Brain

Particularly in Alzheimer's disease, nerve cell degeneration plays a crucial role. In the future, new therapeutic options may possibly be derived from steering the generation and/or migration mechanism. These findings have been published in the current issue of the renowned journal Nature Neuroscience. Until only a few years ago, neurogenesis – the process of nerve cell development – was considered to be impossible in the adult brain. The textbooks asserted that dead nerve cells could not be replaced.

Sir Peter Mansfield, The University of Nottingham's Nobel Laureate for Physiology and Medicine, is to be recognised, once again, for his part in one of the most important breakthroughs in medical science.

Sir Peter, who was co-inventor of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is to be presented with the Medical Research Council's (MRC) Millennium Medal at an awards ceremony at the Trent Building, The University of Nottingham on Monday November 30 2009.

Loneliness, like a bad cold, can spread among groups of people, research at the University of Chicago, the University of California-San Diego and Harvard shows.

Using longitudinal data from a large-scale study that has been following health conditions for more than 60 years, a team of scholars found that lonely people tend to share their loneliness with others. Gradually over time, a group of lonely, disconnected people moves to the fringes of social networks.

WESTCHESTER, Ill. - A study in the Dec.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that dream-enacting behaviors are common in healthy young adults, and the prevalence of specific behaviors differs between men and women.

CHICAGO – A study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate brain function revealed that adults who were exposed to lead as children incur permanent brain injury. The results were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Substituting cannabis in place of more harmful drugs may be a winning strategy in the fight against substance misuse. Research published in BioMed Central' open access Harm Reduction Journal features a poll of 350 cannabis users, finding that 40% used cannabis to control their alcohol cravings, 66% as a replacement for prescription drugs and 26% for other, more potent, illegal drugs.

Pioneering research using human brain tissue removed from people suffering from epilepsy has opened the door to new treatments for the disease.

Scientists at Newcastle University have for the first time been able to record spontaneous epileptic activity in brain tissue that has been removed from patients undergoing neurosurgery.

Blind, nearly hairless, and looking something like toothy, plump, pink fingers, naked mole rats may rank among nature's most maligned creatures, but their unusual physiology endears them to scientists.

Two University of Illinois at Chicago researchers report in the Dec. 9 issue of NeuroReport (now on-line) that adult naked mole rat brain tissue can withstand extreme hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, for periods exceeding a half-hour -- much longer than brain tissue from other mammals.

There is a tiny period of time between the registration of a visual stimulus by the unconscious mind and our conscious recognition of it ― between the time we see an apple and the time we recognize it as an apple. Our minds lag behind our eyes, but by how long? And how does this affect our reactions to the world around us?

Some estimates say the time delay lasts only 100 milliseconds, others say 500 milliseconds. A new study by Tel Aviv University psychologists says that the answer is somewhere close to the latter, but can vary depending on the complexity of the stimulus.

UPTON, NY — When asked to inhibit their response to a "cocaine-cues" video, active cocaine abusers were, on average, able to suppress activity in brain regions linked to drug craving, according to a new study at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. The results, to be published in an upcoming issue of NeuroImage, suggest that clinical interventions designed to strengthen these inhibitory responses could help cocaine abusers stop using drugs and avoid relapse.

Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC (November 26, 2009) – Waste management is increasingly gaining the recognition that it deserves as a major contributor to mitigating climate change. But with at least four different methods of accounting for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions currently in play, it is vitally important to ensure that all stakeholders are counting emissions accurately and transparently.

Montreal, November 26, 2009 – Hyperactive boys don't get enough sleep, which can worsen their condition according to new research. Published in the November issue of Pediatrics, the study is the first to examine a large sample of children and to study the link between lack of sleep and hyperactivity.

Humans use their whole bodies, not just their ears, to understand speech, according to University of British Columbia linguistics research.

It is well known that humans naturally process facial expression along with what is being heard to fully understand what is being communicated. The UBC study is the first to show we also naturally process tactile information to perceive sounds of speech.

Best-practice recommendations for the selection and management of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who may benefit from, or are receiving treatment with TYSABRI® (natalizumab) were published today in a supplement to the medical journal Multiple Sclerosis. The panel provided recommendations focusing on appropriate patient selection and patient management. The recommendations, which recognize the significant efficacy of TYSABRI and the need to adequately treat patients who exhibit continued disease activity, are based on U.S.

(Seattle, Nov. 30, 2009) – A novel early intervention program for very young children with autism – some as young as 18 months – is effective for improving IQ, language ability, and social interaction, a comprehensive new study has found.