Brain | Page 730 | Science Codex

Chips that mimic the brain

No computer works as efficiently as the human brain – so much so that building an artificial brain is the goal of many scientists. Neuroinformatics researchers from the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich have now made a breakthrough in this direction by understanding how to configure so-called neuromorphic chips to imitate the brain's information processing abilities in real-time. They demonstrated this by building an artificial sensory processing system that exhibits cognitive abilities.

New approach: simulating biological neurons

Scientists identify key to learning new words

For the first time scientists have identified how a pathway in the brain which is unique to humans allows us to learn new words.

The average adult's vocabulary consists of about 30,000 words. This ability seems unique to humans as even the species closest to us -- chimps -- manage to learn no more than 100.

Learning a language depends on good connection between regions of the left hemisphere of the brain

Language is a uniquely human ability. The average person's vocabulary consists of about thirty thousand words, although there are individual differences in the ability to learn a new language. It has long been believed that language acquisition depends on the integration of the information between motor and auditory representation of words in the brain, but the neural mechanisms that lie behind learning new words remained unclear.

How to manage concussions

Concussions, the most common traumatic brain injury, can have serious long-term health effects; therefore, diagnosis and management of these injuries are important. A primer published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) provides physicians with current approaches to diagnosing and managing concussions in patients.

When college diversity delivers benefits: UMD study

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The benefits of race-conscious college admissions are only fully realized under certain conditions, concludes new University of Maryland-led research. To stimulate meaningful cross-racial engagement, incoming freshman classes should reflect both racial and socio-economic diversity, the researchers report.

The peer-reviewed study appears in the June 2013 issue of the "American Educational Research Journal." The researchers say their study is the first to test empirically how socio-economic diversity affects racial interaction in colleges.

Melatonin pre-treatment is a factor that impacts stem cell survival after transplantation

Putnam Valley, NY. -- When melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland, was used as a pre-treatment for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) prior to their transplantation into the brains of laboratory animals to repair damage from stroke, researchers in China found that the stem cells survived longer after transplantation. Previous studies had shown that 80 percent of transplanted MSCs died within 72 hours of transplantation. By contrast, the melatonin pre-treatment "greatly increased" cell survival, said the researchers.

The love hormone is 2-faced

CHICAGO --- It turns out the love hormone oxytocin is two-faced. Oxytocin has long been known as the warm, fuzzy hormone that promotes feelings of love, social bonding and well-being. It's even being tested as an anti-anxiety drug. But new Northwestern Medicine® research shows oxytocin also can cause emotional pain, an entirely new, darker identity for the hormone.

Oxytocin appears to be the reason stressful social situations, perhaps being bullied at school or tormented by a boss, reverberate long past the event and can trigger fear and anxiety in the future.

Electroacupuncture is effective for post-stroke detrusor overactivity

Detrusor overactivity is common after stroke, and is characterized by frequent micturition and urinary incontinence. However, the optimal treatment for post-stroke detrusor overactivity remains unclear. According to a study reported in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No.

Chinese herbal medicines are safe and effective for vascular dementia

Chinese herbal medicine, which has been used for thousands of years in China, has long been considered an effective treatment for vascular dementia. There are already meta-analyses of the effects of herbal extracts (ginkgo biloba and huperzine A) on vascular dementia. However, there has been no systematic review of the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicines for vascular dementia, despite its wide use in clinical practice. A recent study published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No.

Lentivirus carrying target genes infects normal rat cochlea

A recent study published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 17, 2013) injected recombinant lentivirus carrying enhanced green fluorescent protein and the target gene Atoh1 into the cochlea of normal rats using a postauricular approach via the round window membrane. After 30 days, recombinant lentivirus was shown to have no impact on the hair cell numbers and auditory functions, infect hair and supporting cells, and promote supporting cells to transdifferentiate into hair cells.

MS research could help repair damage affecting nerves

Multiple sclerosis treatments that repair damage to the brain could be developed thanks to new research.

A study has shed light on how cells are able to regenerate protective sheaths around nerve fibres in the brain.

These sheaths, made up of a substance called myelin, are critical for the quick transmission of nerve signals, enabling vision, sensation and movement, but break down in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

The study, by the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge, found that immune cells, known as macrophages, help trigger the regeneration of myelin.

Failure to destroy toxic protein -- not buildup of protein itself -- contributes to Huntington's disease

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—July 21, 2013—Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinson's. Names forever linked to what they represent: diseases that ravage the brain's neurons and leave entire regions to wither and die. These and other so-called neurodegenerative diseases are often associated with the buildup of toxic proteins that lead to the death of neurons. But now, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered that the progression of disease is not due to the buildup of toxins itself, but rather in the individual neurons' ability to flush these toxins out.

For a healthy brain, don't let the trash pile up

Recycling is not only good for the environment, it's good for the brain. A study using rat cells indicates that quickly clearing out defective proteins in the brain may prevent loss of brain cells.

Results of a study in Nature Chemical Biology suggest that the speed at which damaged proteins are cleared from neurons may affect cell survival and may explain why some cells are targeted for death in neurodegenerative disorders. The research was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Quitting cigarettes: Differences in brain circuitry make it more difficult for impulsive people

Impulsiveness plays an important role in addiction to drugs. For example, impulsiveness is strongly associated with smoking, in particular with an early onset of smoking and frequent relapses of smokers who try to quit.

Furthermore, impulsiveness is known to promote drug craving, a key feature of addiction and one of the best predictors of relapse.

Gene mutation in dogs offers clues for neural tube defects in humans

A gene related to neural tube defects in dogs has for the first time been identified by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and University of Iowa.

The researchers also found evidence that the gene may be an important risk factor for human neural tube defects, which affect more than 300,000 babies born each year around the world, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Neural tube defects, including anencephaly and spina bifida, are caused by the incomplete closure or development of the spine and skull.