Neuroscience
ALS Discovery Holds Promise for New Treatments
April 1, 2013 10:03 am | News | CommentsScientists said they have evidence from animal studies that a type of central nervous system cell other than motor neurons plays a fundamental role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal degenerative disease.
Schwann Cells Play Role in Neuropathic Pain
March 28, 2013 10:49 am | News | CommentsAn international team of scientists says a key protein in Schwann cells performs a critical, perhaps overarching, role in regulating the recovery of peripheral nerves after injury.
Rare Brain Disorders Linked to Splicing Slip-ups
March 28, 2013 10:38 am | by Harvard Medical School | News | CommentsResearchers have found that missteps in a basic cellular process, RNA splicing, is the culprit behind a class of rare neurological disorders manifested by intellectual disability and stunted development.
Rats’ Brains are More Like Ours Than Previously Thought
March 28, 2013 10:05 am | News | CommentsNeuroscientists face a multitude of challenges in their efforts to better understand the human brain. If not for model organisms such as the rat, they might never know what really goes on inside our heads.
Eating Behavior is Possible Autoimmune Disease Defense
March 26, 2013 10:22 am | News | CommentsNeurons that control hunger in the central nervous system also regulate immune cell functions, implicating eating behavior as a defense against infections and autoimmune disease development, researchers have found in a new study.
Teaming Up Against Head Injury
March 25, 2013 11:14 am | by Cynthia Fox | Articles | CommentsUnder the crushing weight of many new studies finding even small head injuries can cause massive damage, the National Football League (NFL) has launched a new $60 million brain initiative. The initiative is co-sponsored by General Electric (GE).
Molecular Roots of Down Syndrome Unraveled
March 25, 2013 10:12 am | News | CommentsResearchers discovered that the extra chromosome inherited in Down syndrome impairs learning and memory because it leads to low levels of SNX27 protein in the brain.
‘Cooling Cure’ Can Avert Brain Damage in Oxygen-starved Babies
March 22, 2013 11:13 am | News | CommentsWhen babies are deprived of oxygen before birth, brain damage and disorders such as cerebral palsy can occur. Extended cooling can prevent brain injuries, but this treatment is not always available in developing nations where advanced medical care is scarce.
The Neuroscience of Finding Lost Keys
March 22, 2013 10:33 am | News | CommentsEver find yourself racking your brain on a Monday morning to remember where you put your car keys? When you do find those keys, you can thank the hippocampus, a brain region responsible for storing and retrieving memories of different environments- such as that room where your keys were hiding in an unusual spot.
Misregulated Genes May Have Big Autism Role
March 21, 2013 12:09 pm | News | CommentsA new study finds that two genes individually associated with rare autism-related disorders are also jointly linked to more general forms of autism. The finding suggests a new genetic pathway to investigate in general autism research.
Humanoid Robot Helps Train Children with Autism
March 21, 2013 11:32 am | News | CommentsAn interdisciplinary team of mechanical engineers and autism experts at Vanderbilt University have developed a system that demonstrates that robotic systems may be powerful tools for enhancing the basic social learning skills of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Study Shows How Two Brain Areas Interact to Trigger Divergent Emotional Behaviors
March 21, 2013 10:48 am | News | CommentsNew research from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine for the first time explains exactly how two brain regions interact to promote emotionally motivated behaviors associated with anxiety and reward.
New Sensor Transmits Brain Activity Wirelessly
March 20, 2013 9:51 am | by National Institutes of Health | News | CommentsA compact, self-contained sensor recorded and transmitted brain activity data wirelessly for more than a year in early stage animal tests, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Keep Trained Eye on Possible Concussions, Docs Say
March 18, 2013 4:33 pm | by MALCOLM RITTER - AP Science Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsWhen athletes are suspected of having a concussion, they should be taken out of action immediately, new guidelines from a major medical group say. The American Academy of Neurology said athletes shouldn't resume playing until they've been fully evaluated and cleared by a doctor or other professional with concussion expertise.
Report Highlights 1 in 3 Seniors Dies with, Not of, Dementia
March 18, 2013 12:47 pm | by BY LAURAN NEERGAARD - AP MEDICAL WRITER | News | CommentsA staggering 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, says a new report that highlights the impact the mind-destroying disease is having on the rapidly aging population.
Study Pinpoints a Possible Migraine-tracking Biomarker
March 18, 2013 11:25 am | News | CommentsIn a small, preliminary study of regular migraine sufferers, scientists have found that measuring a fat-derived protein called adiponectin (ADP) before and after migraine treatment can accurately reveal which headache victims felt pain relief.
Suppressing Brain ‘Filter’ Improves Creative Tasks
March 15, 2013 10:52 am | News | CommentsResearchers have shown that inhibiting the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s filter, can boost performance for tasks in which unfiltered, creative thoughts present an advantage.
Building Smarter—and Smarter—Mice
March 15, 2013 9:54 am | by Cynthia Fox | Articles | CommentsTwo labs reported last week making mice smarter, in two different ways, one of which “changes everything,” according to top neuroscientist Douglas Fields.
Using Fat to Fight Brain Cancer
March 14, 2013 3:51 pm | News | CommentsResearchers say they have found that stem cells from a patient’s own fat may have the potential to deliver new treatments directly into the brain after the surgical removal of a glioblastoma.
Stent Can Replace Shunt in Pseudotumor Brain Treatment
March 14, 2013 12:42 pm | News | CommentsA team of neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons reported wide success with a new procedure to treat pseudotumor cerebri, a rare but potentially blinding condition marked by excessive pressure inside the skull, caused by a dangerous narrowing of a vein located at the base of the brain.
New Brain Study Reveals Parkinson’s Pathway
March 14, 2013 10:39 am | News | CommentsA new study offers insight into some of the precise impairments caused by the loss of dopamine in brain cells affected by Parkinson’s disease. The findings could help researchers not only better understand the disease, but also develop more targeted treatments.
Single Concussion May Cause Lasting Brain Damage
March 12, 2013 12:37 pm | News | CommentsA single concussion may cause lasting structural damage to the brain, according to a new study.
Neural ‘Synchrony’ Key to Brain Perception
March 12, 2013 10:11 am | News | CommentsDespite many remarkable discoveries in the field of neuroscience during the past several decades, researchers have not been able to fully crack the brain’s “neural code.” Now, biomedical engineering professor Garrett Stanley has presented detailed research progress toward “reading and writing the neural code.”
Explaining Childhood Chronic Pain
March 11, 2013 4:31 pm | by Harvard Medical School | News | CommentsExplaining children's chronic pain
Possible fMRI Inaccuracies Uncovered
March 8, 2013 10:11 am | News | CommentsResearchers found that traditional methods of fMRI analysis systematically skew which regions of the brain appear to be activating, potentially invalidating hundreds of papers that use the technique.
