Brain | Page 569 | Science Codex

BUSM researchers find anti-seizure drug may reduce alcohol consumption

Boston—Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered that the anti-seizure drug ezogabine, reduced alcohol consumption in an experimental model. The findings, reported in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, may lead to more effective treatments for alcoholism.

Excessive consumption of alcohol is one of the leading causes of illness and death in the U.S. and has significant negative economic impact by limiting the productivity of workers and necessitating huge health care expenditures.

Study IDs new cause of brain bleeding immediately after stroke

Irvine, Calif., April 17, 2014 — By discovering a new mechanism that allows blood to enter the brain immediately after a stroke, researchers at UC Irvine and the Salk Institute have opened the door to new therapies that may limit or prevent stroke-induced brain damage.

Research points to potential treatment strategy for Fragile X syndrome

With no cure available, Fragile X syndrome is the most common form of inherited intellectual disability. Individuals with the syndrome cannot produce enough of a protein—called the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP)—whose function has remained somewhat mysterious. Now researchers, reporting online April 17 in the Cell Press journal Molecular Cell, show that the FMRP protein regulates the machinery within a cell that is responsible for generating all functional proteins.

For resetting circadian rhythms, neural cooperation is key

Fruit flies are pretty predictable when it comes to scheduling their days, with peaks of activity at dawn and dusk and rest times in between. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports on April 17th have found that the clusters of brain cells responsible for each of those activity peaks—known as the morning and evening oscillators, respectively—don't work alone. For flies' internal clocks to follow the sun, cooperation is key.

Neurons in the brain tune into different frequencies for different spatial memory tasks

Your brain transmits information about your current location and memories of past locations over the same neural pathways using different frequencies of a rhythmic electrical activity called gamma waves, report neuroscientists at The University of Texas at Austin.

The research, published in the journal Neuron on April 17, may provide insight into the cognitive and memory disruptions seen in diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's, in which gamma waves are disturbed.

Rapid whole-brain imaging with single cell resolution

A major challenge of systems biology is understanding how phenomena at the cellular scale correlate with activity at the organism level. A concerted effort has been made especially in the brain, as scientists are aiming to clarify how neural activity is translated into consciousness and other complex brain activities. One example of the technologies needed is whole-brain imaging at single-cell resolution.

How vision makes sure that little fish do not get carried away

This news release is available in German.

Fear of the cuckoo mafia

If a restaurant owner fails to pay the protection money demanded of him, he can expect his premises to be trashed. Warnings like these are seldom required, however, as fear of the consequences is enough to make restaurant owners pay up. Similarly, mafia-like behaviour is observed in parasitic birds, which lay their eggs in other birds' nests. If the host birds throw the cuckoo's egg out, the brood parasites take their revenge by destroying the entire nest. Consequently, it is beneficial for hosts to be capable of learning and to cooperate.

Classifying cognitive styles across disciplines

Educators have tried to boost learning by focusing on differences in learning styles. Management consultants tout the impact that different decision-making styles have on productivity. Various fields have developed diverse approaches to understanding the way people process information. A new report from psychological scientists aims to integrate these disciplines by offering a new, integrated framework of cognitive styles that bridges different terminologies, concepts, and approaches.

IU cognitive scientists use 'I spy' to show spoken language helps direct children's eyes

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In a new study, Indiana University cognitive scientists Catarina Vales and Linda Smith demonstrate that children spot objects more quickly when prompted by words than if they are only prompted by images.

Distracted driving among teens threatens public health and safety

Philadelphia, PA, April 17, 2014 – Motor vehicle crashes rank as the leading cause of teen deaths and in 2008, 16% of all distraction-related fatal automobile crashes involved drivers under 20 years of age. These grim statistics, coupled with an increasing nationwide awareness of the dangers of distracted driving for all ages, prompted the publication of an important supplement to the Journal of Adolescent Health that explores the causes of distracted driving and offers practical recommendations to reduce the incidence of distracted driving among teens.

Off-season doesn't allow brain to recover from football hits, study says

Six months off may not be long enough for the brains of football players to completely heal after a single season, putting them at even greater risk of head injury the next season.

"I don't want to be an alarmist, but this is something to be concerned about," said Jeffrey J. Bazarian, M.D., associate professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and lead author of the study, published in PLOS ONE.

The surprising consequences of banning chocolate milk

Removing flavored milk from cafeterias decreases added sugar, yet the economic and nutritional costs warrant reconsidering a less restrictive policy. Nicole Zammit, former Assistance Director of Nutrition Services at Eugene School District, was not surprised that banning chocolate milk had negative consequences.

In old age, lack of emotion and interest may signal your brain is shrinking

MINNEAPOLIS – Older people who have apathy but not depression may have smaller brain volumes than those without apathy, according to a new study published in the April 16, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Apathy is a lack of interest or emotion.

Atypical brain connectivity associated with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in adolescents appears to be associated with atypical connectivity in the brain involving the systems that help people infer what others are thinking and understand the meaning of others' actions and emotions.

The ability to navigate and thrive in complex social systems is commonly impaired in ASD, a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting as many as 1 in 88 children.