of adult smokers became hooked by the time they were 18. Meanwhile, teens who don't take up smoking usually never do.

3 Mar 2011

Viruses that are natural part of human genome may retrovirus culprit

A retrovirus that inserted itself into the human genome thousands of years ago may be responsible for some cases of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gherig’s disease. The finding, made by Johns Hopkins scientists, may eventually give researchers a new way to attack this universally fatal condition.

2 Mar 2011

Freescale adds Kinetis K50 family of MCUs for medical, industrial applications

Freescale Semiconductor today announced the newest addition to its growing Kinetis 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) line - the Kinetis K50 family. This new family, targeted for medical and industrial applications, further expands the industry's most extensive and scalable portfolio built on the ARM® Cortex™-M4 core.

1 Mar 2011

Study: Visual cortex can dramatically change its function

When your brain encounters sensory stimuli, such as the scent of your morning coffee or the sound of a honking car, that input gets shuttled to the appropriate brain region for analysis. The coffee aroma goes to the olfactory cortex, while sounds are processed in the auditory cortex.

1 Mar 2011

Scientists suggest that lateral habenula can be a prime locus of human depression

A team of neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory and UC San Diego has collected evidence suggesting that a previously overlooked portion of the brain could be a prime locus of human depression.

24 Feb 2011

Special issue of Neuron journal provides new insight into recent advances in addiction research

Addiction is a brain disease that destroys lives, devastates families and tears at the very fabric of society. Effective prevention and treatment of addiction requires a clear understanding of the complex brain mechanisms that underlie addictive behaviors, and research has provided a fascinating view of how substance abuse hijacks neuronal circuits involved in reward and motivation and causes profound and persistent changes in behavior.

24 Feb 2011

Stripe of Gennari in the blind may play greater role in processing tactile stimuli

The Stripe of Gennari develops even in those who are blind from birth and does not degenerate, despite a lack of visual input. This was discovered by Robert Trampel and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences using magnetic resonance imaging. This bundle of nerve fibers, which is approximately 0.3 mm thick, is not exclusively responsible for optic information.

23 Feb 2011

New study provides insight into brain activity of depressed women responding to crying infants

Mothers who are depressed respond differently to their crying babies than do non-depressed moms. In fact, their reaction, according to brain scans at the University of Oregon, is much more muted than the robust brain activity in non-depressed moms.

23 Feb 2011

Cell phone use and the brain: Study

Experts are still grappling with facts and fiction regarding brain damage caused by cell phone use. Dr. Nora Volkow, who is lead author of a new study published in the Feb. 23 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association said, “We don’t know whether this is detrimental or whether it could have some potential beneficial effects.

22 Feb 2011

Scientist to present neuroimaging evidence on impact of cognitive functions in bilingual processing at AAAS

Sonja Kotz leads the Minerva research group "Neurocognition of Rhythm in Communication" at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig. She will present evidence from neuroimaging on the impact of cognitive functions on bilingual processing at the AAAS symposium "Crossing Borders in Language Science: What Bilinguals Tell Us About Mind and Brain".

21 Feb 2011

Salk receives $2 million gift to establish Endowed Chair in Vision Research

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies today announced a generous gift from Mr. Conrad Prebys, a Salk Trustee, to establish the Conrad T. Prebys Endowed Chair in Vision Research for Dr. Tom Albright. As part of their senior scientist endowed chair challenge, Joan and Irwin Jacobs will match the donor's gift with an additional $1,000,000 to establish the donor's named chair at $3,000,000.

19 Feb 2011

Early positive clinical results from implantation with Zimmer MotionLoc Screws

Zimmer Holdings, Inc., a global leader in musculoskeletal care, today announced that early clinical results of the first patients treated with Zimmer MotionLoc™ Screws were free of complications. The Zimmer MotionLoc Screw is Zimmer Trauma's latest advancement in locking plate technology and is intended for use in conjunction with the Zimmer NCB® Polyaxial Locking Plate System.

