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Olfactory function may inform Parkinson’s prognosis

Olfactory function is preserved in about a quarter of patients with Parkinson’s disease, and may be predictive of disease course, say researchers.

18 Sep 2015

Researchers examine use of MRI after birth to identify children at risk of later academic impairment

School age children who are born prematurely are more likely to have low mathematical achievement, thought to be associated with reduced working memory and number skills, according to a new study published today in the neurology journal Brain.

3 Sep 2015

Study shows food craving may be hard-wired into the brain of overweight patients

An international group of researchers have found that food craving activates different brain networks between obese and normal weight patients.

31 Aug 2015

Putaminal serotonergic innervation flags levodopa-induced dyskinesia risk

Increased serotonergic fibre innervation relative to dopaminergic fibre availability may be a potential marker of disease progression in Parkinson’s disease patients and a possible warning of levodopa-induced dyskinesia, indicates an in vivo imaging study.

17 Aug 2015

Resting-state connectivity changes underpinning ICDs identified

The presence of impulse control disorders is associated with reduced resting-state connectivity between part of the associative striatum and both associative and limbic cortical regions in patients with Parkinson’s disease, a study suggests.

5 Jun 2015

New Penn Medicine study reveals how sleep deprivation increases intake of fat

Experts have warned for years that insufficient sleep can lead to weight gain. A new Penn Medicine study found that not only do we consume more food following a night of total sleep deprivation, but we also we consume more fat and less carbohydrates and a region of the brain known as the salience network is what may lead us to eat more fat.

15 Feb 2015

International study identifies genetic factors that influence the size of brain structures

An international study, which included researchers from NUI Galway, has identified significant genetic factors that influence the size of structures within the brain. It is hoped these new insights may help scientists better understand disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy.

23 Jan 2015

At-home test sniffs out prodromal Parkinson’s disease

An at-home olfactory test helps to identify people with an increased risk of having dopamine transporter imaging indicative of early Parkinson’s disease, show data from the Parkinson Associated Risk Syndrome study.

9 Dec 2014

Successful antipsychotic treatment may alter striatal connectivity

Connectivity within the striatum changes as psychotic symptoms improve in patients treated with second-generation antipsychotics, a study shows.

20 Nov 2014

Changes in the brain may explain premature babies' higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders

Disturbances in the early stages of brain growth, such as preterm birth - when many of the brain's structures have not yet fully developed - appears to affect the brain's neuro-circuitry, which may explain premature babies' higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders including ADHD and autism spectrum disorder.

5 Nov 2014

Brain imaging could assist bipolar depression diagnosis

Researchers have identified structural brain differences that could help to distinguish patients with unipolar and bipolar depression.

5 Sep 2014

Subcortical brain regions play key role in memorization process during sleep

According to researchers at the University of Montreal, the regions of the brain below the cortex play an important role as we train our bodies' movements and, critically, they interact more effectively after a night of sleep.

22 Aug 2014

In vivo dopaminergic imaging strongly correlates with brain pathology

Striatal dopamine transporter binding, assessed using single-photon emission computed tomography, is strongly correlated with substantia nigra cell counts assessed at postmortem, say the authors of a study.

11 Aug 2014

Imaging biomarker proposed for Parkinson’s disease

Reduced off-medication connectivity in the basal ganglia network separates patients with early Parkinson’s disease from healthy controls with high accuracy, preliminary findings suggest.

15 Jul 2014

VLSM provides more accurate prognosis of motor recovery from chronic stroke

Many studies have examined motor impairments using voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM), but few are reported regarding the corresponding relationship between cerebral cortex injury and lower limb motor impairment analyzed using this technique.

9 Jul 2014

Dopamine transporter availability predicts ICDs

Reduced striatal dopamine transporter availability is already present in patients with Parkinson’s disease who go on to develop impulse control disorders, a study shows.

5 Jun 2014

Presynaptic dopaminergic lesion predicts drug-induced dyskinesia

Research suggests that the extent of presynaptic dopaminergic denervation before starting therapy may predict which patients with Parkinson’s disease will later develop levodopa-induced dyskinesia.

19 May 2014

Scan may rule out Parkinson’s disease

Patients with clinical symptoms of early Parkinson’s disease but no evidence of dopaminergic deficit on brain imaging are unlikely to have the condition, say the PRECEPT Study investigators.

19 May 2014

Researchers investigate sex differences in brain structure

Reviewing over 20 years of neuroscience research into sex differences in brain structure, a Cambridge University team has conducted the first meta-analysis of the evidence, published this week in the prestigious journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews.

12 Feb 2014

Study: Depression in Parkinson's patients may reflect impaired striatal dopamine function

According to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, up to 60% of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) exhibit mild to moderate depression, which is often underdiagnosed.

11 Oct 2013