Brain

A new study finds a surprising similarity in the way neural circuits linked to vision process information in both sighted individuals and those who have been blind since birth. The research, published by Cell Press in the August 13th issue of the journal Neuron, reveals that category-specific localized activation of a critical part of the visual cortex does not require any prior visual experience and provides fascinating and valuable insight into the evolutionary history of the human brain.

When we absorb new information, the human brain reshapes itself to store this newfound knowledge. But where exactly is the new knowledge kept, and how does that capacity to adapt reflect our risk for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of senile dementia later in our lives?

Montreal, August 12, 2009 – Sounds and images share a similar neural code in the human brain, according to a new Canadian study. In the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists from the Université de Montréal and the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University explain how the same neural code in the brain allows people to distinguish between different types of sounds, such as speech and music, or different images.

Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have succeeded for the first time in devising a model that describes and identifies a basic cellular mechanism that enables networks of neurons to efficiently decode speech in changing conditions.

The research may lead to the upgrading of computer algorithms for faster and more precise speech recognition as well as to the development of innovative treatments for auditory problems among adults and young people.

A combination of proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid can reliably identify which patients with early symptoms of dementia will subsequently develop full-blown Alzheimer's disease, a research team at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has found in a major international study. The results were published in this week's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Alzheimer's is one of the most common dementia disorders. Around 160,000 people in Sweden currently suffer from dementia, and an estimated 60 per cent of them have Alzheimer's.

• Heavy, constant drinking damages the brain in many different ways, including contributing to difficulties in accurate perception of emotional expressions.
• Recent brain-imaging findings show that abstinent alcoholics have decreased activation in the amygdala and hippocampus regions of the brain when viewing faces with positive or negative emotional expressions.
• Misreading facial cues can escalate interpersonal conflict and difficulties, creating liability for impaired social interaction and continued drinking.

Tampa, FL (Aug. 11, 2009) -- A 65-year-old women goes into the hospital for routine hip surgery. Six months later, she develops memory loss and is later diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Just a coincidence? Researchers at the University of South Florida and Vanderbilt University don't think so. They suspect that the culprit precipitating Alzheimer's disease in the elderly women may be a routine administration of high concentrations of oxygen for several hours during, or following, surgery – a hypothesis borne out in a recent animal model study.

• Kudzu extracts have been used in Chinese folk medicine to treat alcoholism for about 1,000 years.
• Daidzin is an anti-drinking substance in kudzu.
• A synthetic form of daidzin, called CVT-10216, can successfully reduce drinking and prevent relapse in preclinical rodent models.

• A new study looks at binge drinking's impact on attention and visual working memory processes in young Spanish university students.
• Results indicate that binge drinkers expend more attentional effort to complete a given task, and also have problems differentiating between relevant and irrelevant information

NEW YORK – Both being more physically active and adhering to a Mediterranean-type diet appears to be associated with reduced Alzheimer's risk, according to a new report in the August 12, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

While previous studies have only investigated the association between either physical activity or diet and Alzheimer's disease risk separately, this new research explored their combined association.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine may reveal how long-lasting memories form in the brain.

The researchers hope that the findings, now available online and scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of Neuroscience, may one day help scientists develop treatments to prevent and treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Munich, Germany, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, August 11, 2009 – Researchers at the Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, investigated the effects of formal education on the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. They were able to show that education diminishes the impact of Alzheimer's disease on cognition even if a manifest brain volume loss has already occurred.

Scientists have long suspected that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is caused by a small protein called the amyloid β-protein (Aβ). This protein clumps or binds to itself, eventually changing chemically to create brain protein deposits (plaques) that are characteristic of AD. However, recent studies have suggested that it is not the plaques that cause AD but rather these small, grape-like clusters of Aβ. These clusters vary in size, and the relationship between cluster size and their ability to kill nerve cells (toxicity) has never been determined accurately.

August 11, 2009, New York, NY—A new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health's Center for Infection and Immunity indicates that pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette syndrome and/or tic disorder may develop from an inappropriate immune response to the bacteria causing common throat infections.

(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that individuals who have a long history of alcoholism, but who have been abstinent for at least a month up to many years, showed abnormal brain activity when looking at facial expressions of others. The findings, which appear in the August 11 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, confirms that alcoholics suffer from abnormalities in parts of the brain that control emotional perception and memory.