Brain

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University researchers have identified a new anticonvulsant compound that has the potential to stop the development of epilepsy. The findings are published in the March issue of the journal Epilepsia.

The research discovery builds on previous work identifying a specific molecular target whoseincreased activity is associated with seizure disorders, a potassium channel known as the BK channel.

Children hospitalized with concussions should wait until they are seen by a clinician in a follow-up exam before returning to regular sports or playtime activities, according to researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In a new study, cognitive scientists have shown that when aware of both a negative and positive stereotype related to performance, women will identify more closely with the positive stereotype, avoiding the harmful impact the negative stereotype unwittingly can have on their performance.

STANFORD, Calif. — Ten years ago, Stanford University School of Medicine scientist Emmanuel Mignot, MD, PhD, and his colleagues made headlines when they identified the culprit behind the sleep disorder narcolepsy. Now Mignot and his collaborators have shown for the first time that a specific immune cell is involved in the disorder — confirming experts' long-held suspicion that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disease.

CLEVELAND – May 3, 2009 –Ben W. Strowbridge, Ph.D, associate professor of Neuroscience and Physiology/Biophysics, and Yuan Gao, a Ph.D. student in the neurosciences program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, are the first to discover a form of synaptic memory in the olfactory bulb, the part of the brain that processes the sense of smell.

Their study, entitled "Long-term plasticity of excitatory inputs to granule cells in the rat olfactory bulb" will be published in the June 2009 issue of Nature Neuroscience and is currently available online.

Ever miss your daily cup of coffee and subsequently get a pounding headache? According to reports from consumers of coffee and other caffeinated products, caffeine withdrawal is often characterized by a headache, fatigue, feeling less alert, less energetic and experiencing difficulty concentrating. Researchers from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine sought to investigate the biological mechanisms of caffeine withdrawal in a paper published recently in the online edition of the scientific journal Psychopharmacology.

NEW YORK (May 1, 2009) -- Traditionally, cancer biologists have embraced a simple and direct model of the disease process: The tumor -- the "seed" -- was seen as bearing total responsibility for the spread of cancer to distant tissues -- the "soil" in which the seed embedded itself, grew, and reproduced. The result was a seed-dominant model that determined the way doctors treated cancer, using strategies targeting the tumor seed but neglecting the role of the soil.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Statewide weight loss competitions appear to be a potentially successful weapon in the battle against obesity. These programs can produce weight loss in large numbers of people at minimal cost, according to a new study from The Miriam Hospital and Brown University.

Dolphins have a clever trick for overcoming sleep deprivation. Sam Ridgway from the US Navy Marine Mammal Program explains that they are able to send half of their brains to sleep while the other half remains conscious. What is more, the mammals seem to be able to remain continually vigilant for sounds for days on end. All of this made Ridgway and his colleagues from San Diego and Tel Aviv wonder whether the dolphins' unrelenting auditory vigilance tired them and took a toll on the animals' other senses?

ROSEMONT, IL—Marines and other military personnel who are wounded in combat as the result of a high-energy trauma, such as a bomb blast, are likely to develop an abnormality known as heterotopic ossification. In this condition, bone forms within the soft tissues, such as muscle located near a fracture or other bone injury. New research conducted at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, is helping to pave the way for a better understanding of the mechanisms of the condition, and better courses of prevention and treatment.

The sense of smell is a complex process of the central nervous system that involves specific areas of the brain. In fact, olfactory dysfunction is seen in various central nervous system disorders that involve immune-mediated mechanisms, such as Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that sometimes involves the central nervous system in a condition known as neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE).

PASADENA, Calif.--When you're on a diet, deciding to skip your favorite calorie-laden foods and eat something healthier takes a whole lot of self-control--an ability that seems to come easier to some of us than others. Now, scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have uncovered differences in the brains of people who are able to exercise self-control versus those who find it almost impossible.

For some time now it has been known that certain hereditary factors enhance the risk of schizophrenia or a manic-depressive disorder. However, just how this occurs had remained obscure. Researchers at the Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit in Mannheim, Heidelberg University and Bonn University are now able to answer this question, at least for one common genetic variant: this impairs the interoperation of certain regions of the brain. The study is to appear on 1st May in the prestigious scientific journal Science.

Stereotypes often paint a partial or false picture of an individual or group.

But now researchers have found evidence that supports a stereotype held by many in the United States – that Mexicans are more outgoing, talkative, sociable and extroverted. The finding also contradicts the way many Mexicans view themselves as being less extroverted than Americans.

For 2.7 million Americans with epilepsy, seizures are not the only concern. People with epilepsy frequently face mood and behavior challenges and side effects from their medications, such as sleep and cognition problems. And, in many instances, these issues are not getting the attention warranted during visits with neurologists, according to a study supported byOrtho-McNeil Neurologics®, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.