Feature Channels: Neuro

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A compelling article details the experiences of a group of pediatric neurosurgeons over the course of a 2-year mission at Bagram Airfield/Heathe N. Craig Joint Theater Hospital (CJTH), 27 miles north of Kabul. While there, they performed lifesaving procedures on innocent young bystanders of the military conflict in Afghanistan. The authors provide more than a glimpse into the types of injuries incurred by innocent children – they include statistics on the types of injuries and neurosurgical procedures performed, including four illustrative case studies.

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Bioengineers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are developing a volume sensor designed to better regulate the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in hydrocephalus.

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Research finds that mice without working rods and cones can still see -- and not just light, but also patterns and images -- thanks to other photosensitive cells in the retina.

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Doctors should use a diffusion MRI scan to diagnose stroke instead of a CT scan, according to a new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology. The guideline is published in the July 13, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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New research shows that people with Alzheimer’s disease who have large heads have better memory and thinking skills than those with the disease who have smaller heads, even when they have the same amount of brain cell death due to the disease. The research is published in the July 13, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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A study undertaken to help scientists concerned with abnormal brain development in premature babies has serendipitously revealed evolution’s imprint on the human brain.

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Study in Nature Neuroscience (embargo lifted July 11, 2010) finds neural basis for observation that practicing several skills in single session works better than narrow drills on one skill. Study also helps define time window for brain's learning of new skills.

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Of the three main types of oral drugs commonly added to levodopa therapy for patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease, one might be the most effective, according to a new review.

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UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found a compound that preserves newly created brain cells and boosts learning and memory in an animal study.

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Researchers have linked rejection by a romantic partner to brain activity associated with motivation, reward and addiction cravings, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of Neurophysiology.

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The pain and anguish of rejection by a romantic partner may be the result of activity in parts of the brain associated with motivation, reward and addiction cravings, according to a study published in the Journal of Neurophysiology.

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Severe trauma to the head and spine resulting from all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accidents are increasing dramatically, with an estimated cost of $3.24 billion, according to research released today from the University of Utah Department of Neurosurgery.

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A new study shows that having depression may nearly double your risk of developing dementia later in life. The research will be published in the July 6, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Researchers at Rush University Medical found that depressive symptoms show little change during the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The study suggests depression is a true risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and not just an early sign of the disease.

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A new study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine finds that a comparable region in the brains of chickens concerned with analyzing auditory inputs is constructed similarly to that of mammals.

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A South Dakota State University researcher and his colleagues elsewhere have discovered a previously unreported mitochondrial protein that interacts with a protein known to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease.

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Until now, the cause of depression in people with MS was not well understood. Now, in the first such study in living humans, researchers at UCLA suggest the cause is not psychological, but physical: atrophy of a specific region of the hippocampus, a critical part of the brain involved in mood and memory, among other functions.

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New research has identified the memory and brain scan tests that appear to predict best whether a person with cognitive problems might develop Alzheimer’s disease. The research is published in the June 30, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology

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Neural circuitry is constantly changing to meet the challenges of its environment. Neuroscientist Tobias Bonhoeffer tells how new techniques enable researchers to watch this process of adaptation as never before.

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Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found that lower, though not necessarily impaired, performance on tests measuring story learning or retention and processing speed in motor tasks dependent on visual control, as well as symptoms of depression, predicted subsequent cognitive decline in a normal population.

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Study used MRI to detect deterioration of white matter bracts in the brains of healthy adults at high risk for Alzheimer's disease. Data suggest that changes in white matter connections may be among the earliest brain changes in Alzheimer's disease, which may prove important for early detection by non-invasive imaging.

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Using an experimental mouse model for malaria, an international group of scientists has discovered that adding antioxidant therapy to traditional antimalarial treatment may prevent long-lasting cognitive impairment in cerebral malaria.

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A trial of a novel radioactive compound readily and safely distinguished the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients from healthy volunteers on brain scans and opens the doors to making such imaging available beyond facilities that can manufacture their own radioactive compounds. The results, reported by a Johns Hopkins team in the June Journal of Nuclear Medicine, could lead to better ways to distinguish Alzheimer’s from other types of dementia, track disease progression and develop new therapeutics to fight the memory-ravaging disease.

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Most concussions deliver a force of 95Gs to the human body, reports head injury expert Kim Gorgens of the University of Denver. Football players absorb 103Gs on their hits.

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A team of researchers led by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center has developed a method to predict post-stroke recovery of language by measuring the initial severity of impairment. Being able to predict recovery has important implications for stroke survivors and their families, as they plan for short and long-term treatment needs. Findings are reported online in the journal Stroke.

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A team of researchers, led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have identified a key player in the dramatic loss of neurons in mice and fly models, a discovery that could help illuminate the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in human neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease.

