Neuroscience News and Research

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Kessler Foundation scientists to investigate cognitive reserve in TBI

Denise Krch, PhD, and James Sumowski, PhD, research scientists in the Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Laboratory at Kessler Foundation, received a $379,000 grant for a three-year study of cognitive reserve in people with traumatic brain injury.

30 Nov 2011

DNA gyrase B could rapidly eliminate TB, shorten treatment time

In research at SRI International, scientists evaluating new drug targets against tuberculosis (TB) recently validated the preclinical effectiveness of a target that could rapidly eliminate infections and potentially shorten treatment time. The new drug target is a protein called DNA gyrase B, found in bacteria that cause TB infections.

30 Nov 2011

Study highlights importance of diagnosing 'overlap syndrome' in sufferers of ALS, FTD

In order to better counsel patients, it is key for clinicians of different disciplines to be aware of, and diagnose, the 'overlap syndrome' between two medical disorders - ALS and FTD - since it significantly affects patient survival. In her new study, Catherine Lomen-Hoerth, from the University of California San Francisco in the US, also highlights that from a research perspective, identifying the syndrome early is an opportunity to study damaged nerve cells and understand more about the early stages of both ALS and FTD.

30 Nov 2011

Scientists create genetically-altered neurons that light up as they fire

In a scientific first that potentially could shed new light on how signals travel in the brain, how learning alters neural pathways, and might lead to speedier drug development, scientists at Harvard have created genetically-altered neurons that light up as they fire.

30 Nov 2011

Study finds structure-function impairments in people addicted to cocaine

The more gray matter you have in the decision-making, thought-processing part of your brain, the better your ability to evaluate rewards and consequences. That may seem like an obvious conclusion, but a new study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory is the first to show this link between structure and function in healthy people - and the impairment of both structure and function in people addicted to cocaine.

30 Nov 2011

PTC, Roche announce licensing agreement for SMA programme

Roche, PTC Therapeutics, Inc. and the SMA Foundation, announced today a licensing agreement for PTC's Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) programme.

30 Nov 2011

Exposure to TCE, PERC and CCI4 may increase risk of Parkinson's

A University of Kentucky faculty member is a contributing author on a new study demonstrating a connection between a common solvent chemical and Parkinson's disease. Dr. Franca Cambi of the UK Kentucky Neuroscience Institute collaborated with researchers from across the U.S. on a paper recently published in the Annals of Neurology.

29 Nov 2011

Large brains linked to regressive autism: Study

In this new study researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute, show there are multiple biological subtypes of autism including likely differences between males and females. They looked at 114 children with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 2 and 4 and compared them with 66 healthy children of the same age. Of the 114 with the disorder, 54% had regressive autism and 46% had non-regressive autism.

29 Nov 2011

We unconsciously make use of recent experiences during estimation processes

During estimation processes we unconsciously make use of recent experiences. Scientists from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit-t (LMU) in Munich and the Bernstein Center Munich asked test subjects to estimate distances in a virtual reality environment.

29 Nov 2011

Crucial part of nervous system linked to increased risk of death from heart failure

A team of neuroscientists and anaesthetists, who have been using pioneering techniques to study how the brain regulates the heart, has identified a crucial part of the nervous system whose malfunction may account for an increased risk of death from heart failure.

29 Nov 2011

Largest survey on genetic, epigenetic stability of stem cells

An international study, published today in the prestigious journal Nature Biotechnology, reveals more about human pluripotent stem cells and their genetic stability and has important implications for the development of therapies using these cells.

29 Nov 2011

Scientists seek to prove beta oscillations of the cortex

Before she could seek to convince the world that her computer model of a key brain circuit explains a fundamental, 80-year-old mystery of neuroscience with potential relevance to Parkinson's disease, Stephanie Jones sought to convince Christopher Moore.

29 Nov 2011

Repeated heading of a soccer ball increases risk for brain injury, cognitive impairment

Using advanced imaging techniques and cognitive tests, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center , the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, have shown that repeatedly heading a soccer ball increases the risk for brain injury and cognitive impairment.

29 Nov 2011

Remote video auditing leads to better hospital hand hygiene compliance

Nearly one out of every 20 hospitalized patients each year will develop a hospital-acquired infection (HAI). Of those infected, it is estimated that 100,000 will die. The cost to the healthcare system is approximately $45 billion and rising.

29 Nov 2011

Beta blockers prevent negative effects of stress

Stressed people fall into habits and their behaviour is not goal-directed. That the neurotransmitter norepinephrine plays a decisive role here is now reported in the Journal of Neuroscience by scientists from Bochum led by Dr. Lars Schwabe (RUB Faculty of Psychology).

29 Nov 2011

European Commission approves ONGLYZA as combination therapy with insulin for type 2 diabetes

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today announced that the European Commission has approved ONGLYZA (saxagliptin) for use as a combination therapy with insulin (with or without metformin) to improve blood sugar (glycaemic) control in adult patients with type 2 diabetes.

28 Nov 2011

MC3R gene plays an important role in maintaining steady weight

Against the backdrop of the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have made an important new discovery regarding a specific gene that plays an important role in keeping a steady balance between our food intake and energy expenditure. The study may help scientists better understand the keys to fighting obesity and related disorders such as diabetes.

24 Nov 2011

Physicians can do better if they learn from their failures

When seeking a physician, you should look for one with experience. Right? Maybe not. Research on physicians' decision-making processes has revealed that those who pay attention to failures as well as successes become more adept at selecting the correct treatment.

24 Nov 2011

Stress chemicals shut down and brain processes emotional experiences during REM sleep

They say time heals all wounds, and new research from the University of California, Berkeley, indicates that time spent in dream sleep can help. UC Berkeley researchers have found that during the dream phase of sleep, also known as REM sleep, our stress chemistry shuts down and the brain processes emotional experiences and takes the painful edge off difficult memories.

24 Nov 2011

Study reveals principal mechanism of action for paracetamol

Researchers at King's College London have discovered how one of the most common household painkillers works, which could pave the way for less harmful pain relief medications to be developed in the future.

23 Nov 2011