Brain

More than half of all children in the U.S. either misperceive or reject their parents' political party affiliations, according to researchers.

Older adults that improved their fitness through a moderate intensity exercise program increased the thickness of their brain's cortex, the outer layer of the brain that typically atrophies with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study from the University of Maryland School of Public Health. These effects were found in both healthy older adults and those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an early stage of Alzheimer's disease.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- University of Florida Health researchers have made a new discovery about Huntington's disease, showing that the gene that causes the fatal disorder makes an unexpected "cocktail" of mutant proteins that accumulate in the brain.

In epilepsy, nerve cells or neurons lose their usual rhythm, and ion channels, which have a decisive influence on their excitability, are involved. A team of researchers under the direction of the University of Bonn has now discovered a new mechanism for influencing ion channels in epilepsy. They found that spermine inside neurons dampens the neurons excitability. In epilepsy, spermine levels decrease, causing hyperexcitability. The researchers hope that their findings can be exploited to develop new therapies for epilepsies.

PULLMAN, Wash.--Washington State University researchers have established a categorical distinction between people who are heterosexual and those who are not. By analyzing the reported sexual behavior, identity and attraction of more than 33,000 American adults, they found that 3 percent of men and 2.7 percent of women are not heterosexual. They also found notable issues on several mental health fronts.

Athens, Ga. - University of Georgia researchers have developed a simple technique to measure an individual's visual processing speed--the speed at which an individual can comprehend visual information--in order to identify whether or not they may have cognitive issues.

The recent study, published in the journal Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, focuses on using a simple test of visual flicker to evaluate an individual's level of executive cognitive abilities, such as shifting attention between different tasks, planning or organizing and problem solving.

WASHINGTON, DC, November 17, 2015 -- A new study finds that more than half of all "children" in the U.S. either misperceive or reject their parents' political party affiliations.

A simple test using a raisin can predict how well a toddler will perform academically at age eight, according to research conducted at the University of Warwick.

Using just the piece of dried fruit and a plastic cup they have devised a test based on how long a 20-month old child can wait to pick up a raisin in front of them.

A team of researchers led by professor Patrik Verstreken (VIB/KU Leuven) has exposed the fine details of a mechanism that provides more insight in the communication between neurons. The research has clarified how damaged synapses - the connection points between neurons - are repaired to keep communication between neurons at an optimal level. Disturbances in these mechanisms are believed to play a role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia, ALS or Parkinson's disease. The results have been published in leading neuroscience journal 'Neuron'.

Dementia patients from more affluent areas in England are 27% more likely to be prescribed anti-dementia drugs than patients from poorer areas, finds a new UCL (University College London) study of 77,045 dementia patients across the UK. This inequality was not seen in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales.

The new research, published in Age and Ageing, also found that compared to English practices, anti-dementia drugs were prescribed more often in Northern Ireland and Scotland but less often in Wales.

A new study done by University of Texas at Dallas researchers indicates that watching 3-D images of tongue movements can help individuals learn speech sounds.

According to Dr. William Katz, co-author of the study and professor at UT Dallas' Callier Center for Communication Disorders, the findings could be especially helpful for stroke patients seeking to improve their speech articulation.

Scientists at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz have unraveled a complex regulatory mechanism that explains how a single gene can drive the formation of brain cells. The research, published in The EMBO Journal, is an important step towards a better understanding of how the brain develops. It also harbors potential for regenerative medicine.

HANOVER, N.H. - A Dartmouth study reveals how the brain understands motion and still objects to help us navigate our complex visual world.

The findings have a number of potential practical applications, ranging from treatment for motion blindness to improved motion recognition algorithms used in airport and other public security systems.

The study appears in the journal Neuroimage. A PDF is available on request.

A video about the research can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flzGjnJLyS0

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- If pigeons went to medical school and specialized in pathology or radiology, they'd be pretty good at distinguishing digitized microscope slides and mammograms of normal vs. cancerous breast tissue, a new study from researchers at the University of California, Davis and The University of Iowa has found.

A drug that makes the body more sensitive to insulin helped to relieve symptoms of chronic depression in people resistant to the hormone, according to a study by researchers at the at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The 12-week, randomized, placebo-controlled study, to be published Nov. 18 in Psychiatry Research, involved patients whose symptoms of depression had failed to improve substantially, despite treatment, for at least six months leading up to the study's onset.