Brain | Page 1421 | Science Codex

Scripps Florida scientists devise accelerated method to determine infectious prion strains

JUPITER, FL, May 28, 2009 –Current tests to identify specific strains of infectious prions, which cause a range of transmissible diseases (such as mad cow) in animals and humans, can take anywhere from six months to a year to yield results – a time-lag that may put human populations at risk.

Now, a group of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute's Florida campus have developed a new method that cuts this critical time lag by several months.

The new research was published in the open-access journal PLoS ONE on May 29, 2009.

How do filicide offenders differ from other murderers?

People who commit filicide, the killing of their own child, are no more psychotically disordered than other homicide offenders. Research published in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry has shown that prevention of filicide cannot remain the task of psychiatry alone, but health care and society at large must work to prevent the danger.

Small molecule inhibitor shows promise in trastuzumab-resistant metastatic breast cancer

ORLANDO (June 1, 2009)—Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers report that a combination of trastuzumab and neratinib (HKI-272) a novel small molecule inhibitor of the HER2 receptor (ErbB2) appears active in women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who have progressed on previous trastuzumab based therapies. More than one-quarter of the women in a phase I/II trial had their tumors shrink on the combination therapy.

Stanford study expands window for effective stroke treatment

STANFORD, Calif. — Once symptoms start, there's only a tiny window of time for stroke victims to get life-saving treatment. Now, research from the Stanford University School of Medicine has cracked that window open a bit wider.

If a patient arrives at the emergency room within three hours of experiencing stroke symptoms, doctors can administer a potent clot-busting medication and often save critical brain tissue. But if more than three hours have passed, current clinical guidelines say the medication should not be used.

Few pharmacies can translate prescription labels into Spanish

CHICAGO --- Surprisingly few pharmacies in the U.S. are able to translate prescription medication instructions into Spanish, making it difficult for patients who speak only Spanish to understand how to take their medications properly, according to a new study from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Flipping the brain's addiction switch without drugs

When someone becomes dependent on drugs or alcohol, the brain's pleasure center gets hijacked, disrupting the normal functioning of its reward circuitry.

Researchers investigating this addiction "switch" have now implicated a naturally occurring protein, a dose of which allowed them to get rats hooked with no drugs at all.

The research will be published Friday in the journal Science.

MIT: Long-distance brain waves focus attention

Just as our world buzzes with distractions — from phone calls to e-mails to tweets — the neurons in our brain are bombarded with messages. Research has shown that when we pay attention, some of these neurons begin firing in unison, like a chorus rising above the noise. Now, a study in the May 29 issue of Science reveals the likely brain center that serves as the conductor of this neural chorus.

Brain's object recognition system activated by touch alone

Portions of the brain that activate when people view pictures of objects compared to scrambled images can also be activated by touch alone, confirms a new report published online on May 28th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

"That's the nub of the paper," said Harriet Allen of the University of Birmingham. "Part of the brain is for object processing irrespective of the sensory input coming in."

Cottonseed-based drug shows promise in treating severe brain cancer

BIRMNGHAM, Ala. – An experimental drug derived from cottonseed shows promise in treating the recurrence of glioblastoma multiforme, widely considered the most lethal brain cancer, said researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

The new results are from a Phase II clinical trial of AT-101, a pill manufactured from a potent compound in cottonseed that overcomes the abnormal growth patterns of tumor cells. This cottonseed-based agent must be properly dosed and monitored by physicians.

Common migraine pain condition also prevalent in cluster headache

(PHILADELPHIA) A pain condition common in people with migraines also has a high prevalence in patients with cluster headache, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Jefferson Headache Center at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience.

Approximately half of a group of patients with cluster headaches experienced cutaneous allodynia, a condition that causes patients to have pain as a response to normally inconspicuous sensations, according to Michael Marmura, M.D., assistant professor of Neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.

New mouse model of depression/anxiety enhances understanding of antidepressant drugs

A recent study finds that the antidepressant effects of drugs like Prozac involve both neurogenesis-dependent and -independent mechanisms, a finding that may lead to development of better treatments for depression and anxiety. The research, published by Cell Press in the May 28th issue of the journal Neuron, utilizes a new experimental mouse model of depression/anxiety that is the first to permit simultaneous examination of multiple effects of antidepressant treatment in the same animal.

Stay or go? Neural mechanisms of strategic decision making

A new study demonstrates that when faced with a difficult decision, the human brain calls upon multiple neural systems that code for different sorts of behaviors and strategies. The research, published by Cell Press in the May 28th issue of the journal Neuron, provides intriguing insight into the mechanisms that help the human brain rise to the formidable challenge of adaptive decision making in the real world.

Brain activation can predict the strategies people use to make risky decisions

DURHAM, N.C. – Watching people's brains in real time as they handle a set of decision-making problems can reveal how different each person's strategy can be, according to neuroscientists at the Duke University Medical Center.

Male or female? Coloring provides gender cues

Montreal, May 27, 2009 -- Our brain is wired to identify gender based on facial cues and coloring, according to a new study published in the Journal of Vision. Psychology Professor Frédéric Gosselin and his Université de Montréal team found the luminescence of the eyebrow and mouth region is vital in rapid gender discrimination.

Minor league hockey players unable to identify concussion symptoms, study says

TORONTO, Ont., May 28, 2009 — When Chicago Blackhawk's leading scorer Martin Havlat returned to the ice for game four of the Western Conference Final after sustaining a concussion only two days earlier, questions were raised surrounding his swift return. According to a new study by St. Michael's Hospital neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Cusimano, similar questions were raised by 25% of minor league hockey players who did not know if an athlete with symptoms of a concussion should continue to play hockey.