Brain

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Researchers at Brown University and the University of Arizona have determined that variations of three different genes in the brain (called single-nucleotide polymorphisms) may help predict a person's tendency to make certain choices.

A UCLA study has identified a way to turn off a key signaling pathway involved in physiological processes that can also stimulate the development of cancer and other diseases. The findings may lead to new treatments and targeted drugs using this approach.

An FDA-approved drug used for preventing recurrence of breast cancer shows promise in fighting life-threatening fungal infections common in immune-compromised patients, such as infants born prematurely and patients with cancer. Some scientists suspected that tamoxifen has antifungal properties; now new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center shows that it actually kills fungus cells and stops them from causing disease.

A study by the University of Barcelona (UB) has analysed which facial features our brain examines to identify faces. Our brain adapts in order to obtain the maximum amount of information possible from each face and according to the study the key data for identification come from, in the first place, the eyes and then the shape of the mouth and nose.

“Where care lodges, sleep will never lie,” says Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet.

Today, millions of Americans can attest to his insight. According to a poll from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), 27 percent of Americans say personal finances, the economy or unemployment concerns are keeping them awake at night.

“Stress and anxiety can definitely impact sleep,” says Sunil Mathews, M.D., medical director of the Sleep Center at Baylor Medical Center at Irving. “And unfortunately, insomnia can turn into a vicious cycle.”

Why are some people smarter than others? In a new article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, Eduardo Mercado III from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, describes how certain aspects of brain structure and function help determine how easily we learn new things, and how learning capacity contributes to individual differences in intelligence.

Experts estimate that over 24 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, and many of these people live in low- and middle-income countries. Recently, there has been growing interest in whether dietary factors, particularly oily fish and meat, might influence the onset and/or severity of dementia.

Oily fish are rich in omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which some studies suggest are positively related to cognitive function in later life. Conversely, there is a suggestion from some studies that increased meat consumption may be related to cognitive decline.

• Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) have a high risk of psychiatric problems, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
• Children with FASD are often initially diagnosed with ADHD.
• A first-of-its-kind study shows that children with FASD have a distinct behavioural profile: significantly weaker social cognition and facial emotion-processing abilities than children with ADHD.

ARGONNE, Ill. (July 16, 2009) — U.S. Department of Energy laboratories fight off millions of cyber attacks every year, but a near real-time dialog between these labs about this hostile activity has never existed – until now.

Scientists at DOE's Argonne National Laboratory have devised a program that allows for Cyber Security defense systems to communicate when attacked and transmit that information to cyber systems at other institutions in the hopes of strengthening the overall cyber security posture of the complex.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A person who has exercised regularly prior to the onset of a stroke appears to recover more quickly, say researchers from Mayo Clinic in Florida, who led a national study.

In the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, the researchers reported that stroke patients who had previously exercised regularly before a stroke occurred were significantly more likely to have milder impairments and, thus, were better able to care for themselves, compared to patients who rarely exercised.

Education is on the cusp of a transformation because of recent scientific findings in neuroscience, psychology, and machine learning that are converging to create foundations for a new science of learning.

Barrow Neurological Institute researchers have identified a novel receptor in the brain that is extremely sensitive to beta-amyloid peptide (AB) and may play a key role in early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the research lead by Jie Wu, MD, PhD, has identified a new candidate for therapeutic intervention in Alzheimer's.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Training increases brain processing speed and improves our ability to multitask, new research from Vanderbilt University published in the June 15 issue of Neuron indicates.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Young people with asthma have nearly twice the incidence of depression compared to their peers without asthma, and studies have shown that depression is associated with increased asthma symptoms and, in some cases, death.

How stress and depression play upon one another to worsen asthma is a lingering question.

A new study by researchers at the University at Buffalo has shown that depressed children with asthma exhibit a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system along with increased airway compromise.

Montreal, July 16, 2009 – Impulsive boys with inadequate supervision, poor families and deviant friends are more likely to commit criminal acts that land them in juvenile court, according to a new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. The most surprising finding from the 20-year study, conducted by researchers from the Université de Montréal and University of Genoa, was how help provided by the juvenile justice system substantially increased the risk of the boys engaging in criminal activities during early adulthood.