Brain

Scientists in recent years have made great strides in the quest to understand the brain by using implanted probes to explore how specific neural circuits work.

Though effective, those probes also come with their share of problems as a result of rigidity. The inflammation they produce induces chronic recording instability and means probes must be relocated every few days, leaving some of the central questions of neuroscience - like how the neural circuits are reorganized during development, learning and aging- beyond scientists' reach.

NEW YORK, NY (August 29, 2016)-- New findings suggest that most Americans with depression receive no treatment, while raising the possibility that overtreatment of depression is also widespread. Less than a third of American adults who screened positive for depression received treatment for their symptoms, whereas over two-thirds of adults receiving treatment for depression did not report symptoms of depression or serious psychological distress, according to a study from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and the University of Pennsylvania.

Even if we find it difficult to calculate complicated probabilities on the spot, our brains constantly carry out these sorts of computations without our awareness -- and they're remarkably good at it.

People are often excluded from social groups. As researchers from the University of Basel in Switzerland report in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, whether uninvolved observers find this acceptable or not may depend on the facial appearances of those excluded. The exclusion of cold and incompetent looking people is more likely to be accepted.

Research examining adults with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) who participated in rehabilitation showed that they were twice as likely to die from an unintentional injury that occurred following their TBI. This was in comparison to individuals in rehabilitation of similar age, sex, and race but without TBI. People who have had a moderate to severe TBI may experience changes in cognition and balance, which may put them at greater risk of subsequent unintentional injuries.

Researchers at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) recently identified compounds that potentially can be used to inhibit Zika virus replication and reduce its ability to kill brain cells. These compounds now can be studied by the broader research community to help combat the Zika public health crisis. NCATS is part of the National Institutes of Health.

WASHINGTON -- The average monthly emergency department visit increased by 5.7 percent in Illinois after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), although the population remained essentially flat.

Scientists report that a specialized drug screen test using lab-grown human cells has revealed two classes of compounds already in the pharmaceutical arsenal that may work against mosquito-borne Zika virus infections.

Several scientific studies have indicated that nicotine may be beneficial for memory function. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS set out to shed further light on the properties attributed to nicotine - which is known to have an adverse effect on health - by determining the precise structure of the nicotinic receptors in the hippocampus region of the brain. Using mouse models for Alzheimer's disease, they identified the β2 subunit of the nicotinic receptor as a target that, if blocked, prevents the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's.

CHICAGO, August 25, 2016 - New research published by the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring confirms the connection between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cognitive impairment - in this case, among those who helped with search, rescue and cleanup efforts following the 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) attacks.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (Aug. 29, 2016) - Vesicles, fluid-filled sacs that brain cells make to trap amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer's, appear to also contribute to the disease, scientists report.

Reducing the production of these vesicles, called exosomes, could help reduce the amount of amyloid and lipid that accumulates, slow disease progression and help protect cognition, scientists at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University report in The Journal of Neuroscience.

JUPITER, FL - August 25, 2016 - While calcium's importance for our bones and teeth is well known, its role in neurons--in particular, its effects on processes such as learning and memory--has been less well defined.

In a new study published in the journal Cell Reports, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) offer new insights how calcium in mitochondria--the powerhouse of all cells--can impact the development of the brain and adult cognition.

Starting out as a college freshman can be hard.

Students are leaving home for the first time, meeting the demands of a rigorous, undergraduate college education and trying to make new friends.

And, for undergraduate students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex or asexual (LGBTQIA), or who may be struggling with their identity, the biology classroom may not necessarily be a welcoming place.

The most complex piece of matter in the known universe is the brain. Neuroscientists have recently taken on the challenge to understand brain function from its intricate anatomy and structure. There is no sure way to go about it, and Dr. Javier DeFelipe at the Cajal Institute in Madrid proposed a solution, in his Frontiers in Neuroanatomy Grand Challenge article "The anatomical problem posed by brain complexity and size: a potential solution."

IRB Barcelona scientists Benjamí Oller, Macarena Sánchez, Ernest Giralt, and Meritxell Teixidó, all from the Peptides and Proteins Lab of the Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Programme, have written a review on the emerging field of shuttle peptides -- molecules that have the capacity to transport drugs across the blood-brain barrier and thus treat diseases affecting the central nervous system. The article will be featured on the cover of September's issue of Chemical Society Reviews, which has an impact factor of 33.