Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have captured images of the underlying biological activity within brain cells and their tree-like extensions, or dendrites, in mice that show how their brains sort, store and make sense out of information during learning.
Characterizing associations between socioeconomic factors and children’s brain development, a team of investigators reports correlative links between family income and brain structure. Relationships between the brain and family income were strongest in the lowest end of the economic range – suggesting that interventional policies aimed at these children may have the largest societal impact.
The study offers new insight into the link between neurodegenerative disorders and inflammation, and provides a framework to explore more fully the possibility that viral infection may lead to onset of these diseases.
Using a new high-speed, high-resolution imaging method, Lihong Wang, PhD, and his team at Washington University in St. Louis were able to see blood flow and other functions inside a living mouse brain at faster rates than ever before.
Researchers have discovered an unconventional way that serotonin is released from neurons that could play an important role in the mechanism through which antidepressant drugs work.
Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation may prime offspring for weight gain and obesity later in life, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers, who looked at rats whose mothers consumed a high-fat diet and found that the offspring's feeding controls and feelings of fullness did not function normally.
Brown fat tissue, the body’s “good fat,” communicates with the brain through sensory nerves, possibly sharing information that is important for fighting human obesity, such as how much fat we have and how much fat we’ve lost, according to researchers at Georgia State University.
A team of University of Missouri researchers has discovered that another nutrient in garlic offers the brain protection against aging and disease. The finding provides more understanding of how garlic may prevent age-related neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
A blood test may shed new light on Fragile X syndrome related disorders in women, according to a new study published in the March 25, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Fragile X is the most common inherited form of intellectual disability and the most frequent genetic cause of autism.
In certain stroke patients, a new device called a stent retriever can reverse symptoms and limit stroke damage. The "stentriever," deployed with a catheter, restores blood flow and retrieves a blood clot from the brain.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a control switch for the unfolded protein response (UPR), a cellular stress relief mechanism drawing major scientific interest because of its role in cancer, diabetes, inflammatory disorders and several neural degenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Medication used to treat patients with type II diabetes activates sensors on brain cells that increase hunger, causing people taking this drug to gain more body fat, according to researchers at Georgia State University, Oregon Health and Science University, Georgia Regents University and Charlie Norwood Veterans Administration Medical Center.
People with higher levels of oxytocin have greater activity in regions of the brain that support social cognition, a U.Va. psychology study indicates.
People who suffer migraine headaches with auras are at roughly double the risk of suffering the most common type of stroke. The risk is more than tripled in migraine sufferers who smoke. And migraineurs who smoke and use birth control pills are seven times more likely to suffer strokes.
Notice of article appearing in special issue of dedicated to autism and microbiome of scientific journal. Author is a parent of a child with autism that improved following antibiotic. Article describes case and reviews recent literature suggesting high likelihood of link between autism and microbiome
By examining more than 3,600 postmortem brains, researchers at Mayo Clinic’s campuses in Jacksonville, Florida, and Rochester, Minnesota, have found that the progression of dysfunctional tau protein drives the cognitive decline and memory loss seen in Alzheimer’s disease.
No cures are possible for most patients who suffer debilitating movement disorders called cerebellar ataxias. But in a few of these disorders, patients can be effectively treated with regimens such as prescription drugs, high doses of vitamin E and gluten-free diets.
Anesthetics act inside neurons in microtubule pi electron resonance clouds, similar to those mediating quantum coherence in photosynthesis proteins. Here the authors show anesthetics dampen pi cloud terahertz oscillations, proposed as the microtubule-based origin of consciousness.
A pre-clinical study published this week in Science Translational Medicine suggests that focused ultrasound may hold a key to providing a non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers describe the first set of genes important in learning in a zebrafish model. Using an in-depth analysis of one of these genes they found an important relevant signaling pathway. The proteins in this pathway could provide new insights into the development of novel pharmacological targets.
Innovative angles of attack in research that focus on how the human brain protects and repairs itself will help develop treatments for one of the most common, costly, deadly and scientifically frustrating medical conditions worldwide: traumatic brain injury.
Penn Medicine researchers have discovered that hypermethylation - the epigenetic ability to turn down or turn off a bad gene implicated in 10 to 30 percent of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) - serves as a protective barrier inhibiting the development of these diseases. Their work, published this month in Neurology, may suggest a neuroprotective target for drug discovery efforts.
Decreased ability to identify specific odors can predict abnormal neuroimaging results in blast-injured troops, according to a new study by Federal researchers released online in the journal “Neurology,” March 18, 2015.
By 2030, chronic subdural hemorrhage (SDH) will be the most common adult brain condition requiring neurosurgical intervention in the U.S., according to a new study conducted by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center. And hospitals and neurosurgeons may be under-manned to handle the projected onslaught of patients.
