Brain | Page 320 | Science Codex

Computerized rehab aids those suffering from brain injuries

(Boston) -- For the first time, researchers have shown that computerized cognitive rehabilitation (a program to help brain-injured or otherwise cognitively impaired individuals to restore normal functioning) can improve attention and executive functioning in brain injury survivors including traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke.

The findings, which appear online in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, may lead to improved treatment outcomes in patients with brain injury, especially for patients with limited mobility and means and those residing in rural areas.

Study examines euthanasia, assisted suicide of patients with psychiatric disorders

A review of euthanasia or assisted suicide (EAS) cases among patients with psychiatric disorders in the Netherlands found that most had chronic, severe conditions, with histories of attempted suicides and hospitalizations, and were described as socially isolated or lonely, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry.

Rise in marijuana use not as high as previously reported

Marijuana use is on the rise, with an estimated 12.5 percent of adults living in the United States reportedly using the drug at least once in 2013, according to a new study that looked at drug usage over the span of a decade.

But that research, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, also shows that the rate of pot use did not double from 2002 to 2013 -- as had been reported in the fall -- and that the rate of problems related to the drug remained steady.

Whooping cranes' predatory behavior key for adaptation, survival

KNOXVILLE--The whooping crane, with its snowy white plumage and trumpeting call, is one of the most beloved American birds, and one of the most endangered. As captive-raised cranes are re-introduced in Louisiana, they are gaining a new descriptor: natural killer.

A new study from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, suggests Louisiana cranes are faring well thanks in part to their penchant for hunting reptiles and amphibians.

Exercise and meditation -- together -- help beat depression

Meditation and aerobic exercise done together helps reduce depression, according to a new Rutgers study.

The study, published in Translational Psychiatry this month, found that this mind and body combination - done twice a week for only two months - reduced the symptoms for a group of students by 40 percent.

Drones learn to search forest trails for lost people

Every year, thousands of people lose their way in forests and mountain areas. In Switzerland alone, emergency centers respond to around 1,000 calls annually from injured and lost hikers. But drones can effectively complement the work of rescue services teams. Because they are inexpensive and can be rapidly deployed in large numbers, they substantially reduce the response time and the risk of injury to missing persons and rescue teams alike.

New study reveals that prelinguistic infants can categorize colors

A joint group of researchers from Chuo University, Japan Women's University and Tohoku University has revealed that infants aged between 5 and 7 months hold the representation of color categories in their brain, even before the acquisition of language.

This study is published in the online journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A.

BMJ collaborates with UCSF on e-learning program for researchers

BMJ, a global healthcare knowledge provider, has joined forces with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), a world leader in biomedical research, to provide self-study online modules for doctors and healthcare researchers to develop their research skills and become published authors.

Research to Publication is an e-learning programme for doctors, researchers and students everywhere. It will be of particular interest to early career researchers and to institutions in developing countries seeking to build their research capacity.

Scientific study review reveals health promoting potential of red raspberries

LYNDEN, WA, Feb. 10, 2016 - Components in red raspberries may have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and metabolic stabilizing activity, according to a comprehensive review of the available scientific literature published in the January issue of Advances in Nutrition. These properties shed light on the potential role of red raspberries in helping to reduce the risk of metabolically-based chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and Alzheimer's disease: all of which share critical metabolic, oxidative, inflammatory links.

Attention problems persist in childhood leukemia survivors treated with chemotherapy alone

Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients treated with chemotherapy alone remain at risk for attention and learning problems that persist after treatment ends, according to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators. The research appears online this week in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Teaching neurons to respond to placebos as potential treatment for Parkinson's

They found that it is possible to turn a neuron which previously hasn't responded to placebos (placebo 'non-responder' neuron) into a placebo 'responder' by conditioning Parkinson patients with apomorphine, a dopaminergic drug used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD).

Starfish reveal the origins of brain messenger molecules

Biologists from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have discovered the genes in starfish that encode neuropeptides - a common type of chemical found in human brains. The revelation gives researchers new insights into how neural function evolved in the animal kingdom.

Publishing in the Royal Society journal Open Biology, the team led by Professor Maurice Elphick at QMUL's School of Biological and Chemical Sciences report 40 new neuropeptide genes discovered for the first time in the common European starfish Asterias rubens.

Childhood maltreatment predicts range of negative outcomes in bipolar patients

Child maltreatment could predict a range of negative outcomes in patients with bipolar disorder (BD), according to new King's College London research, which adds to growing evidence on the enduring mental health impact of childhood abuse and neglect.

Penn Medicine 'brain road maps' reflect behavior differences between males and females

PHILADELPHIA -- Differences in the neural wiring across development of men and women across ages, matched behavioral differences commonly associated with each of the sexes, according to an imaging-based study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published February 1 in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

In autism, the social benefits of being a girl

Infant girls at risk for autism pay more attention to social cues in faces than infant boys, according to a Yale School of Medicine study -- the first one known to prospectively examine sex-related social differences in at-risk infants.