Brain

A protein known to exist in the brain for more than 30 years, called 5-lipoxygenase, has been found to play a regulatory role in the formation of the amyloid beta in the brain, the major component of plaques implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at Temple University's School of Medicine.

The researchers also found that inhibitors of this protein currently used to control asthma could possibly be used to prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Exposure to even dim light at night is enough to cause physical changes in the brains of hamsters that may be associated with depression, a new study shows.

Researchers found that female Siberian hamsters exposed to dim light every night for eight weeks showed significant changes in a part of the brain called the hippocampus.

This is the first time researchers have found that light at night, by itself, may be linked to changes in the hippocampus.

Scientists in Germany have developed a way of smuggling an anti-cancer drug past the protective blood-brain barrier and into brain tumours and metastases using a nanocarrier – a tiny capsule specially designed to pass through cell membranes and deliver its anti-cancer drug to the cancer cell.

CLEVELAND – Coaching happens just about everywhere, and every day, with learning as the goal.

Effective coaching can lead to smoothly functioning organizations, better productivity and potentially more profit. In classrooms, better student performance can occur. Doctors or nurses can connect more with patients. So, doing coaching right would seem to be a natural goal, and it has been a major topic of research at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management since 1990.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida have found a clue as to how some people develop a form of dementia that affects the brain areas associated with personality, behavior, and language.

By tracking the fate of a group of immature cells that persist in the adult brain and spinal cord, Johns Hopkins researchers discovered in mice that these cells undergo dramatic changes in ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

CHICAGO --- Estrogen is an elixir for the brain, sharpening mental performance in humans and animals and showing promise as a treatment for disorders of the brain such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. But long-term estrogen therapy, once prescribed routinely for menopausal women, now is quite controversial because of research showing it increases the risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke.

Two separate discoveries by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) offer potential for development of a first-ever pharmacological treatment for cocaine addiction.

In one study, a common beta blocker, propranolol, currently used to treat hypertension and anxiety, has shown to be effective in preventing the brain from retrieving memories associated with cocaine use in animal-addiction models, according to Devin Mueller, UWM assistant professor of psychology and a co-author with James Otis of the research.

Scientists are reporting the first direct evidence that a subtle change in the physical properties of a tissue can affect its function. The finding has immediate implications for understanding several rare hearing disorders, they said, and ultimately could offer insight into such conditions as osteoporosis, arthritis, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

New data show that many children with autism spectrum disorders have greater academic abilities than previously thought. In a study by researchers at the University of Washington, 90 percent of high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders showed a discrepancy between their IQ score and their performance on reading, spelling and math tests.

San Diego -- Researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center's departments of neuroscience, pharmacology, physiology, biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, and the interdisciplinary program of neuroscience will present more than 50 research abstracts at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience Nov. 13th through the 17th in San Diego.

Modulation of temporal relationships between default mode and task-positive networks by the dopamine transporter genotype during working memory and the resting state

Session: Imaging Human Memory Function

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) refers to a group of disorders associated with degeneration of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Symptoms include dementia, aphasia, and semantic disorders. Mutation of the gene for PGRN is associated with the most common form of FTLD, which is also characterized by inclusions of TDP-43 protein in the brain. Abnormal accumulation of TDP-43 has also been linked with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

STANFORD, Calif. — Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, applying a state-of-the-art imaging system to brain-tissue samples from mice, have been able to quickly and accurately locate and count the myriad connections between nerve cells in unprecedented detail, as well as to capture and catalog those connections' surprising variety.

Many mental health disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia, produce changes in social behavior or interactions. The frequency and/or severity of these disorders is substantially greater in boys than girls, but the biological basis for this difference between the two sexes is unknown.