BOSTON, Mass. (August 26, 2009) — For over a century, scientists have been using electrical stimulation to explore and treat the human brain. The technique has helped identify regions responsible for specific neural functions—for instance, the motor cortex and pleasure center—and has been used to treat a variety of conditions from Parkinson's disease to depression. Yet no one has been able to see what actually happens at the cellular level when the brain is electrically prodded.
Brain
Whitehead Institute researchers have shown that mutations associated with prion diseases are sufficient to cause a transmissible neurodegenerative disease. The discovery is reported in the journal Neuron.
Until now, two theories about the role mutations play in prion diseases have been at odds. According to one theory, mutations make carriers more susceptible to prions in the environment. Alternatively, mutations themselves might cause the disease and the spontaneous generation of transmissible prions.
In a new study, researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro), McGill University have found an important mechanism involved in setting up the vast communications network of connections in the brain.
A new study using brain imaging to study teen behavior indicates that adolescents who engage in dangerous activities have frontal white matter tracts that are more adult in form than their more conservative peers.
The brain goes through a course of maturation during adolescence and does not reach its adult form until the mid-twenties. A long-standing theory of adolescent behavior has assumed that this delayed brain maturation is the cause of impulsive and dangerous decisions in adolescence. The new study, using a new form of brain imaging, calls into question this theory.
Rockville, MD – When the eyes move, objects in the line of sight suddenly jump to a different place on the retina, but the mind perceives the scene as stable and continuous. A new study reports that the brain predicts the consequences of eye movement even before the eyes take in a new scene.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study shows just what it takes to convince a person that he isn't qualified to achieve the career of his dreams.
Researchers found that it's not enough to tell people they don't have the skills or the grades to make their goal a reality.
People will cling to their dreams until they're clearly shown not only why they're not qualified, but also what bad things can happen if they pursue their goals and fail.
Obesity is on a rampage, with the World Health Organization pegging the numbers at more than 300 million worldwide, with a billion more overweight. With obesity comes the increased risk for cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes, and hypertension.
The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) was commissioned by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) to investigate whether patients with depression benefit from taking drugs belonging to the selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) drug class. Up till now, 2 of these drugs have been approved as antidepressants in Germany: venlafaxine and duloxetine. The Institute published its final report on 18 August.
OAK BROOK, Ill. – Researchers in Finland have identified an effective new treatment option for patients who have suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm, a potentially life-threatening event. Results of the new study on stent-assisted coil embolization were published today in the online edition of Radiology.
With more than 1,500 eyes, not much escapes the fruit fly's sight. Now, a new research report in the journal GENETICS (http://www.genetics.org), describes how researchers from the United States and Ireland used those eyes to "see" new proteins necessary for memory. In addition to shedding light on this critical neurological process, the study also provides information on a form of mental retardation in humans.
Medically, crying is known to be a symptom of physical pain or stress. But now a Tel Aviv University evolutionary biologist looks to empirical evidence showing that tears have emotional benefits and can make interpersonal relationships stronger.
New analysis by Dr. Oren Hasson of TAU's Department of Zoology shows that tears still signal physiological distress, but they also function as an evolution-based mechanism to bring people closer together.
University Park, PA -- When it comes to potential mates, women may be as complicated as men claim they are, according to psychologists.
At present, diagnosis of concussions is based primarily on the patient's accident history and on clinical examinations that check for common concussion symptoms including headache, dizziness and behavioral abnormalities. There is no way of knowing from these exams who will suffer the most severe consequences and who will recover quickly. The results of the Einstein study indicates DTI scanning could provide a more objective way to diagnose concussions, determine whether brain injury has actually occurred following trauma, and possibly to predict the lasting loss of executive function.
Parkinson's disease is caused by the degeneration of neurons in the midbrain. The mechanisms leading to the loss of these neurons, however, are largely unknown. Recent research revealed that about ten per cent of cases are caused by defects in so-called Parkinson-associated genes. Furthermore, mitochondria, the cellular powerhouses, seem to play a major role. New results from researchers at the LMU Munich under the lead of associate professor Dr.
A type of partial epilepsy associated with auditory and visual hallucinations has been linked to the disruption of brain development during early childhood, according to a new study.
The results in Nature Medicine describe the first genetic link between childhood brain development and a seizure disorder that lasts throughout adulthood, and also identify a new pathway that controls how neuron circuits are "pruned" and matured.