Neuroscience News and Research

RSS

Specific brain network acts as event monitoring system

Wouldn't life be easy if everything happened as we anticipated? In reality, our brains are able to adapt to the unexpected using an inbuilt network that makes predictions about the world and monitors how those predictions turn out.

1 Feb 2011

Widespread screening or ultrasound for blocked neck arteries not necessary to determine stroke risk

Widespread screening or routine ultrasound for blocked neck arteries to determine stroke risk isn't necessary, according to new guidelines from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, American College of Cardiology and other groups.

1 Feb 2011

Walk briskly to boost memory

Researchers have found that older adults who took a brisk walk three times a week did better on memory tests and increased the size of their hippocampus, a portion of the brain involved with memory formation.

1 Feb 2011

Brain scans can predict smokers' behavior change: New study

Brain scans showing neural reactions to pro-health messages can predict if you'll keep that resolution to quit smoking more accurately than you yourself can. That's according to a new study forthcoming in Health Psychology, a peer-reviewed journal.

1 Feb 2011

Physicians suggest new target structure for deep brain stimulation

Nearly ten percent of all cases of depression are so severe that the patients do not respond to any established treatment method. Targeted stimulation of areas in the brain using a type of "brain pacemaker" has recently raised hopes: According to initial studies, half of patients with the most severe depression treated in this manner see a significant improvement in mood.

31 Jan 2011

New nicotine addiction mechanism revealed

A new discovery has shown why some people cannot give up tobacco and may lead to new anti-smoking treatments. The researchers have found a brain pathway which when defective leads to an uncontrollable desire to smoke. This is a “sub-unit” of a receptor protein sensitive to nicotine.

31 Jan 2011

Omega-3 deficieny may play a role in neuropsychiatric disorders: Study

Researchers from Inserm and INRA and their collaborators in Spain collaboration, have studied mice fed on a diet low in omega-3 fatty acid. They discovered that reduced levels of omega-3 had deleterious consequences on synaptic functions and emotional behaviours.

30 Jan 2011

Research shows nestin regulates formation of neuromuscular junction

In a study published in the Jan. 30, 2011, advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience, Salk Institute of Biological Studies investigators led by Kuo-Fen Lee, PhD., show that nestin has reason for being in a completely different cell type--muscle tissue.

30 Jan 2011

Research findings could help psychiatrists better diagnose depression, schizophrenia

When elderly drivers get behind the wheel, they often confront the harrowing reality that they cannot easily see other cars, pedestrians, or cyclists moving around them. This frightening effect of aging, it turns out, is not necessarily a result of a reduced ability to perceive moving objects, as one might suspect, but a heightened awareness of the backdrop against which these objects move.

29 Jan 2011

New research shows mini-stroke creates lasting damage to brain cells

Each year, approximately 150,000 Canadians have a transient ischemic attack, sometimes known as a mini-stroke. New research published today in Stroke, the journal of the American Heart Association shows these attacks may not be transient at all. They in fact create lasting damage to the brain

29 Jan 2011

Misaligned research, medical challenges and harsh economics thwart efforts against Alzheimer's disease

Misaligned research, medical challenges and harsh economics are thwarting efforts to slow the destructive course of Alzheimer's disease in the United States, according to a trio of nationally regarded Alzheimer's researchers writing a "Perspective" in Jan. 27 issue of the journal Neuron.

28 Jan 2011

Transcranial magnetic stimulation helps rats to learn more quickly

What sounds like science fiction is actually possible: thanks to magnetic stimulation, the activity of certain brain nerve cells can be deliberately influenced. What happens in the brain in this context has been unclear up to now. Medical experts from Bochum under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Klaus Funke (Department of Neurophysiology) have now shown that various stimulus patterns changed the activity of distinct neuronal cell types.

28 Jan 2011

Protein Erk necessary for nerve fibers to be wrapped with myelin

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have pinpointed a crucial function for a key player in the development of the nervous system. They found that this player - a protein called Erk - is necessary for nerve fibers to be wrapped with an insulating substance called myelin, which allows messages to be sent from the brain to the peripheral limbs and back again.

28 Jan 2011

H3 Biomedicine introduces cancer research and development operations in Cambridge

H3 Biomedicine today announced that it has launched research and development operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts. H3 Biomedicine will undertake a comprehensive approach to breakthrough oncology treatments based on two primary principles: 1) the genetics of patients' cancers can reveal drug targets tailored to their cancers and 2) the advances in modern chemistry enable the discovery of new classes of safe and effective drugs against these targets.

27 Jan 2011

As recording technology rapidly improves, neurons give up their secrets cell by cell

Scientists at The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), designated the "#1 Rehabilitation Hospital in America" by U.S. News & World Report since 1991, report that, thanks to improvements in technology and data analysis, our understanding of the functional principles that guide the development and operation of the brain could improve drastically in the next few years.

27 Jan 2011

Scientists discover new mechanism neurons use to fine-tune electrical output

Scientists in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, have discovered a new mechanism that nerve cells (neurons) use to fine-tune their electrical output. The exciting discovery, published this week in the prestigious journal Nature Neuroscience, provides new insights about how the activity of the nervous system is regulated at the cellular level.

27 Jan 2011

Molecular mechanism in nerve fibers ensures rapid conductance of nervous system impulses

New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine describes a key molecular mechanism in nerve fibers that ensures the rapid conductance of nervous system impulses.

27 Jan 2011

How estrogen decreases risk and delays onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease

An influential article in the journal Progress in Neurobiology provided one of the first comprehensive reviews of how estrogen potentially can protect against Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.

27 Jan 2011

Triggering CD45 molecule blocks early development of AD

A new target for the prevention of adverse immune responses identified as factors in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been discovered by researchers at the University of South Florida's Department of Psychiatry and the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair.

27 Jan 2011

Researchers discover new sensory neurons that mediate BP and metabolism regulation in liver

For 60 years, scientists have puzzled over the possibility of a hepatic osmoreceptor that influences blood pressure regulation. Now, researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin-Buch, the Experimental and Clinical Research Center of the MDC and Charit- and the Hannover Medical School appear to have made a breakthrough discovery.

27 Jan 2011

Neuroscience News and Research

Specific brain network acts as event monitoring system

Widespread screening or ultrasound for blocked neck arteries not necessary to determine stroke risk

Walk briskly to boost memory

Brain scans can predict smokers' behavior change: New study

Physicians suggest new target structure for deep brain stimulation

New nicotine addiction mechanism revealed

Omega-3 deficieny may play a role in neuropsychiatric disorders: Study

Research shows nestin regulates formation of neuromuscular junction

Research findings could help psychiatrists better diagnose depression, schizophrenia

New research shows mini-stroke creates lasting damage to brain cells

Misaligned research, medical challenges and harsh economics thwart efforts against Alzheimer's disease

Transcranial magnetic stimulation helps rats to learn more quickly

Protein Erk necessary for nerve fibers to be wrapped with myelin

H3 Biomedicine introduces cancer research and development operations in Cambridge

As recording technology rapidly improves, neurons give up their secrets cell by cell

Scientists discover new mechanism neurons use to fine-tune electrical output

Molecular mechanism in nerve fibers ensures rapid conductance of nervous system impulses

How estrogen decreases risk and delays onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease

Triggering CD45 molecule blocks early development of AD

Researchers discover new sensory neurons that mediate BP and metabolism regulation in liver

Neuroscience - Second Edition eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Latest News