Brain

To date, it has been assumed that the differentiation of stem cells depends on the environment they are embedded in. A research group at the University of Basel now describes for the first time a mechanism by which hippocampal neural stem cells regulate their own cell fate via the protein Drosha. The journal Cell Stem Cell has published their results.

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Giving special treatment to young urban black males in the high school classroom runs the risk of shortchanging these students academically once they get to college, indicates a new study by a Michigan State University education scholar.

LA JOLLA, CA--August 18, 2016--An international team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has found strong evidence supporting a new strategy against drug addiction. The researchers showed that a compound that inhibits the activity of certain brain-cell receptors can reverse signs of cocaine dependency in rodents.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A team of psychologists, kinesiologists and archaeologists at Indiana University and elsewhere are throwing new light on a longstanding archaeological mystery: the purpose of a large number of spherical stone artifacts found at a major archaeological site in South Africa.

IU Bloomington professor Geoffrey Bingham and colleagues in the United Kingdom and United States contend that the stones -- previously thought by some to be used as tools -- served instead as weapons for defense and hunting.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer have long complained of lingering cognitive impairments after treatment. These effects are referred to as "chemobrain," a feeling of mental fogginess. A new study from the University of Illinois reports long-lasting cognitive impairments in mice when they are administered a chemotherapy regimen used to treat breast cancer in humans.

The results are published in the journal Behavioural Brain Research.

NEW YORK, NY (August 18, 2016)--Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) found that men had greater pain relief than women after smoking marijuana.

Results of the study were recently published online in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

New research led by scientists from King's College London and the University of Bristol has found that a high-fat, high-sugar diet during pregnancy may be linked to symptoms of ADHD in children who show conduct problems early in life.

Published today in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, this study is the first to indicate that epigenetic changes evident at birth may explain the link between unhealthy diet, conduct problems and ADHD.

BOSTON (Aug. 17, 2016)- Neuroscientists have long known that brain cells communicate with each other through the release of tiny bubbles packed with neurotransmitters--a fleet of vessels docked along neuronal ends ready to launch when a trigger arrives.

Now a study conducted in mice by neurobiologists at Harvard Medical School reveals that dismantling the docking stations that house these signal-carrying vessels does not fully disrupt signal transmission between cells.

MINNEAPOLIS - According to a new study, calcium supplements may be associated with an increased risk of dementia in older women who have had a stroke or other signs of cerebrovascular disease. The research is published in the August 17, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Cerebrovascular disease is a group of disorders that affect blood flow in the brain. These diseases, including stroke, are the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and increase the risk of developing dementia.

An international team of researchers -- led by scientists at UC San Francisco, Stanford University, the University of North Carolina (UNC), and the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany -- has developed a new opioid drug candidate that blocks pain without triggering the dangerous side effects of current prescription painkillers. Their secret? Starting from scratch -- with computational techniques that let them explore more than four trillion different chemical interactions.

Scientists have synthesized a molecule with a unique profile of highly specific pain-relieving properties and demonstrated its efficacy in mice. Compared to existing opioid pain relievers, like morphine, the new agent, called PZM21, was not "reinforcing" or prone to triggering potentially lethal respiratory impairment - and was also less constipating. Also unlike existing analgesics, it had little effect on spinal cord reflexive responses, instead targeting the brain-mediated emotional/experiential component of pain.

A study of a large number of middle-aged adults suggests self-reported childhood abuse by women was associated with an increased long-term risk of death, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry.

Childhood abuse has been linked a variety of adult psychiatric problems but its association with later-life risk of death as an adult has been less understood.

Few things are as interesting to a male mouse as the scent of a female. Pheromones released by females draw the attention of male mice and trigger courtship and mating behavior.

Anyone who has lost out on an investment in recent weeks - from pension funds and stocks to the housing rental market and currency exchange - may have lost more than they realise, according to new research from the University of Stirling.

In a study involving five tests on almost 3,500 people, experts found that the vast majority of individuals underestimated the difficulty of breaking-even after a financial loss.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- As anyone who has driven a car or crossed a busy street knows, colors play a significant role in influencing people's interactions with the world around them. And the color red, in particular, elicits the highest level of compliance for conformity with social norms.

But according to new research co-written by a University of Illinois expert in product development and marketing, under certain conditions, the color red can arouse "noncompliant behavior" - basically, a rebellious streak - for a certain sensation-seeking segment of the population.