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Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that the drug carvedilol, currently prescribed for the treatment of hypertension, may lessen the degenerative impact of Alzheimer’s disease and promote healthy memory functions.

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A group of tests may help predict which people with Parkinson’s disease are more likely to fall, according to a study published in the June 23, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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An organic compound found in red wine – resveratrol – has the ability to neutralize the toxic effects of proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to research led by Rensselaer Professor Peter M. Tessier.

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UNC researchers are the first to identify brain abnormalities in children at high risk for schizophrenia shortly after birth. The finding could lead to earlier detection of schizophrenia and enable better prevention and treatment.

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An earlier study has shown that the stress of the Second Lebanon War in Israel increased the frequency of attacks in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The present study reveals that a potential way to minimize MS exacerbation is by directly coping with the situation.

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Using a newly applied scientific technique, researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) have reached surprising findings about the role of nature versus nurture in the development of the neural circuits in the auditory cortex, the area of the brain that is responsible for processing information about sound.

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The first trial of a new model for testing Alzheimer's treatments has reassured researchers that a promising class of drugs does not exacerbate the disease if treatment is interrupted.

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With the generous support of Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy, researchers in the University of Utah Department of Neurology are making significant headway in the fight against the disease. Once very poorly understood, SMA is now considered one of the genetic conditions closest to finding an effective treatment.

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Laboratory mouse study suggests that cold sensing develops well after birth. Cold sensing neural circuits in newborn mice take around two weeks to become fully active. The finding adds to understanding of the cold sensing protein TRPM8 (pronounced trip-em-ate), and suggests possible biological basis of cold sensing in humans.

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For patients with quadriplegia, mutism and lower cranial nerve paralysis (locked-in syndrome), their only means of interacting with others is through vertical gaze and upper eyelid movements, using eye-coded communication strategies.

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An in-depth analysis by the AANS, utilizing just-released 2009 head injury statistics from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission yielded some alarming trends. According to the AANS analysis, there were an estimated 446,788 sports-related head injuries treated at U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2009, an increase by nearly 95,000 from the prior year. Many of these injuries are preventable.

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Crayfish make surprisingly complex, cost-benefit choices, finds a University of Maryland study -opening up a new line of research to help unravel the cellular brain activity involved in human decisions. It concludes crayfish are a practical way to identify the neural circuitry and chemistry of decision making. No direct way exists to do this in primates.

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In diverse neurodegenerative diseases ranging from Parkinson’s to Alzheimer’s, researchers have long noted accumulations of a little-understood neuronal protein called α-synuclein. Pathological and genetic evidence strongly suggested that excessive α-synuclein played a role in the evolution of these diseases, but it was unclear how too much α-synuclein culminated in synaptic damage and neurodegeneration.

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UCLA scientists tested whether networks of brain cells kept alive in culture could be “trained” to keep time. The findings suggest that networks of brain cells in a petri dish can learn to generate simple timed intervals.

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A new study shows that a mentally active lifestyle may protect against the memory and learning problems that often occur in multiple sclerosis (MS). The study is published in the June 15, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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A molecule implicated in Alzheimer’s disease interferes with brain cells by making them unable to “recycle” the surface receptors that respond to incoming signals, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

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xperts from Johns Hopkins Medicine hosted a press conference following a continuing medical education program on the epidemiology of head injury in professional football. The program was an evidence-based review of traumatic brain injury in the sport.

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Newly published research sharply expands knowledge of the composition of human spinal fluid. This added awareness of proteins found in normal fluid may be a future aid in diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions.

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In what has been hailed as a breakthrough, scientists have outlined the molecular mechanism of membrane transport. The research shows how a protein transforms its shape to transport substances across the cell membrane in order to regulate transmission of the brain's messages across the synaptic gap from one neuron to another.

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Representatives of the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) today signed a cooperation agreement that aims to establish and apply harmonised guidelines and technologies for research on neurodegenerative diseases.

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Once damaged, nerves in the spinal cord normally cannot grow back and the only drug approved for treating these injuries does not enable nerve regrowth. Publishing online this week in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine show that treating injured rat spinal cords with an enzyme, sialidase, improves nerve regrowth, motor recovery and nervous system function.

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Driving to and from work is a habit for most commuters – we do it without really thinking. But before our commutes became routine, we had to learn our way through trial-and-error exploration. A new study out of MIT has found that there are two brain circuits involved with this kind of learning and that the patterns of activity in these circuits evolve as our behaviors become more habitual.

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Neuroscientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that removing three key inhibitory molecules from myelin – the insulating material that surrounds nerve cell fibers – does not significantly boost the ability of injured spinal axons to regenerate and restore themselves to full function.

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The ability to diagnose and treat brain dysfunction without surgery may rely on a new method of noninvasive brain stimulation using pulsed ultrasound developed by a team of scientists led by William “Jamie” Tyler, a neuroscientist at Arizona State University.