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Study suggests brain can integrate new information without jeopardizing established memories

Our ability to learn new information and adapt to changes in our daily environment, as well as to retain lifelong memories, appears to lie in the minute junctions where nerve cells communicate, according to a new study by NYU Langone Medicine Center researchers. The study is published online this week in the journal Nature.

4 Dec 2009

Glutamatergic nerve cells regularly generated in the brain

Until only a few years ago, neurogenesis - the process of nerve cell development - was considered to be impossible in the adult brain. The textbooks asserted that dead nerve cells could not be replaced. Then researchers discovered regions in the forebrain in humans in which new nerve cells can be generated throughout life. These so-called GABAergic cells use gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter of the central nervous system.

1 Dec 2009

Study suggests humans naturally process tactile information to perceive speech sounds

Humans use their whole bodies, not just their ears, to understand speech, according to University of British Columbia linguistics research.

1 Dec 2009

Study explores brain's rewiring processes during motor learning

New connections begin to form between brain cells almost immediately as animals learn a new task, according to a study published this week in Nature. Led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the study involved detailed observations of the rewiring processes that take place in the brain during motor learning.

30 Nov 2009

Men and women respond differently to emotional stimuli, says new study

Researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study brain activation have found that men and women respond differently to positive and negative stimuli, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

30 Nov 2009

Researchers identify a set of molecular brakes that stabilize the developing brain's circuitry

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a set of molecular brakes that stabilize the developing brain's circuitry. Moreover, experimentally removing those brakes in mice enhanced the animals' performance in a test of visual learning, suggesting a long-term path to therapeutic application.

26 Nov 2009

Withheld anger in MS patients can have adverse effect on health

People with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) feel more than twice as much withheld anger as the general population and this could have an adverse effect on their relationships and health, according to a study published in the December issue of the European Journal of Neurology.

24 Nov 2009

Exposure to gas fumes can increase aggressive behavior

Outrageous prices may not be the only thing causing anger at the petrol pumps. A new study, published in the open access journal BMC Physiology, has shown that rats exposed to fumes from leaded and unleaded gasoline become more aggressive.

24 Nov 2009

Cellular prion protein and epileptic seizures: researchers find new role

Cellular prion protein (PrPc) plays an essential role in maintaining neurotransmitter homeostasis in the central nervous system. This discovery has been made possible by the observation that both a deficiency and an excess of the protein have a considerable effect on this homeostasis.

23 Nov 2009

Possible new approach to slow the progression of cognitive decline in Down's syndrome

A study by neuroscientist William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues at Stanford University Medical School has demonstrated a possible new approach to slowing the inevitable progression of cognitive decline found in Down's syndrome.

19 Nov 2009

IBM led computing team achieves major advances in large-scale cortical simulation

Today at SC 09, the supercomputing conference, IBM announced significant progress toward creating a computer system that simulates and emulates the brain's abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction and cognition, while rivaling the brain's low power and energy consumption and compact size.

18 Nov 2009

Monetary gain and risky tactics stimulate brain activity, says new study

Monetary gain stimulates activity in the brain. Even the mere possibility of receiving a reward is known to activate an area of the brain called the striatum.

18 Nov 2009

Scientists develop new technique to measure brain volume loss for monitoring of Alzheimer's disease

In a study that promises to improve diagnosis and monitoring of Alzheimer's disease, scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a fast and accurate method for quantifying subtle, sub-regional brain volume loss using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The study will be published the week of November 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

16 Nov 2009

Cortex Pharmaceuticals reports a net loss of $0.06 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2009

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported a net loss applicable to common stock of $3,243,000, or $0.06 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 compared with a net loss applicable to common stock of $3,148,000, or $0.07 per share for the corresponding prior year period.

16 Nov 2009

Children with developmental dyslexia have difficulties separating relevant auditory information from irrelevant noise

The vast majority of school-aged children can focus on the voice of a teacher amid the cacophony of the typical classroom thanks to a brain that automatically focuses on relevant, predictable and repeating auditory information, according to new research from Northwestern University.

12 Nov 2009

Researchers identify new mechanism to create lasting memories; findings may yield potential treatment for memory impairments

Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered a mechanism that controls the brain's ability to create lasting memories. In experiments on genetically manipulated mice, they were able to switch on and off the animals' ability to form lasting memories by adding a substance to their drinking water. The findings, which are published in the scientific journal PNAS, are of potential significance to the future treatment of Alzheimer's and stroke.

11 Nov 2009

Study finds brain changes and severe depression in political detainees experiencing head injury

Depression and other emotional symptoms in survivors of torture and other traumatic experiences may be exacerbated by the effects of head injuries, according to a study from the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT), based in the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Psychiatry.

7 Nov 2009

Rush University Medical Center opens TMS Clinic to offer non-drug treatment for depression

Rush University Medical Center has opened the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Clinic to offer patients suffering from major depression a safe, effective, non-drug treatment. TMS therapy is the first FDA-approved, non-invasive antidepressant device-based treatment clinically proven for treatment of depression.

6 Nov 2009

Inner sense of cardiovascular state relies on two independent pathways, shows study

A new study suggests that the inner sense of our cardiovascular state, our "interoceptive awareness" of the heart pounding, relies on two independent pathways, contrary to what had been asserted by prominent researchers.

4 Nov 2009

Tinnitus patients need more support and advice on healthcare options

As many as one in seven people will experience tinnitus, or ringing in their ears, at some time of their life, but not enough is being done to support patients who experience this distressing condition, according to an extensive research review in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.