Fishing for memories

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In our interaction with our environment we constantly refer to past experiences stored as memories to guide behavioral decisions. But how memories are formed, stored and then retrieved to assist decision-making remains a mystery. By observing whole-brain activity in live zebrafish, researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute have visualized for the first time how information stored as long-term memory in the cerebral cortex is processed to guide behavioral choices.

New blood test finds allergies before implant surgery

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Imagine what Paula Spurlock must have been going through. Shortly after having a hip replaced in 2011, the trouble started. "I had horrible itching, really bad migraines and intense pain throughout my body," she said. "I couldn't take it. Every single thing in me itched."

Wireless signals could transform brain trauma diagnostics

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Berkeley — New technology developed at the University of California, Berkeley, is using wireless signals to provide real-time, non-invasive diagnoses of brain swelling or bleeding.

The device analyzes data from low energy, electromagnetic waves, similar to the kind used to transmit radio and mobile signals. The technology, described in the May 14 issue of the journal PLOS ONE, could potentially become a cost-effective tool for medical diagnostics and to triage injuries in areas where access to medical care, especially medical imaging, is limited.

Genetic risk for schizophrenia is connected to reduced IQ

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Philadelphia, PA, May 16, 2013 – The relationship between the heritable risk for schizophrenia and low intelligence (IQ) has not been clear. Schizophrenia is commonly associated with cognitive impairments that may cause functional disability. There are clues that reduced IQ may be linked to the risk for developing schizophrenia. For example, reduced cognitive ability may precede the onset of schizophrenia symptoms. Also, these deficits may be present in healthy relatives of people diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Study brings greater understanding of tumor growth mechanism

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A study led by researchers from Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry has for the first time revealed how the loss of a particular tumour suppressing protein leads to the abnormal growth of tumours of the brain and nervous system.

The study is published in Brain: A Journal of Neurology.

Vicious cycle: Obesity sustained by changes in brain biochemistry

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — With obesity reaching epidemic levels in some parts of the world, scientists have only begun to understand why it is such a persistent condition. A study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry adds substantially to the story by reporting the discovery of a molecular chain of events in the brains of obese rats that undermined their ability to suppress appetite and to increase calorie burning.

Long-term ADHD treatment increases brain dopamine transporter levels, may affect drug efficacy

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Long-term treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with certain stimulant medications may alter the density of the dopamine transporter, according to research published May 15 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Gene-Jack Wang and colleagues from Brookhaven National Laboratory and the intramural program at NIH.

Repeat brain injury raises soldiers' suicide risk

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People in the military who suffer more than one mild traumatic brain injury face a significantly higher risk of suicide, according to research by the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah.

A survey of 161 military personnel who were stationed in Iraq and evaluated for a possible traumatic brain injury – also known as TBI – showed that the risk for suicidal thoughts or behaviors increased not only in the short term, as measured during the past 12 months, but during the individual's lifetime.

Brain rewires itself after damage or injury, life scientists discover

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When the brain's primary "learning center" is damaged, complex new neural circuits arise to compensate for the lost function, say life scientists from UCLA and Australia who have pinpointed the regions of the brain involved in creating those alternate pathways — often far from the damaged site.

Study finds 'owning' a darker skin can positively impact racial bias

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Scientists from Royal Holloway University have found that when white Caucasians are under the illusion that they have a dark skin, their racial bias changes in a positive way.

In the study that was funded by the European Research Council and published today in Cognition, the team used the tried and tested Rubber Hand Illusion, where participants are asked to look at a fake hand being touched, while at the same time, the experimenter touches the participants' own hand which is hidden out of view.