A new study using sophisticated brain scans shows how simple line drawings can capture the essence of a beach or a mountain for viewers just as well as a photograph would.
Researchers at UCLA have identified a gene, possessed by 88 percent of Caucasians, that impairs the development of myelin (the protective covering around the neuron's axons in the brain) in the young, making it weaker and more vulnerable to the onset of Alzheimer's much later in life.
The older we get, the more difficulty we seem to have remembering things. We reassure ourselves that our brains' "hard drives" are too full to handle the new information that comes in daily. But a Johns Hopkins neuroscientist suggests that our aging brains are unable to process this information as "new" because the brain pathways leading to the hippocampus become degraded over time. As a result, our brains cannot accurately "file" new information.
New data offer hints to why Parkinson’s disease so selectively harms brain cells that produce the chemical dopamine, say researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
New research from McMaster University may answer a controversial question: do the blind have a better sense of touch because the brain compensates for vision loss or because of heavy reliance on their fingertips? The study, published in the most recent edition of the Journal of Neuroscience, suggests daily dependence on touch is the answer.
Approximately 14 percent of all strokes occur during sleep, preventing many from getting clot-busting treatment, according to a study published in the May 10, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Gender may play an important role when choosing treatment options for clearing dangerously clogged arteries, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.
Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered how two closely related proteins guide projections from nerve cells with exquisite accuracy, alternately attracting and repelling these axons as they navigate the most miniscule and frenetic niches of the nervous system to make remarkably precise connections.
Actor Jerry Mathers is the host of the American Academy of Neurology Foundation’s latest patient education video and guidebook, Diabetic Nerve Pain: A Guide for Patients and Families. The video and guidebook are aimed at answering important questions for people who suffer from nerve pain due to diabetes and can be viewed and downloaded for free by visiting www.aan.com/patients. Printed copies of the guidebook and video may be purchased at www.aan.com/store.
The effects of nicotine upon brain regions involved in addiction mirror those of cocaine, according to new neuroscience research. A single 15-minute exposure to nicotine caused a long-term increase in the excitability of neurons involved in reward, according to a University of Chicago study published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
A team of researchers is beginning to see exactly what the response to threats looks like in the brain at the cellular and molecular levels.
According to a new study, being overweight or obese during middle age may increase the risk of certain dementias. The research is published in the May 3, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A study by UNC researchers finds that children with autism who had enlarged brains at age 2 continued to have enlarged brains at ages 4 and 5. However, this increased brain growth did not continue beyond age 2, and the changes detected at age 2 were due to overgrowth prior to that time point.
Higher levels of cell chatter boost amyloid beta in the brain regions that Alzheimer’s hits first, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. Amyloid beta is the main ingredient of the plaque lesions that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
In patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH)—a type of stroke caused by bleeding inside the brain—transfusion with red blood cells may improve the chances of survival, reports a study in the May issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered two mutations responsible for a devastating neurological condition they first identified 15 years ago.
In a paper to be published today [April 29, 2011] in the journal “Science,” a team of Boston University researchers under the direction of Michael Hasselmo, professor of psychology and director of Boston University’s Computational Neurophysiology Laboratory, and Mark Brandon, a recent graduate of the Graduate Program for Neuroscience at Boston University, present findings that support the hypothesis that spatial coding by grid cells requires theta rhythm oscillations, and dissociates the mechanisms underlying the generation of entorhinal grid cell periodicity and head-direction selectivity.
Stronger and tougher body armor to shield the chest, abdomen and back may be just what soldiers fighting in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars need to better protect their brains from mild injuries tied to so-called “shell shock,” results of a Johns Hopkins study in mice suggest.
Group appointments where doctors see several people for a longer time may be feasible for Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study published in the April 27, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).
If you’ve ever lost your keys or stuck the milk in the cupboard and the cereal in the refrigerator, you may have been the victim of a tired brain region that was taking a quick nap.
From a glance at the magazine stands, Americans appear obsessed with losing weight, cutting their cardiac risks and seeking to improve their odds against cancer. But where’s the focus on brain health? Dr. Keith L. Black, chairman of Neurosurgery and director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, offers lifestyle tips for those seeking a sensible regimen to bolster brain fitness.
Reporting in Nature Immunology, Jefferson neuroscientists have identified a driving force behind autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), and suggest that blocking this cell-signaling molecule is the first step in developing new treatments to eradicate these diseases.
By shedding new light on how cells migrate in the developing brain, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center also may have found a new mechanism by which other types of cells, including cancer cells, travel within the body.
A team of scientists from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College has shed light on the molecular workings of transporter proteins, molecular machines embedded in the cell membranes of neurons that modulate the transfer of signals between cells and recycle neurotransmitters.
Functional MRI shows that Buddhist meditators use different areas of the brain than other people when confronted with unfair choices, enabling them to make decisions rationally rather than emotionally.
APA News Release that states musical training may enhance brain activity throughout life.
The brain’s hypothalamus plays a key role in obesity and one of its major complications – type 2 diabetes. Nerve cells in the hypothalamus detect nutrients and hormones circulating in the blood and then coordinate a complex series of behavioral and physiological responses to maintain a balance between calories eaten and calories burned. Obesity and diabetes can result when this regulatory mechanism goes awry.
The recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a brain aneurysm device has opened the door for neurosurgeons at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience (JHN) to offer advanced treatment to patients suffering from large or giant aneurysms who otherwise have limited, effective options.
New research suggests that people who are exposed to low levels of sunlight coupled with a history of having a common virus known as mononucleosis may be at greater odds of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) than those without the virus. The research is published in the April 19, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Neurosurgeons at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Toronto Western Hospital, have for the first time, initiated the restoration of lost brain tissue through brain bypass surgery in patients where blood flow to the brain is impaired by cerebrovascular disease. The study, which involved 29 patients, was published online in the journal Stroke.
A new high-flow brain bypass procedure developed by a Saint Louis University surgeon is highlighted on the cover of Neurosurgery.
The circadian system that controls normal sleep patterns is regulated by glial brain cells called astrocytes, according to a study in Current Biology. The research from Tufts provides, for the first time, a good genetic model to study the role of astrocytes in circadian rhythms and sleep disorders.
A Mayo Clinic case study finds Botox may offer new hope to patients suffering disabling low cerebrospinal fluid headaches. The successful treatment also offers new insight into Botox and headache treatment generally. The case study was presented March 13th, 2011 at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Hawaii.
Researchers at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Toronto Western Hospital have identified a cell receptor, which is responsible for cell death in the spinal cord in a condition called Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy (CSM). The findings, published today online in the journal Brain, show that when the cell receptor was blocked, nerve cells were preserved, protecting against loss of motor function.
A new drug called perampanel appears to significantly reduce seizures in people with hard-to-control epilepsy, according to results of the first clinical trial to test the higher 12 mg dose of the drug. The late-breaking research will be presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9–16, 2011, in Honolulu.
Areas of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease may start shrinking up to a decade before dementia is diagnosed, according to a new study published in the April 13, 2011, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).
Treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and other vascular risk factors may help lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in people who already show signs of declining thinking skills or memory problems. The research is published in the April 13, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Subtle differences in brain anatomy among older individuals with normal cognitive skills may be able to predict both the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in the following decade and how quickly symptoms of dementia would develop.
A study on the relationship between multiple sclerosis and chronic cerebral venous insufficiency, a narrowing of the extracranial veins that restricts the normal outflow of blood from the brain, found that CCSVI may be a result of MS, not a cause.
Drugs already in development to treat Alzheimer’s disease may eventually be tapped for a different purpose altogether: re-growing the ends of injured nerves to relieve pain and paralysis. According to a new Johns Hopkins study, experimental compounds originally designed to combat a protein that builds up in Alzheimer’s-addled brains appear to make crushed or cut nerve endings grow back significantly faster, a potential boon for those who suffer from neuropathies or traumatic injuries.
After a century of studying the causes of schizophrenia-the most persistent disabling condition among adults-the cause of the disorder remains unknown. Now induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from schizophrenic patients have brought researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies a step closer to a fundamental understanding of the biological underpinnings of the disease.
McGill researchers suggest malfunctions in neurons that filter visual information may be responsible for diseases such as ADHD and schizophrenia
Tragically, infants experience severe or fatal head trauma as a result of intentional abuse. Shaken baby syndrome, now commonly referred to as non-accidental head trauma, is a serious form of abuse inflicted upon a child. While there have been other studies analyzing the relationship between economic hardship and child abuse, including head trauma, this research focuses specifically on severe head trauma trends in infants.
Of the 4,030 new cases of brain tumors diagnosed in 2010, an estimated 2,880 were in children younger than 15. As many as 15 percent of these pediatric brain tumors occur in the brainstem. Eighty percent of brainstem gliomas (BSG’s) are diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs), an almost always fatal tumor with no effective treatment. Researchers studied the biology of pediatric brainstem glioma in an effort to advance treatment of this leading cause of brain tumor death in children.
There has been increased awareness in the last year related to head injuries incurred in the NFL as well as in collegiate and high school football. While there have been many studies related to concussion in football, and more recently, the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy related to repetitive brain trauma in sports, this is the first in-depth analysis of the biomechanics of subdural hemorrhage formation specific to American football.
Vanderbilt researchers conducting an extensive analysis of studies on traumatic brain injury (TBI), report today that 30 percent of TBI patients, or approximately 360,000 patients each year, will also suffer from depression after their injury. The report, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), examined existing research on civilian blunt force trauma typically resulting from motor vehicle accidents, falls, assaults and sports injuries.
EANS-4th WORLD ICH Congress 2011 to convene key specialists on May 2-5 in NewcastleGateshead.
New evidence suggests that walking on a treadmill at a comfortable speed and for longer duration is the most effective exercise to improve mobility in people with Parkinson’s disease. That’s according to the first randomized trial comparing three types of exercise training in Parkinson’s disease. The late-breaking research will be presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9–16, 2011, in Honolulu.
University of Maryland researchers found that Parkinson's patients who did low intensity training on a treadmill for a longer duration improved their walking more than patients who walked at a higher-intensity for a shorter time.
The American Association of Neuromuscular & and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), in collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPMR), released a new guideline on the most effective treatments for diabetic nerve pain, the burning or tingling pain in the hands and feet that affects millions of people with diabetes.
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