Brain | Page 1400 | Science Codex

Stress and depression worsen childhood asthma, UB researchers show

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Young people with asthma have nearly twice the incidence of depression compared to their peers without asthma, and studies have shown that depression is associated with increased asthma symptoms and, in some cases, death.

How stress and depression play upon one another to worsen asthma is a lingering question.

A new study by researchers at the University at Buffalo has shown that depressed children with asthma exhibit a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system along with increased airway compromise.

New study finds 'delinquent behavior among boys contagious'

Montreal, July 16, 2009 – Impulsive boys with inadequate supervision, poor families and deviant friends are more likely to commit criminal acts that land them in juvenile court, according to a new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. The most surprising finding from the 20-year study, conducted by researchers from the Université de Montréal and University of Genoa, was how help provided by the juvenile justice system substantially increased the risk of the boys engaging in criminal activities during early adulthood.

Estrogen can reduce stroke damage by inactivating protein

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Estrogen can halt stroke damage by inactivating a tumor-suppressing protein known to prevent many cancers, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

"Our research suggests that estrogen suppresses p53 after stroke, which stops the damage," says Limor Raz, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the MCG School of Graduate Studies.

P53, the protein in the mitochondria, or powerhouse, of the cell, is known as "the guardian of the genome" because it regulates the cell cycle and prevents genome mutation. It also can prevent cancer by suppressing tumor growth.

Researchers find that eating high levels of fructose impairs memory in rats

ATLANTA — Researchers at Georgia State University have found that diets high in fructose — a type of sugar found in most processed foods and beverages — impaired the spatial memory of adult rats.

Amy Ross, a graduate student in the lab of Marise Parent, associate professor at Georgia State's Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, fed a group of Sprague-Dawley rats a diet where fructose represented 60 percent of calories ingested during the day.

Gliomas exploit immune cells of the brain for rapid expansion

Gliomas are among the most common and most malignant brain tumors. These tumors infiltrate normal brain tissue and grow very rapidly. As a result, surgery can never completely remove the tumor. Now, the neurosurgeons Dr. Darko S. Markovic (Helios Klinikum Berlin-Buch) and Dr. Michael Synowitz (Charité) as well as Dr. Rainer Glass and Professor Helmut Kettenmann (both Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC, Berlin-Buch), have been able to show that glioma cells exploit microglia, the immune cells of the brain, for their expansion (PNAS Early Edition)*.

1 disease, 2 effects: Stroke

BROOMFIELD, CO (July 16, 2009) − Congress is expected to take up legislation this summer aimed at improving the nation's healthcare system. Whatever the shape of the final bill, it will have at least some impact on one of the three leading causes of death in the U.S.: stroke.

Brain's association with reward value linked to childhood adversity

New research shows that childhood adversity is associated with diminished neural activity in brain regions associated with the anticipation of possible rewards.

Scientists at Harvard University used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor brain activity as participants played a game involving cues that predicted monetary rewards and penalties.

Scientists close in on understanding of neuronal migration

The molecular functions that helps brain cells migrate to their correct place in the developing brain has been identified by scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The finding offers insight into the forces that drive brain organization in developing fetuses and children during their first years. Disruption of this brain-patterning machinery can cause epilepsy and mental retardation and understanding it could help such disorders.

Neurobiology discovery could lead to brain disease treatment, prevention

DURHAM, N.C. - Scientists at Duke University and the University of North Carolina have devised a chemical technique that promises to allow neuroscientists to discover the function of any population of neurons in an animal brain, and provide clues to treating and preventing brain disease.

With the technique they describe in the journal Neuron online on July 15, scientists will be able to noninvasively activate entire populations of individual types of neurons within a brain structure.

Single neurons suggest ignorance isn't bliss

New research demonstrates that single neurons in the reward center of the brain process not only primitive rewards but also more abstract, cognitive rewards related to the quest for information about the future. The study, published by Cell Press in the July 16 issue of the journal Neuron, enhances our understanding of learning and suggests that current theories of reward should be revised to include the effect of information seeking.

Timing is everything: Fgf10 keeps brain development on track

LA JOLLA, CA—Just like a conductor cueing musicians in an orchestra, Fgf10, a member of the fibroblast growth factor (Ffg) family of morphogens, lets brain stem cells know that the moment to get to work has arrived, ensuring that they hit their first developmental milestone on time, report scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the July 16, 2009, edition of the journal Neuron.

Vitamin D3, curcumin may lead the way to Alzheimer's prevention

UCLA scientists and colleagues from UC Riverside and the Human BioMolecular Research Institute have found that a form of vitamin D, together with a chemical found in turmeric spice called curcumin, may help stimulate the immune system to clear the brain of amyloid beta, which forms the plaques considered the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

Moon landing anniversary highlights impact of science on society

Forty years ago, on July 20, 1969, the United States achieved an historic first when Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to land on the moon. Armstrong's now famous words, "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," fulfilled the challenge set out nearly a decade earlier by President John F. Kennedy to land a man on the moon.

Phase 3 Alzheimer's drug provides some benefit if you don't mind increases in toxic beta amyloid in the brain

Immunotherapy targets Alzheimer's tau tangles and more doctors are diagnosing and treating mild cognitive impairment

Vienna, July 15, 2009 – New insights into how a Phase III Alzheimer's drug might work were among the advances in potential therapies targeting two abnormal brain proteins – beta amyloid and phosphorylated tau – that were reported today at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.

Short-term memory found in 30-week-old fetuses

Memory probably begins during the prenatal period, but little is known about the exact timing or for how long memory lasts. Now in a new study from the Netherlands, scientists have found fetal short-term memory in fetuses at 30 weeks.

The study provides insights into fetal development and may help address and prevent abnormalities. Published in the July/August 2009 issue of the journal Child Development, it was conducted by researchers at Maastricht University Medical Centre and the University Medical Centre St. Radboud.