Brain

UBC researchers have created the world's first animal laboratory experiment to successfully model human gambling. The advance will help scientists develop and test new treatments for gambling addictions, a devastating condition that affects millions worldwide.

In addition to showing that rats can "play the odds," the study finds that gambling decisions can be impaired or improved with drugs that affect brain dopamine and serotonin levels suggesting that these neurotransmitters may moderate gambling behaviour.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Scientists at Harvard University have shown, for the first time, that intelligence varies among individual monkeys within a species – in this case, the cotton-top tamarin.

Testing for broad cognitive ability, the researchers identified high, middle, and low performing monkeys, determined by a general intelligence score. General intelligence, or "g," is a hallmark of human cognition, often described as similar to IQ. The effect of "g" in primates may offer insight into the evolution of human general intelligence.

Although worlds apart, the way fish learn could be closer to humans' way of thinking than previously believed, suggests a new research study.

A common species of fish which is found across Europe including the UK, called the nine-spined stickleback, could be the first animal shown to exhibit an important human social learning strategy. The sticklebacks can compare the behaviour of other sticklebacks with their own experience and make choices that lead to better food supplies, according to the study by St Andrews and Durham universities.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Our tendency to see people and faces as individuals may explain why we are such experts at recognizing them, new research indicates. This approach can be learned and applied to other objects as well.

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have shown that a fully automated procedure called Volumetric MRI – which measures the "memory centers" of the brain and compares them to expected size – is effective in predicting the progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease. The procedure can be readily used in clinics to measure brain atrophy, and may help physicians to predict decline in MCI patients. Their study has been published in the June issue of the journal Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University engineers have taken a first step toward a minimally invasive treatment of brain tumors by combining chemotherapy with heat administered from the end of a catheter.

The proof-of-concept study demonstrated that it should be technically possible to treat brain tumors without the side effects associated with the traditional approaches of surgery, systemic chemotherapy or radiation.

A new diagnostic technique which may greatly simplify the detection of Alzheimer's disease has been discovered by researchers at McGill University and the affiliated Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital (JGH). Their results were published June 8 in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. There is currently no accepted blood test for Alzheimer's, and the diagnosis is usually based on expensive and labour-intensive neurological, neuropsychological and neuroimaging evaluations.

Scientists have long thought that processes occurring during sleep were responsible for cementing the salient experiences of the day into long-term memories. Now, however, a study of scampering rats suggests that the mechanisms at work during sleep are also active while the animals are awake -- and that they encode events more accurately.

The finding has significant implications for understanding the way the brain learns and remembers, the researchers say. Among other things, it could offer insights into, and possible strategies for combating, post traumatic stress disorder.

Tampa, Fla. (June 16, 2009) – To determine if guided fat (adipose) precursor cells (APCs) could improve nerve regeneration and functional recovery, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh (USA) used biodegradable nerve guides to transplant APCs into the injured peripheral nerves of laboratory rats.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University engineers have taken a first step toward a minimally invasive treatment of brain tumors by combining chemotherapy with heat administered from the end of a catheter.

The proof-of-concept study demonstrated that it should be technically possible to treat brain tumors without the side effects associated with the traditional approaches of surgery, systemic chemotherapy or radiation.

People with memory problems who are depressed are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than those who aren't depressed, according to a new UCLA study.

Researchers also found, however, that the popular Alzheimer's drug donepezil may help delay the progression to Alzheimer's in depressed individuals who suffer from mild cognitive impairment or memory problems.

Long-term memory formation in honeybees is instigated by a calcium ion cascade. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology have shown that calcium acts as a switch between short- and long-term storage of learned information.

High levels of brain energy are required to maintain consciousness, a finding which suggests a new way to understand the properties of this still mysterious state of being, Yale University researchers report.

At its simplest, consciousness can be defined as the ability to respond meaningfully to external stimuli. Most studies of consciousness have used imaging technology to try to pinpoint areas of brain activity during tasks such as memorization or problem solving.

PHILADELPHIA -– Psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania have identified a cognitive shortcut, or heuristic, they call "Unit Bias," which causes people to ignore vital, obvious information in their decision-making process, points to a fundamental flaw in the modern, evolved mind and may also play a role in the American population's 30 years of weight gain.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A marker in the blood of both cats and humans that was identified in a recent study might signal both species' susceptibility for a painful bladder disorder called interstitial cystitis, a condition that is often difficult to diagnose.