Brain

Mothers of children with autism and were diagnosed with metabolic conditions during pregnancy, particularly gestational and type 2 diabetes, were more likely to have anti-fetal brain autoantibodies in their blood compared to healthy women of children with autism. The presence of these anti-fetal brain autoantibodies has been previously found to be specific to some mothers of children with autism and rare among mothers of children without autism, researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute have found.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) have been pursued for decades as potential molecular targets to treat cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease (AD) due to their demonstrated role in processes underlying cognition such as synaptic facilitation, and theta and gamma wave activity. Historically, activity at these receptors is facilitated in AD by use of drugs that increase the levels of their endogenous agonist acetylcholine, and more recently nAChR selective ligands have undergone clinical trials.

In a study of stroke patients, investigators confirmed through MRI brain scans that there was an association between the extent of disruption to the brain's protective blood-brain barrier and the severity of bleeding following invasive stroke therapy. The results of the National Institutes of Health-funded study were published in Neurology.

Many traits make human beings unique, not the least of which is our ability to cooperate with one another. But exactly how we choose to do that -- particularly with nonfamily members -- can be complicated.

For men, that choice relies partially on perceptions of productivity and material benefit, just as it would have in an ancestral hunter-gatherer society. So finds a new study by UC Santa Barbara psychologists, which appears in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.

2015 was an unprecedented year in the recognition of transgender rights in some high-income countries. However, as a new Series published in The Lancet today reveals, public recognition has yet to translate to a concerted effort to support and improve the health of transgender people across the world.

Cerebellar ataxia is a condition of the cerebellum that causes an inability to coordinate muscle movements. A study publishing June 16 in Cell Reports now describes a new genetic mutation as an additional cause of ataxia in humans and mice. The mutation, in the gene CAPN1, affects the function of the enzyme calpain-1 and causes abnormal brain development. The same genetic mutation is also associated with ataxia in Parson Russell Terrier dogs.

A new study suggests an intriguing strategy to boost memory for what you've just learned: hit the gym four hours later. The findings reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on June 16 show that physical exercise after learning improves memory and memory traces, but only if the exercise is done in a specific time window and not immediately after learning.

"It shows that we can improve memory consolidation by doing sports after learning," says Guillén Fernández of the Donders Institute at the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

The absence of a one specific species of gut bacteria causes social deficits in mice, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine report June 16, 2016 in Cell. By adding this bacteria species back to the guts of affected mice, the researchers were able to reverse some of their behavioral deficits, which are reminiscent of symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in humans. The investigators are now looking to explore the effects of probiotics on neurodevelopmental disorders in future work.

Pleasant and unpleasant odors are a part of everyone's life, but how do our reactions to smells change when other odors are present? To answer this question, researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have combined experimental and modeling approaches to reveal the process through which smell preference is computed in the brain.

Thirty-one academic experts in children's health argue that absent urgent action by international aid agencies, 200 million children around the world could sustain serious, lifelong cognitive impairment. The National Academy of Medicine Perspective article makes the case that global policy lags behind the science of brain health, and children must be given the opportunity not just to survive, but thrive.

The extent of resection in patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive and often fatal brain tumor, was associated with the likelihood of survival and disease progression, according to a new study published online by JAMA Oncology.

UCLA researchers have discovered that people with Parkinson's disease have a form of impaired decision-making that may be a major contributor to the movement problems that characterize the disease. The finding suggests that the neurological factors underlying Parkinson's, which currently affects nearly 1 million people in the United States, may be more complex than commonly believed. The study also could pave the way for strategies to detect Parkinson's earlier in its course.

People who are addicted to cocaine are particularly prone to developing habits that render their behaviour resistant to change, regardless of the potentially devastating consequences, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. The findings may have important implications for the treatment of cocaine addiction as they help explain why such individuals take drugs even when they are aware of the negative consequences, and why they find their behaviour so difficult to change.

HOUSTON - (June 16, 2016) - The absence of one specific species of gut bacteria causes social deficits in mice, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine report June 16 in Cell. By adding this bacterial species back to the guts of affected mice, the researchers were able to reverse some of the mice's behavioral deficits, which are reminiscent of symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in humans. The investigators are now looking to explore the effects of probiotics on neurodevelopmental disorders in future work.

According to a representative Emnid survey, 90 per cent of people of Turkish origin in Germany enjoy living in the country, but more than half of them do not feel they are socially recognised. "The picture of the personal living conditions of the people of Turkish origin who live in Germany is more positive than could be expected, given the predominant state of discussion about integration", said the head of the study "Integration and Religion as seen by People of Turkish Origin in Germany" of Münster University's Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics", sociologist of religion Prof.