Brain | Page 1008 | Science Codex

Could antidepressants help reduce the risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy?

New York, February 9, 2012 – A groundbreaking study published in Elsevier's Epilepsy & Behavior provides evidence in mouse model that drugs known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs; one category of antidepressants) may reduce the risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).

SUDEP is estimated to be the cause of death in up to 17% of patients with epilepsy who die from their condition. Evidence for cardiac and respiratory causes of SUDEP has been presented, but no effective prevention of SUDEP has yet been developed.

Diagnosing developmental coordination disorder

Children showing difficulty carrying out routine actions, such as getting dressed, playing with particular types of games, drawing, copying from the board in school and even typing at the computer, could be suffering from developmental coordination disorder (DCD), and not necessarily from ADHD or other more familiar disorders, points out Prof. Sara Rosenblum of the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Haifa, whose new study set out to shed new light on DCD.

Obesity is associated with altered brain function

In most western countries the annual increase in the prevalence and the severity of obesity is currently substantial. Although obesity typically results simply from excessive energy intake, it is currently unclear why some people are prone to overeating and gaining weight.

Because the central nervous system is intimately involved in processing of hunger signals and controlling food intake, it is possible that the cause of weight gain and obesity might be in the brain.

Older drivers can be trained to avoid car crashes

Why are older drivers, especially those over 70, involved in crashes primarily at intersections? You may tend to attribute this to cognitive or physical decline, such as slower reaction time or poor sight. These factors are undoubtedly part of the problem; however new research by some University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have come up with another explanation – older drivers acquire bad habits, and those habits can be unlearned.

Right hand or left? How the brain solves a perceptual puzzle

When you see a picture of a hand, how do you know whether it's a right or left hand? This "hand laterality" problem may seem obscure, but it reveals a lot about how the brain sorts out confusing perceptions. Now, a study which will be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science, challenges the long-held consensus about how we solve this problem.

Gene therapy may boost brain repair for demyelinating diseases

PASADENA, Calif.—Our bodies are full of tiny superheroes—antibodies that fight foreign invaders, cells that regenerate, and structures that ensure our systems run smoothly. One such structure is myelin—a material that forms a protective, insulating cape around the axons of our nerve cells so that they can send signals quickly and efficiently. But myelin, and the specialized cells called oligodendrocytes that make it, become damaged in demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), leaving neurons without their myelin sheaths.

NFC aid for the visually and hearing impaired

As the proportion of senior citizens grows, their special needs are gaining momentum. Human eyesight, for example, weakens with age. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has been developing new NFC-based applications that make life easier for the visually impaired. A group of affected persons recently tested an innovative, speech-based item identification system and new "talking" packaging for medicine and food.Solutions that link products and digital product info are becoming ever more common. They offer a range of possibilities for both the normal-sighted and the visually impaired.

Baby knows best! Study shows baby-led weaning promotes healthy food preferences

A new study by psychologists at The University of Nottingham has shown that babies who are weaned using solid finger food are more likely to develop healthier food preferences and are less likely to become overweight as children than those who are spoon-fed pureed food.

The research just published by BMJ Open set out to examine the impact of weaning style on food preferences and Body Mass Index in early childhood in a sample of 155 children.

New target for Alzheimer's drugs

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Biomedical scientists at the University of California, Riverside have identified a new link between a protein called beta-arrestin and short-term memory that could open new doors for the therapeutic treatment of neurological disorders, particularly Alzheimer's disease.

Risks of traumatic neuromechanical injury associated with boxing and mixed martial arts

Charlottesville, VA (Feb. 8, 2012). Boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) carry risks of head and neck injuries. Padded gloves and headgear are designed to lessen these risks, primarily those resulting from linear acceleration. But what about other types of impact? To date there has been little testing of rotational acceleration or rotational velocity, and no current rotational head injury scoring system.

Gap between Scottish and English suicide rates widens

A new study has revealed the widening gap in suicide rates between Scotland and England & Wales due to a large extent to the number of young Scottish men taking their lives.

The research, carried out by the Universities of Manchester and Edinburgh and the Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow, examined suicide rates north and south of the border between 1960 and 2008.

UCLA scientists strengthen memory by stimulating key site in brain

Ever gone to the movies and forgotten where you parked the car? New UCLA research may one day help you improve your memory.

UCLA neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in human patients by stimulating a critical junction in the brain. Published in the Feb. 9 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, the finding could lead to a new method for boosting memory in patients with early Alzheimer's disease.

Gene therapy for inherited blindness succeeds in patients' other eye

Gene therapy for congenital blindness has taken another step forward, as researchers further improved vision in three adult patients previously treated in one eye. After receiving the same treatment in their other eye, the patients became better able to see in dim light, and two were able to navigate obstacles in low-light situations. No adverse effects occurred.

Research team delves into the roots of hunger and eating

BOSTON – Synaptic plasticity – the ability of the synaptic connections between the brain's neurons to change and modify over time -- has been shown to be a key to memory formation and the acquisition of new learning behaviors. Now research led by a scientific team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) reveals that the neural circuits controlling hunger and eating behaviors are also controlled by plasticity.

Feast or famine? How appetite cells in the brain respond to fasting

There are two key cell types in the brain that are central to the regulation of feeding behaviors, agouti-related peptide (AgRP)-expressing neurons and proopiomelancortin (POMC)-expressing neurons. Previous work has shown that the AgRP neurons promote feeding and weight gain, while the POMC cells have been linked with appetite suppression and weight loss. Now a new study published by Cell Press in the February 9 issue of the journal Neuron uncovers a neural pathway that links fasting with activation of AgRP neurons.