Brain

Wallerian degeneration is a subject of major interest in neuroscience. A large number of genes are differentially regulated during the distinct stages of Wallerian degeneration: transcription factor activation, immune response, myelin cell differentiation and dedifferentiation. Although gene expression responses in the distal segment of the sciatic nerve after peripheral nerve injury are known, differences in gene expression between the proximal and distal segments remain unclear. Dr.

The use of iodine-125 (125I) in cancer treatment has been shown to relieve patients' pain. Considering dorsal root ganglia are critical for neural transmission between the peripheral and central nervous systems, Dr. Tengda Zhang and colleagues from Institute of Radiation Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China assumed that 125I could be implanted into rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) to provide relief for neuropathic pain. 125I seeds with different radioactivity (0, 14.8, 29.6 MBq) were implanted separately into the vicinity of the L5 DRG.

Progress in developing robust therapies for spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and peripheral nerve injury has been slow. A great deal has been learned over the past 30 years regarding both the intrinsic factors and the environmental factors that regulate axon growth, but this large body of information has not yet resulted in clinically available therapeutics. Prof.

Between 3 and 6% of schoolchildren suffer from an arithmetic-related learning disability. Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich now show that these children are also more likely to exhibit deficits in reading and spelling than had been previously suspected.

Embryonic stem cells can develop into a multitude of cells types. Researchers would like to understand how to channel that development into the specific types of mature cells that make up the organs and other structures of living organisms.

One key seems to be long chains of sugars that dangle from proteins on surfaces of cells.

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a chemical alteration in a single human gene linked to stress reactions that, if confirmed in larger studies, could give doctors a simple blood test to reliably predict a person's risk of attempting suicide.

New research by academics in the University of Bristol's Nutrition and Behaviour Unit (NBU) has looked into whether we take liquid calories into account when planning meals.

The research, to be presented at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior Conference (SSIB 2014) in Seattle, USA this week [29 July to 2 August], argues that we do.

The team was led by Professor Jeff Brunstrom, and is based in the School of Experimental Psychology.

Folate is a naturally occurring form of vitamin B found in food, while folic acid is synthetically produced and used in fortified foods and supplements.

It is well known that taking folic acid before and during early pregnancy reduces the risk of neural tube defects like spina bifida. The current recommended dose is 400 ìg (micrograms) a day, but it is still not clear exactly how much daily folic acid is needed to prevent neural tube defects.

7/29/2014, Seattle, WA. Our brain's response to the sight of food appears to be driven more by how low our blood sugar level is at the moment than our upbringing or genetics, researchers said at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior. "The finding suggest our brains have a way to override our genetic inheritance, upbringing and habits to respond to our immediate nutritional needs," said Dr. Ellen Schur, associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington.

7/29/2014, Seattle, WA. Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that daily consumption of beverages sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup or sucrose can impair the ability to learn and remember information, particularly when consumption occurs during adolescence. Both adult and adolescent rats were given daily access to sugar-sweetened beverages that mirror sugar concentrations found in common soft drinks.

7/29/2014, Seattle, WA. Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, describes a way that brain chemistry may make some people notice food more easily, which can tempt overeating even in people who are not overweight. Dopamine activity in the striatum, an area of the brain sensitive to food reward, was linked to how quickly men noticed a food picture hidden among neutral pictures.

7/29/2014, Seatle, WA. Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, suggests that the amount time parents spend on food preparation at home influences children's food intake decisions made in the laboratory without parental supervision.

Seattle, WA. 7/29/20134. New research by academics in the University of Bristol's Nutrition and Behaviour Unit (NBU) has looked into whether we take liquid calories into account when planning meals.

The research, to be presented at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior Conference (SSIB 2014) in Seattle, USA this week [29 July to 2 August], argues that we do.

The team was led by Professor Jeff Brunstrom, and is based in the School of Experimental Psychology.

A study published today [Weds July 30] in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry indicates that middle-aged adults with a history of problem drinking are more than twice as likely to suffer from severe memory impairment in later life.

The study highlights the hitherto largely unknown link between harmful patterns of alcohol consumption and problems with memory later in life – problems which may place people at a high risk of developing dementia.

Standard scores measuring "adaptive behavior" in boys with fragile X syndrome tend to decline during childhood and adolescence, the largest longitudinal study of the inherited disorder to date has found.