Brain

Many common diseases exhibit gender bias and gender differences have been observed in the development of high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart (cardiovascular) disease. Previous studies have reported that gender may affect vascular physiology and the body’s response to some types of blood pressure medications. Although gender is usually accounted for in association studies, newer research has focused on identifying autosomal (not on the X or Y chromosomes) genes that contribute differentially to complex traits (blood pressure) or diseases (hypertension).

A parent’s struggle with stress or depression can lower a child’s quality of life -- and it could hinder an overweight youngster’s attempts to lose weight, too, University of Florida researchers say.

Parent distress, peer bullying and childhood depression can propel a cycle that makes it more difficult for children to adopt healthier lifestyles, UF researchers report in the current issue of the journal Obesity.

A variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and with thinner tissue in areas of the brain that handle attention, but also appears associated with better clinical outcomes among individuals with the disorder, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

The long-term risk of suicide is tripled for women who have undergone cosmetic breast implant surgery, concludes a study in the August Annals of Plastic Surgery, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. This long-term study further confirms the link between breast implants and a strikingly high risk of suicide and other related causes of death.

Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show a blunted response to the drug methylphenidate (Ritalin), which increases brain dopamine levels, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. This suggests that dopamine dysfunction may be involved with ADHD symptoms and may contribute to substance abuse that often occurs simultaneously.

Physical exercise is known to be good for the aging brain, but what about mental stimulation" Does enrichment that helps older people work well for the young and middle aged, or do they need something else" A report in the August issue of Behavioral Neuroscience tells how, in an animal experiment, older adults appear to benefit from either or both mental and physical enrichment. For the young and middle-aged, exercise is key.

Behavioral Neuroscience is published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

MIT neuroscientists exploring how memory formation differs between children and adults have found that although the two groups have much in common, maturity brings richer memories.

In the August 5 advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience, the MIT team reports that children rival adults in forming basic memories, but adults do better at remembering the rich, contextual details of that information. The MIT study provides new insights into how children learn that are not only theoretically important, but could also inform practical learning in everyday settings.

There exists a direct relationship between the consumption of MDMA, or Ecstasy, at a high ambient temperature and an increase in the neural damage which this drug provokes. This was the conclusion of the research carried out by Beatriz Goñi at the School of Pharmacy of the University of Navarra.

A planet orbiting a giant red star has been discovered by an astronomy team led by Penn State's Alex Wolszczan, who in 1992 discovered the first planets ever found outside our solar system. The new discovery is helping astronomers to understand what will happen to the planets in our solar system when our Sun becomes a red-giant star, expanding so much that its surface will reach as far as Earth's orbit. The star is 2 times more massive and 10 times larger than the Sun.

A reversal of tectonic plate motion between Acapulco and Mexico City in the last half of 2006 probably didn't ease seismic strain in the region or the specter of a major earthquake anticipated there in the coming decades, says a University of Colorado at Boulder professor.A reversal of tectonic plate motion near Acapulco, Mexico, in 2006 (colored arrows) as measured by GPS satellites did little to ease seismic strain in the region and the potential for a large earthquake that could impact Mexico City 175 miles away, according to a new study l

Zebrafish cost about a dollar at the pet store. They grow from eggs to hunting their own food in three days. Adults can lay up to 500 eggs at once… and you have more in common with them than you think.

"For all their differences, humans and zebrafish aren't that dissimilar," said Rice University zebrafish expert Mary Ellen Lane. "For every zebrafish gene we isolate, there is a related gene in humans."

A gene discovered by scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine has been linked to lupus and related autoimmune diseases. The finding, reported online in Nature Genetics, is the latest in a series of revelations that shed new light on what goes wrong in human cells to cause the diseases.

“This research is a huge leap toward understanding the cause of lupus and related autoimmune diseases,” said Fred Perrino, Ph.D., a co-author on the paper and a professor of biochemistry at Wake Forest. “There had been few clues before now.”

Anxious or depressed mothers-to-be are at increased risk of having children who will experience sleep problems in infancy and toddlerhood, finds a study that published this month in Early Human Development.

New research from the University of Illinois challenges the premise that the brain must build new proteins in response to an experience for that experience to be recorded in long-term memory.

The findings, published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could alter basic assumptions about the role of protein synthesis in memory formation.

An implanted stimulator being studied at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital may be able to predict and prevent seizures before they start in people with uncontrolled epilepsy.

Researchers at the Jefferson Comprehensive Epilepsy Center are enrolling patients in a study of the Responsive Neurostimulator System (RNS) made by Neuropace to determine if it is effective in stemming seizures. The system contains a computer chip that detects seizures and then delivers electric current to the brain to stop them.