Brain

Proteomic analysis of immunocamouflaged surfaces

Proteomic analysis of immunocamouflaged surfaces

Chronic pain is relieved by cell transplantation in lab study

Chronic pain is relieved by cell transplantation in lab study

Chronic pain, by definition, is difficult to manage, but a new study by UCSF scientists shows how a cell therapy might one day be used not only to quell some common types of persistent and difficult-to-treat pain, but also to cure the conditions that give rise to them.

The researchers, working with mice, focused on treating chronic pain that arises from nerve injury -- so-called neuropathic pain.

Feeling strong emotions makes peoples' brains 'tick together'

Feeling strong emotions makes peoples' brains 'tick together'

Experiencing strong emotions synchronises brain activity across individuals, research team at Aalto University and Turku PET Centre in Finland has revealed.

Human emotions are highly contagious. Seeing others' emotional expressions such as smiles triggers often the corresponding emotional response in the observer. Such synchronisation of emotional states across individuals may support social interaction: When all group members share a common emotional state, their brains and bodies process the environment in a similar fashion.

From stem cell to brain cell - new technique mimics the brain

A new technique that converts stem cells into brain cells has been developed by researchers at Lund University. The method is simpler, quicker and safer than previous research has shown and opens the doors to a shorter route to clinical cell transplants.

First study to suggest that the immune system may protect against Alzheimer's changes in humans

Recent work in mice suggested that the immune system is involved in removing beta-amyloid, the main Alzheimer's-causing substance in the brain. Researchers have now shown for the first time that this may apply in humans.

Low vitamin D in diet increases stroke risk in Japanese-Americans

Japanese-American men who did not eat foods rich in vitamin D had a higher risk of stroke later in life, according to results of a 34-year study reported in Stroke, an American Heart Association journal.

"Our study confirms that eating foods rich in vitamin D might be beneficial for stroke prevention," said Gotaro Kojima, M.D., lead author of the study and geriatric medicine fellow at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.

'Personality genes' may help account for longevity

Stanford psychologists examine how race affects juvenile sentencing

When it comes to holding children accountable for crimes they commit, race matters.

According to a new study by Stanford psychologists, if people imagine a juvenile offender to be black, they are more willing to hand down harsher sentences to all juveniles.

"These results highlight the fragility of protections for juveniles when race is in play," said Aneeta Rattan, lead author of the study, which appears this week in the journal PLoS ONE.

Business students better equipped to evaluate peers

Montreal, May 24, 2012 – Peer evaluation is a touchstone of many business school classes. But does the process of rating the work of one's classmates really shape better businesspeople? A new study from Concordia's John Molson School of Business, published in the journal of the Academy of Management Learning and Education, answers that question with a resounding yes.

Max Planck Florida Institute study: Persistent sensory experience is good for aging brain

Despite a long-held scientific belief that much of the wiring of the brain is fixed by the time of adolescence, a new study shows that changes in sensory experience can cause massive rewiring of the brain, even as one ages. In addition, the study found that this rewiring involves fibers that supply the primary input to the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain that is responsible for sensory perception, motor control and cognition. These findings promise to open new avenues of research on brain remodeling and aging.