Grey Matter News and Research

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Grey matter is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and both unmyelinated axons and myelinated axons), glial cells (astroglia and oligodendrocytes) and capillaries.

Dampened reward response tied to schizophrenia risk

The striatal hypoactivation during reward anticipation seen in patients with schizophrenia is also present in their unaffected first-degree relatives, research shows.

17 Mar 2014

Compensatory brain mechanisms at play in siblings of bipolar patients

Patients with bipolar disorder and their unaffected siblings have deficits in a part of the brain responsible for automatic regulation of emotions, report researchers.

11 Mar 2014

Parkinson's patients under risk of developing dementia can be identified quickly, say researchers

It may now be possible to identify the first-stage Parkinson's patients who will go on to develop dementia, according to a study conducted at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal by Dr. Oury Monchi, PhD, and his postdoctoral student, Dr. Alexandru Hanganu, MD, PhD, both of whom are affiliated with Université de Montréal.

11 Mar 2014

Researchers investigate sex differences in brain structure

Reviewing over 20 years of neuroscience research into sex differences in brain structure, a Cambridge University team has conducted the first meta-analysis of the evidence, published this week in the prestigious journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews.

12 Feb 2014

Scientists identify gene linking thickness of grey matter in brain to intelligence

For the first time, scientists at King's College London have identified a gene linking the thickness of the grey matter in the brain to intelligence. The study is published today in Molecular Psychiatry and may help scientists understand biological mechanisms behind some forms of intellectual impairment.

11 Feb 2014

Brain's structure is related to how intensely people perceive pain, say scientists

Everybody feels pain differently, and brain structure may hold the clue to these differences. In a study published in the current online issue of the journal Pain, scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have shown that the brain's structure is related to how intensely people perceive pain.

15 Jan 2014

Video gaming increases spatial orientation, memory formation and motor skills

Video gaming causes increases in the brain regions responsible for spatial orientation, memory formation and strategic planning as well as fine motor skills.

30 Oct 2013

Children who stutter have less grey matter in brain regions responsible for speech production

A new study by a University of Alberta researcher shows that children who stutter have less grey matter in key regions of the brain responsible for speech production than children who do not stutter.

11 Oct 2013

Experiments with neutrons show antidepressant lithium accumulates strongly in white matter of the brain

At present lithium is most popular for its use in rechargeable batteries. But for decades now, lithium has also been used to treat various psychological diseases such as depressions, manias and bipolar disorders. But, the exact biological mode of action in certain brain regions has hardly been understood. It is well known that lithium lightens moods and reduces aggression potential.

27 Sep 2013

Brain's white matter may determine susceptibility to chronic pain

The structure of the brain may predict whether a person will suffer chronic low back pain, according to researchers who used brain scans. The results, published in the journal Pain, support the growing idea that the brain plays a critical role in chronic pain, a concept that may lead to changes in the way doctors treat patients.

18 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

Early signs of Alzheimer's disease can be detected years before diagnosis, say researchers

Early signs of Alzheimer's disease can be detected years before diagnosis, according to researchers at Birmingham City University. The study found that sufferers of a specific type of cognitive impairment have an increased loss of cells in certain parts of the brain, which can be vital in detecting which patients will progress to a diagnosis of Alzheimer's.

9 Jul 2013

Childhood cognitive ability linked to cognitive ability, cortical thickness in old age

A new study shows compelling evidence that associations between cognitive ability and cortical grey matter in old age can largely be accounted for by cognitive ability in childhood.

5 Jun 2013

CI therapy appears to benefit children with cerebral palsy

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) report that children with cerebral palsy who underwent Constraint Induced Movement therapy (CI therapy) saw a significant increase in grey matter volume in areas of the brain associated with movement.

22 Apr 2013

New report addresses presence of cerebral abnormalities in eating disorders

A report from the University of Freiburg that is published in one of the last issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics address the presence of cerebral abnormalities in eating disorders.

3 Apr 2013

Atrophy of thalamus is important predictor of clinically definite MS, study shows

A growing body of research by multiple sclerosis investigators at the University at Buffalo and international partners is providing powerful new evidence that the brain's gray matter reflects important changes in the disease that could allow clinicians to diagnose earlier and to better monitor and predict how the disease will progress.

22 Mar 2013

Study shows improved detection of dementia paves the way for refined clinical trials testing

A series of studies demonstrate improved detection of the second most common form of dementia, providing diagnostic specificity that clears the way for refined clinical trials testing targeted treatments.

18 Mar 2013

Allografts better survive implantation into brains of immunocompetent research mice

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., and the Mossakowski Medical Research Centre in Warsaw, Poland, have found that nonself-donated cells (allografts) better survive implantation into the brains of immunocompetent research mice when the grafts are injected into the striatum (STR) of the brain rather than injected into the forceps minor (FM) region.

14 Feb 2013

Research provides unique insight into the often misunderstood world of addiction

People who take cocaine over many years without becoming addicted have a brain structure which is significantly different from those individuals who developed cocaine-dependence, researchers have discovered.

18 Jan 2013

Exercise may protect the brain from age-related changes

People who exercise later in life may better protect their brain from age-related changes than those who do not, a study suggests.

23 Oct 2012