Neuroscience News and Research

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Serotonin can help promote human intimacy and romantic feelings

The judgments we make about the intimacy of other couples' relationships appear to be influenced by the brain chemical serotonin, reports a new study published in Biological Psychiatry.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers temporarily turn off essential gene using RNAi technology

One way of discovering a gene's function is to switch it off and observe how the loss of its activity affects an organism. If a gene is essential for survival, however, then switching it off permanently will kill the organism before the gene's function can be determined. Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have overcome this problem by using RNA interference (RNAi) technology to temporarily turn off any essential gene in adult mice and then turn it back on before the change kills the animals.

15 Apr 2011

AAN, PDF honor Boston researcher with Clinician Scientist Development Award

A clinician scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston is receiving $240,000 to further his research into how stem cells may be used to treat Parkinson's disease through the American Academy of Neurology Foundation and the Parkinson's Disease Foundation Clinician Scientist Development Award in Parkinson's Disease Research.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists link increase of calcium influx in brain neurons to long-term memory

Using advanced imaging technology, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a change in chemical influx into a specific set of neurons in the common fruit fly that is fundamental to long-term memory.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists identify filter neurons that can reduce 'brain clutter'

Until now, it has been assumed that people with diseases like ADHD, Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder and schizophrenia - all of whom characteristically report symptoms of "brain clutter" - may suffer from anomalies in the brain's prefrontal cortex.

15 Apr 2011

Brain damage starts decade earlier in Alzheimer’s patients

A new study published in the journal Neurology has shown that the brains of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease start shrinking up to a decade before symptoms appear. Researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston did brain imaging tests on older adults with no signs of memory loss.

15 Apr 2011

Perampanel drug can effectively treat seizures in patients with epilepsy

A new drug called perampanel appears to significantly reduce seizures in people with hard-to-control epilepsy, according to results of the first clinical trial to test the higher 12 mg dose of the drug.

15 Apr 2011

Teva presents new CNS products study data in RRMS, Parkinson's at AAN meeting

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced that several new studies further support the efficacy and safety of the company's innovative central nervous system products.

12 Apr 2011

Rockefeller University professor earns recognition in developmental psychobiology

Weill Cornell Medical College and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons have announced that The Mortimer D. Sackler, M.D. Prize for Distinguished Achievement in Developmental Psychobiology has been awarded to The Rockefeller University's Dr. Fernando Nottebohm for his seminal work in songbirds that has led to the discovery of neuronal replacement.

12 Apr 2011

Laquinimod drug greatly reduces number of relapses in patients with MS

The drug laquinimod reduced the number of relapses for people with multiple sclerosis, in a large, long-term Phase III clinical study that will be presented as late-breaking research at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9-16, 2011, in Honolulu.

12 Apr 2011

Depression can sabotage efforts to effectively treat Hepatitis C

Adherence to interferon, an important medication used to treat Hepatitis C, is critical to successfully clearing the virus that causes the disease. A new observational analysis by Medco Health Solutions, Inc. finds that when Hepatitis C patients are also being treated for depression -- a frequent side effect of interferon use -- they are more likely to remain on their interferon therapy.

12 Apr 2011

New guideline on most effective treatments for diabetic nerve pain

The American Academy of Neurology has issued a new guideline on the most effective treatments for diabetic nerve pain, the burning or tingling pain in the hands and feet that affects millions of people with diabetes. The guideline is published in the April 11, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and will be presented April 11, 2011, at the American Academy of Neurology's Annual Meeting in Honolulu.

12 Apr 2011

Strong bitter taste can cause nausea: Research

Swallow the good, spit out the bad. A new study from the Monell Center highlights the vital role taste plays as the body's gatekeeper. The research shows that strong bitter taste in and of itself can cause people to both report the sensation of nausea and display a pattern of stomach activity characteristic of actual nausea.

12 Apr 2011

Takeda, Heptares collaborate to develop new drugs against CNS disorders

Heptares Therapeutics and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company today announced the formation of a two-year drug discovery collaboration focused on a single G-protein coupled receptor that plays an important role in the pathology of central nervous system disorders.

11 Apr 2011

Air pollution on freeways may lead to brain damage: Study

Earlier research has shown that air pollution from cars and trucks on Southern California freeways – that contains soot, pavement dust and other toxic substances - can cause respiratory disease, heart attacks, cancer and premature death. Now a new study has shown that exposure to pollution particles roughly one-thousandth the width of a human hair may lead to brain damage in mice, including signs associated with memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. The study comes from University of Southern California and is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

10 Apr 2011

Key regulator of fat cell development may provide a target for obesity and diabetes drugs

New research by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and collaborating institutions has identified a key regulator of fat cell development that may provide a target for obesity and diabetes drugs.

8 Apr 2011

Scientists identify two molecules that enable cancer spread

For many types of cancer, the original tumor itself is usually not deadly. Instead, it's the spread of a tiny subpopulation of cells from the primary tumor to other parts of the body—the process known as metastasis—that all too often kills the patient.

8 Apr 2011

Meditation can conquer pain: Well almost!

Meditation can be used as a powerful painkiller says new research published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center showed as much reflected in perception of the participants as well as their brain scans.

7 Apr 2011

Biological Psychiatry publishes Omeros' PPAR-gamma addiction program

Omeros Corporation today announced that research on the PPAR-gamma agonists it is developing in its Addiction franchise has been published in the April 1, 2011 issue of the Journal of Biological Psychiatry.

7 Apr 2011

Exercising during pregnancy improves child's heart health after birth

Moms-to-be long have been told by their doctors and baby-related books and websites that staying fit during pregnancy is good for both mother and child. When it was reported a couple of years back that exercising strengthens a fetus' heart control, many pregnant women took heed and hit the ground running, literally. Some signed up for prenatal yoga classes; others found new ways to incorporate low-impact aerobic activities into their daily lives.

7 Apr 2011