Brain | Page 552 | Science Codex

Deconstructing goal-oriented movement

Our human brains are filled with maps: visual maps of our external environments, and motor maps that define how we interact physically within those environments. Somehow these separate points of reference need to correspond with — and to — one another in order for us to act, whether it's grasping a coffee cup or hitting a tennis ball.

How that happens is the focus of a new study by scientists at UC Santa Barbara. The researchers used neuroimaging to decode how the brain transforms sensory input into action. Their findings are reported in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Antidepressant may slow Alzheimer's disease

A commonly prescribed antidepressant can reduce production of the main ingredient in Alzheimer's brain plaques, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Pennsylvania.

The findings, in mice and people, are published May 14 in Science Translational Medicine. They support preliminary mouse studies that evaluated a variety of antidepressants.

Can anti-depressants help prevent Alzheimer's disease?

PHILADELPHIA – A University of Pennsylvania researcher has discovered that the common selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram arrested the growth of amyloid beta, a peptide in the brain that clusters in plaques that are thought to trigger the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Victims want to change, not just punish, offenders

Revenge is a dish best served with a side of change.

A series of experiments conducted by researchers affiliated with Princeton University has found that punishment is only satisfying to victims if the offenders change their attitude as a result of the punishment.

"Revenge is only 'sweet' if the person reacts with a change in attitude, if the person understands that what they did was wrong. It is not the act itself that makes punishment satisfying," said Friederike Funk, a Princeton graduate student in psychology and one of the researchers.

Possible new plan of attack for opening and closing the blood-brain barrier

Like a bouncer at an exclusive nightclub, the blood-brain barrier allows only select molecules to pass from the bloodstream into the fluid that bathes the brain. Vital nutrients get in; toxins and pathogens are blocked. The barrier also ensures that waste products are filtered out of the brain and whisked away.

Researchers discover how DHA omega-3 fatty acid reaches the brain

It is widely believed that DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is good for your brain, but how it is absorbed by the brain has been unknown. That is - until now. Researchers from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore (Duke-NUS) have conducted a new study identifying that the transporter protein Mfsd2a carries DHA to the brain. Their findings have widespread implications for how DHA functions in human nutrition.

Strongly interacting electrons in wacky oxide synchronize to work like the brain

Current computing is based on binary logic -- zeroes and ones -- also called Boolean computing, but a new type of computing architecture stores information in the frequencies and phases of periodic signals and could work more like the human brain using a fraction of the energy necessary for today's computers, according to a team of engineers.

Bioethics commission plays early role in BRAIN Initiative

Washington, DC— Calling for the integration of ethics across the life of neuroscientific research endeavors, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) released volume one of its two-part response to President Obama's request related to the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative.

Researchers ID changes that may occur in neural circuits due to cocaine addiction

(NEW YORK – May 14) –– A research team from the Friedman Brain Institute of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai published evidence showing that subtle changes of inhibitory signaling in the reward pathway can change how animals respond to drugs such as cocaine. This is the first study to demonstrate the critical links between the levels of the trafficking protein, the potassium channels' effect on neuronal activity and a mouse's response to cocaine. Results from the study are published in the peer-reviewed journal Neuron earlier this month.

Relationship satisfaction linked with changing use of contraception

Women's sexual satisfaction in long-term heterosexual relationships may be influenced by changes in hormonal contraceptive use, research from the University of Stirling shows.

The study, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, was carried out by researchers from the universities of Stirling, Glasgow, Newcastle, Northumbria and Charles University in Prague.

The International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR)

ATLANTA, GA (May 14, 2014) -- The International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), a scientific and professional organization devoted to advancing knowledge about autism spectrum disorders, convened more than 1700 researchers, delegates, autism specialists and students from 40 countries for the 13th Annual International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR), the world's largest scientific gathering on autism research, from May 15 through May 17 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, GA.

@millennials wary of @twitter, #MSU study finds

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- A new study indicates young adults have a healthy mistrust of the information they read on Twitter.

Nearly anyone can start a Twitter account and post 140 characters of information at a time, bogus or not, a fact the study's participants seemed to grasp, said Kimberly Fenn, assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State University.

"Our findings suggest young people are somewhat wary of information that comes from Twitter," said Fenn, lead investigator on the study. "It's a good sign."

Primates and patience -- the evolutionary roots of self control

Lincoln, Neb., May 14, 2014 – A chimpanzee will wait more than two minutes to eat six grapes, but a black lemur would rather eat two grapes now than wait any longer than 15 seconds for a bigger serving.

It's an echo of the dilemma human beings face with a long line at a posh restaurant. How long are they willing to wait for the five-star meal? Or do they head to a greasy spoon to eat sooner?

Many schools are neglecting students' health and wellbeing, warn experts

Many schools in England are neglecting – and may be actively harming - students' health and wellbeing, warn experts in an editorial published on bmj.com today. Professor Chris Bonell at the Institute of Education and colleagues argue that education policy shouldn't focus solely on academic attainment.

Education policy in England "increasingly encourages schools to maximise students' academic attainment and ignore their broader wellbeing, personal development, and health," they write.

Role of calcium in familial Alzheimer's disease clarified, pointing to new therapeutics

PHILADELPHIA – In 2008 researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania showed that mutations in two proteins associated with familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) disrupt the flow of calcium ions within neurons. The two proteins interact with a calcium release channel in an intracellular compartment. Mutant forms of these proteins that cause FAD, but not the normal proteins, result in exaggerated calcium signaling in the cell.