Neuroscience News and Research

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Study provides new insight into human cognitive function and risk for neurological diseases

Short snippets of DNA found in human brain tissue provide new insight into human cognitive function and risk for developing certain neurological diseases, according to researchers from the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The findings are published in the November 20th issue of PLoS Biology.

22 Nov 2012

Electrophysiology: an interview with Dr Kaylene Young

Bioelectricity is an essential part of our make-up. All cells in our body communicate by electrical activity. If an electrical charge is applied to one of our muscles it will interpret that electrical activity as a signal telling it to contract.

21 Nov 2012

Discovery of DKK1-WNT pathway reveals new drug targets for Alzheimer's

The discovery of the molecular pathway that drives the changes seen in the brains of Alzheimer's patients is reported today, revealing new targets for drug discovery that could be exploited to combat the disease. The study gives the most detailed understanding yet of the complex processes leading to Alzheimer's.

21 Nov 2012

Musical tones can reset the brain and effectively reduce insomnia

If you are among the 50 percent of Americans who suffer from insomnia, then you have probably tried everything – from warm milk to melatonin pills or prescription medications to induce sleep – with varying degrees of success and side effects. But what if sleep could be achieved not by a substance, but through 'balancing' brain activity?

21 Nov 2012

Researchers discover new cause of hydrocephalus

Researchers at the University of Iowa have discovered a new cause of hydrocephalus, a devastating neurological disorder that affects between one and three of every 1,000 babies born. Working in mice, the researchers identified a cell signaling defect, which disrupts immature brain cells involved in normal brain development.

20 Nov 2012

TBI, age-related dementia and stroke fuel neurologic disability in India

The 'Global Perspectives' published in the Nov. 20, 2012 issue of Neurology-, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, features "Neurologic Disability: A Hidden Epidemic for India".

20 Nov 2012

Janssen receives positive opinion from EMA CHMP for ZYTIGA to treat mCRPC

Janssen-Cilag International NV (Janssen) announced today that the Committee for Medical Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted a positive opinion recommending approval of the oral, once-daily medication ZYTIGA for use in combination with prednisone or prednisolone in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), in adult men who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic after failure of androgen deprivation therapy and in whom chemotherapy is not yet clinically indicated.

19 Nov 2012

New fiber-optic device can deliver light to the brain in 3D

A new tool for neuroscientists delivers a thousand pinpricks of light to a chunk of gray matter smaller than a sugar cube. The new fiber-optic device, created by biologists and engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, is the first tool that can deliver precise points of light to a 3-D section of living brain tissue. The work is a step forward for a relatively new but promising technique that uses gene therapy to turn individual brain cells on and off with light.

19 Nov 2012

Overexpression of BCL6 results in transformation of neural stem cells into cortical neurons

The cerebral cortex is the most complex structure in our brain and the seat of consciousness, emotion, motor control and language. In order to fulfill these functions, it is composed of a diverse array of nerve cells, called cortical neurons, which are affected by many neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases.

19 Nov 2012

ReFIT algorithm improves speed and accuracy of neural prosthetics

When a paralyzed person imagines moving a limb, cells in the part of the brain that controls movement still activate as if trying to make the immobile limb work again. Despite neurological injury or disease that has severed the pathway between brain and muscle, the region where the signals originate remains intact and functional.

19 Nov 2012

New bulimia nervosa therapy for patients with eating disorders

An eating disorders research team led by Stephen Wonderlich, a Director of Clinical Research at the Neuropsychiatric Research Institute (NRI), has developed a successful bulimia nervosa therapy that can provide patients an alternative for treating this debilitating disorder.

18 Nov 2012

Personality traits linked with individual's susceptibility to placebo effect from pain medicines

Personality traits might do more than help you win a popularity contest. According to new University of Michigan-led neuroscience research, co-authored by University of Maryland (UM) School of Dentistry Dean Christian S. Stohler, DMD, DrMedDent, such traits also might make you more likely to get pain relief from a placebo - a fake medicine.

17 Nov 2012

New way to stimulate transplanted human stem cell-derived neurons into a rodent hippocampus

Researchers and patients look forward to the day when stem cells might be used to replace dying brain cells in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Scientists are currently able to make neurons and other brain cells from stem cells, but getting these neurons to properly function when transplanted to the host has proven to be more difficult.

17 Nov 2012

Researchers analyze Brazilian mediums' cerebral blood flow during practice of psychography

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil analyzed the cerebral blood flow (CBF) of Brazilian mediums during the practice of psychography, described as a form of writing whereby a deceased person or spirit is believed to write through the medium's hand.

17 Nov 2012

S100A4 protein triggers repair processes in the brain after injury

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have found that a protein, known for causing cancer cells to spread around the body, is also one of the molecules that trigger repair processes in the brain.

17 Nov 2012

New pathway appears to play a major role in information processing in the brain

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a new pathway that appears to play a major role in information processing in the brain. Their research also offers insight into how imbalances in this pathway could contribute to cognitive abnormalities in humans.

16 Nov 2012

Oxytocin regulates social distance between women and men

Flirting brings women and men closer. But the "social distance" ensures that they will keep a certain spatial distance from each other. Researchers under the leadership of the University of Bonn studied whether this distance can be diminished by the so-called love hormone, oxytocin.

16 Nov 2012

New AAN book for people with primary and metastatic brain tumors

It is estimated that every 30 minutes, someone is diagnosed with brain cancer. Published in conjunction with the American Academy of Neurology as part of the Neurology Now Books series, NAVIGATING LIFE WITH A BRAIN TUMOR provides readily accessible information and encouragement for the thousands of people living with primary and metastatic brain tumors.

16 Nov 2012

Researchers make groundbreaking discovery into optimization of light sources to human vision

Vision researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute have made a groundbreaking discovery into the optimization of light sources to human vision. By tuning lighting devices to work more efficiently with the human brain the researchers believe billions of dollars in energy costs could be saved.

16 Nov 2012

People with Prader-Willi Syndrome may have impaired autonomic nervous system

An Australian study reveals that people with the rare genetic disorder known as Prader-Willi Syndrome may have an impaired autonomic nervous system. This discovery opens up a new way of looking at the insatiable appetite experienced by all sufferers, as well as their very high risk of cardiovascular disease.

16 Nov 2012