19 Feb 2011

Deep brain stimulation therapy promising against severe OCD

When obsessive-compulsive disorder is of crippling severity and drugs and behavior therapy can't help, there has been for just over a year a thread - or rather a wire - of hope. By inserting a thin electrode deep into the brain, doctors can precisely deliver an electrical current to a cord of the brain's wiring and soften the severity of the symptoms. "Deep brain stimulation" therapy for OCD won Food and Drug Administration approval in 2009 for extreme cases under its humanitarian device exemption.

19 Feb 2011

Scientists find working memory highly dependent on fast inhibitory cells

Usually, we associate rhythms with dance and music. But they also play an important role in the brain. When billions of neurons communicate with each other, certain rhythmic activity patterns arise. The proper metre in this interplay is provided by nerve cells that do not excite other cells, but inhibit their activity instead. One type of these inhibiting cells acts in a particularly fast and efficient way and is therefore thought to be crucial for memory formation and information processing in neuronal networks.

18 Feb 2011

Pittsburgh researchers awarded funds for testing brain-computer interfaces in patients with spinal cord injuries

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have been awarded funding for two projects that will place brain-computer interfaces (BCI) in patients with spinal cord injuries to test if it is possible for them to control external devices, such as a computer cursor or a prosthetic limb, with their thoughts.

18 Feb 2011

New computer application automatically detects subtle epileptic brain lesions in MRI scans

Researchers from the Department of Neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center identified potential benefits of a new computer application that automatically detects subtle brain lesions in MRI scans in patients with epilepsy. In a study published in the February 2011 issue of PLoS ONE, the authors discuss the software's potential to assist radiologists in better identifying and locating visually undetectable, operable lesions.

17 Feb 2011

Studies reveal markers for measuring ability of children with ADHD to control impulsive movements

Two research studies published today in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found markers for measuring the ability of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to control impulsive movements, which may reveal insights into the neurobiology of ADHD, inform prognosis and guide treatments.

15 Feb 2011

Researchers find 2 neural pathways that play role in developing phobias

Why do some people fret over the most trivial matters while others remain calm in the face of calamity? Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have identified two different chinks in our brain circuitry that explain why some of us are more prone to anxiety.

11 Feb 2011

Patients with high blood pressure have benign endocrine tumours in adrenal gland: Research

High blood pressure may in some cases be caused by benign hormone-producing tumours of the adrenal cortex. A joint Swedish-American research effort has now uncovered a genetic cause behind the occurrence of such tumours. The findings were published today in the journal Science.

11 Feb 2011

Cortex News and Research

Efficiency of brain function depends on family's genetic makeup

Tobacco smoking leads to less activity in the 'executive center' of brain

Viruses that are natural part of human genome may retrovirus culprit

Freescale adds Kinetis K50 family of MCUs for medical, industrial applications

Study: Visual cortex can dramatically change its function

Scientists suggest that lateral habenula can be a prime locus of human depression

Special issue of Neuron journal provides new insight into recent advances in addiction research

Stripe of Gennari in the blind may play greater role in processing tactile stimuli

New study provides insight into brain activity of depressed women responding to crying infants

Cell phone use and the brain: Study

Scientist to present neuroimaging evidence on impact of cognitive functions in bilingual processing at AAAS

Salk receives $2 million gift to establish Endowed Chair in Vision Research

Early positive clinical results from implantation with Zimmer MotionLoc Screws

Deep brain stimulation therapy promising against severe OCD

Scientists find working memory highly dependent on fast inhibitory cells

Pittsburgh researchers awarded funds for testing brain-computer interfaces in patients with spinal cord injuries

New computer application automatically detects subtle epileptic brain lesions in MRI scans

Studies reveal markers for measuring ability of children with ADHD to control impulsive movements

Researchers find 2 neural pathways that play role in developing phobias

Patients with high blood pressure have benign endocrine tumours in adrenal gland: Research

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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