Do big-brained creatures steal energy for them from other organs or eat more to supply this expensive tissue? New work in large-brained fish suggests skimping elsewhere is not enough to meet the energy demands of an extreme brain.
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have detailed the structure of a molecule that has been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. Knowing the shape of the molecule — and how that shape may be disrupted by certain genetic mutations — can help in understanding how Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases develop and how to prevent and treat them.
The American Psychological Association and its affiliated APA Practice Organization have called on congressional leaders not to repeal the Affordable Care Act without simultaneously replacing it with legislation to ensure that all Americans have insurance coverage with access to comprehensive mental health care at parity with physical health services.
UCLA researchers initiate brain repair following white matter stroke in animals, identifying a possible therapeutic target to combat this common cause of dementia
Tests that measure the sense of smell may soon become common in neurologists’ offices. Scientists have been finding increasing evidence that the sense of smell declines sharply in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, and now a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published today in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease confirms that administering a simple “sniff test” can enhance the accuracy of diagnosing this dreaded disease
Ron Davis, chair of the Department of Neuroscience on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has been awarded a $5 million Outstanding Investigator Grant, one of the first of its kind, by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine a five-year, $6 million grant to fund the Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC). The grant will also support a new research program focused on 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2DS), an incurable genetic disorder associated with delayed intellectual development and psychiatric conditions, and some forms of congenital heart disease as well as other medical problems.
A new study from BIDMC reveals the mystery of delusional misidentification syndromes (DMS), a group of rare disorders that causes patients to become convinced that a loved one has been replaced by an imposter. The investigators mapped brain injuries in 17 patients with DMS to determine origins of these disorders. Injuries were linked to areas in the brain associated with familiarity perception and belief evaluation, providing a neuro-anatomical mechanism underlying misidentification syndromes.
An international team led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has selected a third investigational drug to be tested in a worldwide clinical trial – already underway – aimed at finding treatments to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Undocumented migrants are an especially vulnerable group with regard to their health status, living conditions, and barriers to access to health care and social welfare. In a study that explored 90 undocumented migrants’ mental health care needs, the level of psychological distress was extremely high.
A rare and potent type of immune cell has been discovered around the brain, suggesting the cells may play a critical role in battling Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. By harnessing the cells' power, doctors may be able to develop new treatments for disease, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries – even migraines.
The holidays are a time for family, fun and happiness. They are usually spent with the ones we love reflecting on the past year and feeling grateful. However, even with all the joy, the holidays can cause quite a large amount of stress. Whether it be trying to forgive someone for a mishap, trying not to let your worries impact your sleep, dealing with the dark and gloomy days, or merely learning the joys of giving, our experts are here with tips on how to make this holiday season a little brighter.
Investigators in veterinary and human medicine have uncovered long-term changes in the brains of adult female rats exposed to social stresses early in life, with the biggest impact on regions of the brain linked to social behavior, stress, emotion and depression. The findings will enable researchers to begin testing preventative measures and treatments for depression and anxiety.
Mental health awareness and French vanilla ice cream are two passions of senior television-radio major Michayla Savitt, creator and host of “The Scoop on Mental Health,” a podcast where Savitt and guests discuss mental health issues over ice cream.
A team of doctors and psychologists examined the effects of structured talk therapy and medication on patients with social anxiety disorders. In doing so they set a new world record in effectively treating social anxiety disorder.
Scientists have enlisted the exotic properties of graphene to function like the film of an incredibly sensitive camera system in visually mapping tiny electric fields. They hope to enlist the new method to image electrical signaling networks in our hearts and brains.
An expert at Rutgers University’s Care2Caregivers helpline shares tips on how families can celebrate the holidays with loved ones suffering from an illness that affects memory
• Risks of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are higher in older kidney transplant recipients than in older adults in the general population.
• Among kidney transplant recipients, those who developed dementia or Alzheimer’s disease had higher rates of organ loss and patient death than those who did not develop these conditions.
A West Virginia University researcher is investigating links between child abuse and mortality risk in women.
Co-author on a recent study linking self-reported child abuse to death in women, assistant professor of psychology Nicholas Turiano is investigating why childhood misfortune, such as child abuse, could cause deaths in women sooner than men.
Bad bosses generally come in two forms. There are the dysfunctional ones, like Michael Scott from the TV series The Office; then there are the dark ones, like Gordon Gekko from the film Wall Street. Researchers including Seth M. Spain from Binghamton University, State University of New York are building a framework to better understand the behaviors of bad bosses and to reduce workplace stress.
Adults and teenagers with depression don't respond to rewards in a normal manner. Although depression has been diagnosed in children as young as 3, it hasn't been clear whether their responses to rewards also may be blunted. So Washington University researchers studied kids ages 4 to 7 and found that, like adults, when the children were depressed, their brains were less likely to respond to rewards. The researchers say insensitivity to rewards may serve as a "red flag" for depression in young children.
