June 2012
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Gene Mutations Cause Massive Brain Asymmetry
ScienceDaily (June 24, 2012) — Hemimegalencephaly is a rare but dramatic condition in which the brain grows asymmetrically, with one hemisphere becoming massively enlarged. Though frequently diagnosed in children with severe epilepsy, the cause of hemimegalencephaly is unknown and current treatment is radical: surgical removal of some or all of the diseased half of the brain.
This image depicts...
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Neurons That Control Overeating Also Drive...
ScienceDaily (June 24, 2012) — Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have zeroed in on a set of neurons in the part of the brain that controls hunger, and found that these neurons are not only associated with overeating, but also linked to non-food associated behaviors, like novelty-seeking and drug addiction.
A lean animal and a control were both exposed to a novelty item (center). The lean...
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Learn That Tune While Fast Asleep: Stimulation...
ScienceDaily (June 24, 2012) — Want to nail that tune that you’ve practiced and practiced? Maybe you should take a nap with the same melody playing during your sleep, new provocative Northwestern University research suggests.
Want to nail that tune that you’ve practiced and practiced? Maybe you should take a nap with the same melody playing during your sleep. (Credit: © Anton...
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Predicting Treatment Response in Central Nervous...
ScienceDaily (June 23, 2012) — The commonly-used epilepsy drug, valproic acid (VPA), can have a highly beneficial effect on some babies born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the number one genetic killer during early infancy. But in about two-thirds of such cases it is either damaging or simply has no effect. Now, for the first time, researchers have found a way to identify which patients are...
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New Approach to Diagnosing and Treating Dementia
ScienceDaily (June 22, 2012) — Some dementia patients show symptoms of a malfunctioning immune system and can receive appropriate treatment.
Scientists at Charité — Universitätsmedizin Berlin have succeeded in recommending a new type of therapeutic approach to dementia. The study published in the journal Neurology shows that immune reactions against the body’s own nerve cells can be...
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Information Flow in the Brain Is Not a 'One-Way...
ScienceDaily (June 22, 2012) — A longstanding question in brain research is how information is processed in the brain. Neuroscientists at the Charité — Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Cluster of Excellence NeuroCure and University of Newcastle have made a contribution towards answering this question. In a new study, they have shown that signals are generated not only in the cell body of nerve...
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Most Commonly Mutated Gene in Cancer May Have a...
ScienceDaily (June 22, 2012) — The gene p53 is the most commonly mutated gene in cancer. p53 is dubbed the “guardian of the genome” because it blocks cells with damaged DNA from propagating and eventually becoming cancerous. However, new research led by Ute M. Moll, M.D., Professor of Pathology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and colleagues, uncovers a novel role for p53...
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South African Daffodils May Be a Future Treatment...
ScienceDaily (June 22, 2012) — Scientists have discovered that plant compounds from a South African flower may in time be used to treat diseases originating in the brain — including depression. At the University of Copenhagen, a number of these substances have now been tested in a laboratory model of the blood-brain barrier.
Crinum from South Africa. (Credit: Gary I. Stafford)
Scientists...
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Finding sounds in an audible haystack
June 22, 2012 By Virat Markandeya
Listening to a single voice in a crowded cocktail party sometimes seems like picking a needle out of a haystack, but new research shows that people may be better at this than expected.
New research shows that people can comprehend one sound among many.
The results surprised the University of Washington, Seattle, research team, which tested how well people...
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Remembering to Forget
June 22nd, 2012
New research suggests that it is possible to suppress emotional autobiographical memories. The study published this month by psychologists at the University of St Andrews reveals that individuals can be trained to forget particular details associated with emotional memories.
The important findings may offer exciting new potential for therapeutic interventions for individuals...
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'Trust' hormone oxytocin found at heart of rare...
June 22, 2012
The hormone oxytocin - often referred to as the “trust” hormone or “love hormone” for its role in stimulating emotional responses - plays an important role in Williams syndrome (WS), according to a study published June 12, 2012, in PLoS One.
The study, a collaboration between scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of Utah,...
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Balancing connections for proper brain function
June 22, 2012
Neuropsychiatric conditions such as autism, schizophrenia and epilepsy involve an imbalance between two types of synapses in the brain: excitatory synapses that release the neurotransmitter glutamate, and inhibitory synapses that release the neurotransmitter GABA. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying development of inhibitory synapses, but a research team from...
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Preventing or Better Managing Diabetes May Prevent...
ScienceDaily (June 21, 2012) — Preventing diabetes or delaying its onset has been thought to stave off cognitive decline — a connection strongly supported by the results of a 9-year study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
Earlier studies have looked at cognitive decline in people who already had diabetes. The...
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New Candidate Drug Stops Cancer Cells, Regenerates...
ScienceDaily (June 21, 2012) — Scientists have developed a small-molecule-inhibiting drug that in early laboratory cell tests stopped breast cancer cells from spreading and also promoted the growth of early nerve cells called neurites.
Researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center report their findings online June 21 in Chemistry & Biology. The scientists named their...
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Eating Disorder Behaviors and Weight Concerns Are...
ScienceDaily (June 21, 2012) — Eating disorders are commonly seen as an issue faced by teenagers and young women, but a new study reveals that age is no barrier to disordered eating. In women aged 50 and over, 3.5% report binge eating, nearly 8% report purging, and more than 70% are trying to lose weight. The study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders revealed that 62% of...
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Functional Links Between Autism and Genes...
ScienceDaily (June 21, 2012) — A pioneering report of genome-wide gene expression in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) finds genetic changes that help explain why one person has an ASD and another does not. The study, published by Cell Press on June 21 in The American Journal of Human Genetics, pinpoints ASD risk factors by comparing changes in gene expression with DNA mutation data in the same...
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Where is the Love?
June 21, 2012 By Janice Wood
Thanks to science, we know that love lives in the brain, not the heart.
Now a new international study has mapped out where love and sexual desire are in the brain.
“No one has ever put these two together to see the patterns of activation,” says Dr. Jim Pfaus, professor of psychology at Concordia University.
“We didn’t know what to expect –the two could have...
