Neuroimaging News and Research

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Study reveals how default-mode network neurones interfere with our ability to pay attention

A study carried out by a team at the Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon has just revealed how this network interferes with our ability to pay attention, by assessing the activity of the human brain's default-mode network neurones on a millisecond scale for the first time ever, in collaboration with Philippe Kahane's epilepsy department in Grenoble.

4 Nov 2011

Hippocampus supports both recollection and familiarity memories

Human memory has historically defied precise scientific description, its biological functions broadly but imperfectly defined in psychological terms. In a pair of papers published in the November 2 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at the University of California, San Diego report a new methodology that more deeply parses how and where certain types of memories are processed in the brain, and challenges earlier assumptions about the role of the hippocampus.

2 Nov 2011

First rapid measurements of dopamine release in human brain

A research team led by investigators at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute has demonstrated the first rapid measurements of dopamine release in a human brain and provided preliminary evidence that the neurotransmitter can be tracked in its movement between brain cells while a subject expresses decision-making behavior.

29 Oct 2011

A glimpse into non-waking consciousness of lucid dreamers

When people dream that they are performing a particular action, a portion of the brain involved in the planning and execution of movement lights up with activity. The finding, made by scanning the brains of lucid dreamers while they slept, offers a glimpse into the non-waking consciousness and is a first step toward true "dream reading,".

28 Oct 2011

Combination of available medical tests helps identify risk of AD

With age, forgetfulness and other signs of memory loss sometimes appear, prompting elderly individuals to seek a medical evaluation amid fears that they may be experiencing early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common type of dementia among Americans aged 65 and older.

21 Oct 2011

African-American or Hispanic children less likely to receive CT scans after head trauma

White children are far more likely to receive cranial computed tomography (CT) scans in an emergency department following minor head trauma than are African-American or Hispanic children, a study by researchers at UC Davis has found.

18 Oct 2011

AiC: Health Research receives U.S. Army grant for neuroimaging studies of human performance

The Arlington Innovation Center: Health Research (AiC: Health Research), of Virginia Tech's National Capital Region, has been awarded a $1.5 million cooperative research and development agreement from the U.S. Army for neuroimaging studies of human performance.

14 Oct 2011

Journal of Alzheimer's Disease supplement explores neuroimaging

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common problem that is becoming progressively burdensome throughout the world. A new supplement to the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Imaging the Alzheimer Brain, clearly shows that multiple imaging systems are now available to help understand, diagnose, and treat the disease.

12 Oct 2011

Orexigen presents data from Contrave trial at 29th Annual Scientific Meeting of The Obesity Society

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., today announced that Contrave (naltrexone SR/bupropion SR) data will be presented in one oral and multiple poster presentations at the 29th Annual Scientific Meeting of The Obesity Society on October 3, 2011 in Orlando, FL.

4 Oct 2011

UCLA neuro-physicists discover optimal brain rhythm for changing synaptic strength

The brain learns through changes in the strength of its synapses -- the connections between neurons -- in response to stimuli. Now, in a discovery that challenges conventional wisdom on the brain mechanisms of learning, UCLA neuro-physicists have found there is an optimal brain "rhythm," or frequency, for changing synaptic strength. And further, like stations on a radio dial, each synapse is tuned to a different optimal frequency for learning.

4 Oct 2011

People with prehypertension have higher risk of experiencing future stroke

People with prehypertension have a 55 percent higher risk of experiencing a future stroke than people without prehypertension, report researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in a new meta-analysis of scientific literature published in the September 28 online issue of the journal Neurology.

29 Sep 2011

Some stroke patients may benefit from treatment outside the typical 3 hour window

Stroke victims may have a longer window of opportunity to receive treatment to save their brain cells, demonstrates a literature review published by University of Alberta medical researchers in Lancet Neurology.

28 Sep 2011

Researchers confirm strong bidirectional relation between epilepsy, schizophrenia

Researchers from Taiwan have confirmed a bidirectional relation between schizophrenia and epilepsy. The study published today in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), reports that patients with epilepsy were nearly 8 times more likely to develop schizophrenia and those with schizophrenia were close to 6 times more likely to develop epilepsy.

19 Sep 2011

Febrile seizures in children may be linked to respiratory alkalosis

New research shows that febrile seizures in children may be linked to respiratory alkalosis, indicated by elevated blood pH and low carbon dioxide levels caused by hyperventilation, and independent of the underlying infection severity.

12 Sep 2011

Tics are not a rare or uncommon disorder

Experts have confirmed it: tics are not a rare or uncommon disorder. It is the second study to be conducted in Spain to date, and the first of great importance, revealing that the prevalence of these motor disorders in the child population is 16.86%. The incidence is greater in boys than girls, and they tend to disappear or reduce with age.

9 Sep 2011

New study pinpoints areas of the brain used exclusively for language

New research from MIT suggests that there are parts of our brain dedicated to language and only language, a finding that marks a major advance in the search for brain regions specialized for sophisticated mental functions.

31 Aug 2011

Lundbeck Canada makes landmark donation of $2.7M to support depression research

Lundbeck Canada has made a landmark donation of $2.7 million to support ground-breaking research at the University Health Network to identify biomarkers that will enhance the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from major depression and bipolar disorder.

29 Aug 2011

Research: Brains of older adults are wiser than younger ones

The brains of older people are not slower but rather wiser than young brains, which allows older adults to achieve an equivalent level of performance, according research undertaken at the University Geriatrics Institute of Montreal by Dr. Oury Monchi and Dr. Ruben Martins of the Univeristy of Montreal.

26 Aug 2011

Risk of Parkinson's disease increases with traumatic brain injury and exposure to pesticide paraquat

Traumatic brain injury has entered the public's consciousness as the silent, signature wound brought back by many of our military warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan. But such injuries don't only happen in warfare, they happen to civilians too. Think car crashes, a slip and fall, two football players colliding helmet to helmet.

22 Aug 2011

Positive link between fish oil supplements and cognitive function

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital's Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center have found positive associations between fish oil supplements and cognitive functioning as well as differences in brain structure between users and non-users of fish oil supplements.

18 Aug 2011