A research team at UC San Francisco has discovered an RNA molecule called Pnky that can be manipulated to increase the production of neurons from neural stem cells.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta—a practicing neurosurgeon and Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN—recently received the prestigious Alfred I. duPont Award for his work on a pair of influential documentaries on medical marijuana, according to a cover feature in the April issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.
A new diet, appropriately known by the acronym MIND, could significantly lower a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, even if the diet is not meticulously followed, according to a paper published online for subscribers in March in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Researchers at Mayo Clinic developed a new scoring system to help determine which elderly people may be at a higher risk of developing the memory and thinking problems that can lead to dementia. The study is published in the March 18, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
University of Manitoba professors and brain experts are gathering at McNally Robinson Booksellers on March 18 to have a lively, interactive panel discussion on how concussions affect the brain.
UT Southwestern Medical Center neuroscientists have identified key cells within the brain that are critical for determining circadian rhythms, the 24-hour processes that control sleep and wake cycles, as well as other important body functions such as hormone production, metabolism, and blood pressure.
Mayo Clinic research finds direct evidence of gadolinium deposition in neuronal tissues following intravenous administration of gadolinium-based contrast agents used in MRI exams. The findings were recently published online in the journal Radiology.
An FDA-approved drug for high blood pressure, guanabenz, prevents myelin loss and alleviates clinical symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in animal models, according to a new study. The drug appears to enhance an innate cellular mechanism that protects myelin-producing cells.
A minimally invasive spinal fusion back surgery results in less blood loss, less postoperative pain, smaller incisions, a shorter hospital stay and faster recovery and return to work.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a gene variant that may be used to predict people most likely to respond to an investigational therapy under development for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The study, published March 12 in Cell Stem Cell, is based on experiments with cultured neurons derived from adult stem cells.
Light can be used to activate normal, non-genetically modified neurons through the use of targeted gold nanoparticles. The new method represents a significant technological advance with potential advantages over current optogenetic methods, including possible use in the development of therapeutics.
A research team at Emory University presents new research at the 2015 AAP Annual Meeting in San Antonio that suggests that early rehabilitation as well as discharges to acute rehabilitation facilities post stroke can improve neurologic outcomes. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of introducing a physiatrist into an acute stroke team.
Older people who are physically active may be protecting themselves from the effects of small areas of brain damage that can affect their movement abilities, according to a new study published in the March 11, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Columbia Engineering Professor Barclay Morrison has led the first study to determine underlying biological mechanisms that promote functional recovery of the blood-brain barrier after blast injury, demonstrating that treatment with the glucocorticoid, dexamethasone, after primary blast injury promotes rapid recovery of an in vitro model of the BBB. His findings may also help improve outcomes in brain-injured soldiers and civilians, reducing the length of their mandatory rest periods before returning to duty.
An existing epilepsy drug reverses a condition in elderly patients who are at high risk for dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.
New York University researchers have devised a computer model to explain how a neural circuit learns to classify sensory stimuli into discrete categories, such as “car vs. motorcycle.” Their findings shed new light on the brain processes underpinning judgments we make on a daily basis.
McGill researchers have discovered, for the first time, the importance of a key epigenetic regulator in the development of the hippocampus, a part of the brain associated with learning, memory and neural stem cells.
Research reported today by Tufts University biologists shows for the first time that bioelectrical signals among cells control and instruct embryonic brain development and manipulating these signals can repair genetic defects and induce development of healthy brain tissue in locations where it would not ordinarily grow.
Researchers at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in New York and the United Kingdom, have identified genetic markers, derived from blood samples that are linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The markers are associated with gene networks that regulate innate immune function and interferon signaling.
A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has determined the basic structural organization of a molecular motor that hauls cargoes and performs other critical functions within cells.
In a study that helps to deconstruct how olfaction is encoded in the brain, neuroscientists at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a type of neuron that appears to help tune, amplify and dampen neuronal responses to chemosensory inputs from the nasal cavity.
Combined measurements of brain anatomy, connectivity and neurochemistry distinguish autism spectrum disorder subjects from controls
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, but access to rapid EMS care and appropriate stroke care centers with the ability to deliver acute stroke therapies can drastically mitigate the debilitating effects of a stroke. A population-based approach to health planning would prevent disparities in access to specialized stroke care, says new Penn Medicine research. Their evaluation of access to stroke centers in the U.S. found that even under the most optimal conditions, a large proportion of the United States population would be unable to access a comprehensive stroke center within 60 minutes. The study is published in the current issue of Neurology.
Easy-to-administer vision test shown effective in diagnosing concussion In student athletes as young as 5 years old
One-third of the US population does not have access to a primary stroke center within one hour by ambulance, and even under optimal conditions, a large proportion of the US would be unable to access a stroke center within this window, according to a new study published in the March 4, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the country.
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