Brain | Page 698 | Science Codex

Acetylcholine secretion by motor neuron-like cells from UC-MSC

Basic fibroblast growth factor exhibits a high affinity for heparin. Heparin combined with basic fibroblast growth factor significantly contributes to the differentiation of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells into motor neurons.

Xueyuan Liu and colleagues from Liaoning Medical University found that the third passage of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells induced with heparin and basic fibroblast growth factor exhibited neuronal morphology, and Hb9 expression and acetylcholine levels increased following induction with heparin combined with basic fibroblast growth factor.

Does longer sevoflurane preconditioning contribute to better neuroprotective effects?

Sevoflurane belongs to volatile anesthetics, and preconditioning with sevoflurane has been shown to exert protective effects against ischemic injury in the brain. But the mechanism is unclear.

Inner ear hair cell regeneration: A look from the past to the future

Since Moffat and Ramsden for the first time discovered the possibility of the auditory system in humans in 1977, over the last two decades, great progress has been made in physiopathological research on neurosensory hearing loss. Jørgensen and Mathiesen were the first authors to note the capacity for regeneration of the normal vestibular epithelium in adult Australian parrots. Later, Roberson et al studied the normal vestibular epithelium of 12-day-old white Leghorn chicks using tritiated thymidine and bromodeoxyuridine.

Brain atrophy linked with cognitive decline in diabetes

New research has shown that cognitive decline in people with Type 2 Diabetes is likely due to brain atrophy, or shrinkage, that resembles patterns seen in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Dr Chris Moran and Associate Professor Velandai Srikanth of Monash University led the first large-scale study to compare brain scans and cognitive function between people with and without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). They found that brain atrophy, rather than cerebrovascular lesions, was likely the primary reason for cognitive impairment associated with T2DM.

New system uses nanodiamonds to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to brain tumors

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed an innovative drug-delivery system in which tiny particles called nanodiamonds are used to carry chemotherapy drugs directly into brain tumors. The new method was found to result in greater cancer-killing efficiency and fewer harmful side effects than existing treatments.

Exercise for depression: Some benefits but better trials are needed

Exercise may benefit people suffering from depression, according to an updated systematic review published in The Cochrane Library. The authors of the review found evidence to suggest that exercise reduces symptoms of depression, although they say more high quality trials are needed.

Dreaming is still possible even when the mind is blank

Isabelle Arnulf and colleagues from the Sleep Disorders Unit at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) have outlined case studies of patients with Auto-Activation Deficit who reported dreams when awakened from REM sleep – even when they demonstrated a mental blank during the daytime. This paper proves that even patients with Auto-Activation Disorder have the ability to dream and that it is the "bottom-up" process that causes the dream state.

Male orangutans plan, communicate travel routes a day in advance

Wild male orangutans plan their travel and communicate their plans to other orangutans, according to research published September 11 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Carel van Schaik and colleagues from the Anthropological Institute and Musuem in Zurich, Switzerland.

Aerobic fitness boosts learning, memory in 9-10-year-old children

Physical fitness can boost learning and memory in children, particularly when initial learning on a task is more challenging, according to research published September 11 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Lauren Raine and colleagues from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Fat marker predicts cognitive decline in people with HIV

Johns Hopkins scientists have found that levels of certain fats found in cerebral spinal fluid can predict which patients with HIV are more likely to become intellectually impaired.

Crop-raiding elephants flee tiger growls

Wild Asian elephants slink quietly away at the sound of a growling tiger, but trumpet and growl before retreating from leopard growls, researchers at the University of California, Davis, have found. The work, published Sept. 11 in the journal Biology Letters, could help Indian farmers protect their crops from marauding elephants and save the lives of both people and animals.

Who's got guts? Young infants expect animals to have insides

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A team of researchers has shown that 8-month-old infants expect objects they identify as animals to have insides. The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Faulty stem cell regulation may contribute to cognitive deficits associated with Down syndrome

STANFORD, Calif. — The learning and physical disabilities that affect people with Down syndrome may be due at least in part to defective stem cell regulation throughout the body, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The defects in stem cell growth and self-renewal observed by the researchers can be alleviated by reducing the expression of just one gene on chromosome 21, they found.

'Love hormone' may play wider role in social interaction than previously thought

STANFORD, Calif. - Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that oxytocin - often referred to as "the love hormone" because of its importance in the formation and maintenance of strong mother-child and sexual attachments - is involved in a broader range of social interactions than previously understood.

The discovery may have implications for neurological disorders such as autism, as well as for scientific conceptions of our evolutionary heritage.

How schizophrenia affects the brain

It's hard to fully understand a mental disease like schizophrenia without peering into the human brain. Now, a study by University of Iowa psychiatry professor Nancy Andreasen uses brain scans to document how schizophrenia impacts brain tissue as well as the effects of anti-psychotic drugs on those who have relapses.