People who have protein in their urine, which is a sign of kidney problems, may also be more likely to later develop problems with thinking and memory skills or even dementia, according to a meta-analysis published in the December 14, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Terence M. Keane, PhD, professor of psychiatry and assistant dean for Research at Boston University, has been elected 2017 president of the American Psychological Foundation (APF). Keane will take office on Jan. 1, 2017.
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have discovered a molecular cause of hydrocephalus, a common, potentially life-threatening birth defect in which the head is enlarged due to excess fluid surrounding the brain. Because the same molecule is also implicated in Down’s syndrome, the finding, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, may explain the ten-fold increased risk of hydrocephalus in infants born with Down’s.
Genes known to be essential to life—the ones humans need to survive and thrive in the womb—also play a critical role in the development of autism spectrum disorder, suggests a new study
Sunita Sah, assistant professor of management and organizations at Cornell University, and her colleagues have a novel strategy to save your professional reputation: Reframe your distress as passion for the project.
Commenting on a Financial Times feature on drug trials of the "plaque" theory of Alzheimer's---all of which have failed so far---Chris Norwood, in a lead letter, underscores that targeted diabetes prevention is really the major documented path to Alzheimer's prevention
The nation’s largest statewide effort to track concussions among youth athletes is under way in Texas with the launch of a registry designed to assess the prevalence of brain injuries in high school sports.
In a bid to improve mental health screening of Latino children from immigrant families, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine report they have identified a culturally sensitive set of tools that are freely available to pediatricians, take less than 10 minutes to use, are in easy-to-read Spanish, and assess a wide range of emotional and behavioral problems.
For many of the 2.8 million survivors in the United States, the price of survival includes severe physical and psychosocial symptoms – including joint pain, fatigue, weight gain and insomnia – that may go untreated and persist for many years after treatment. Long-term survivors report an average three symptoms for which they desire more help than they are receiving, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine and the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Results of the study will be presented on Friday at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (poster P5-13-12).
The newly passed 21st Century Cures Act awaiting President Obama’s signature will provide necessary funding to help those with mental illnesses, but a mental health expert at Washington University in St. Louis says it should focus more on mental health outcomes of those suffering right now.“Over 40 million Americans suffer from a mental health condition at any given time,” said Ryan Lindsay, associate professor of practice and chair of the mental health concentration at the Brown School.
Cedars-Sinai neurosurgeons have begun using a high-definition imaging device to see inside the brain during surgery, allowing them to map safer pathways to reach and remove tumors. The device, called Brightmatter Guide, works like a GPS, providing real-time, brightly colored 3-D images.
Wanting to squash not-so-great memories is human nature, but is it possible to intentionally forget a traumatic experience? Darlene McLaughlin, MD, psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor with the Texas A&M College of Medicine, explains how your mind may help you get through a traumatic event.
According to renowned neurologist Oliver Sacks, “music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion, but the power of music goes much further.” To hear and experience music’s potential, members of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus and local community are invited to a multimedia concert and lecture focused on the links between music and health, sponsored by the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) and the
Department of the Arts. The event will be held on Dec. 8, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) Concert Hall.
A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has identified six loci or regions of the human genome that are significantly linked to personality traits, report researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine in this week’s advance online publication of Nature Genetics. The findings also show correlations with psychiatric disorders.
The violence that women in disadvantaged neighborhoods experience and witness can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and full diagnoses, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study that examined a disadvantaged Chicago neighborhood.
Almost 10 percent of very young children struggle with significant mental health problems, yet few are getting help, according to a new American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement co-authored by a Tulane University child psychiatrist.
Two recently-published studies at the University of Haifa examined the connection between work routine and stress during the Second Lebanon War. The studies found that work routine reduced stress among residents of northern Israel during the war. The strongest effect was found among women and those obliged to come to their places of work.
A study presented Wednesday at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium examined the incidence of brain metastasis after diagnosis for three groups of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.
Measuring the brain activity of healthy, older adults while they walk and talk at the same time may help predict their risk of falls later, according to a study published in the December 7, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The 21st Century Cures Act, passed Wednesday by the Senate, will result in much-needed reform of the nation’s mental health system, according to the American Psychological Association and the APA Practice Organization.
Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made an important discovery toward the development of drugs to treat age-related memory loss in diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Simon Fraser University researchers have found that high-resolution brain scans, coupled with computational analysis, could play a critical role in helping to detect concussions that conventional scans might miss.
A new investigational drug originally developed for type 2 diabetes is being readied for human clinical trials in search of the world’s first treatment to impede the progression of Parkinson’s disease following publication of research findings today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Four teams of UAB researchers have been awarded National Science Foundation grants totaling $5.4 million for basic neuroscience research and new methods of environmental monitoring.
The blood-brain barrier is a network of specialized cells that surrounds the arteries and veins within the brain. It forms a unique gateway that both provides brain cells with the nutrients they require and protects them from potentially harmful compounds. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education (VIIBRE) headed by Gordon A.