Brain

The brain of the ampelosaur from Cuenca (Spain) revealed

The remains of the ampelosaur found in 2007 in the site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca) have allowed the 3D reconstruction of the brain of this animal, according to an investigation in which the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has taken part. The work, published today in the online journal PLOS ONE, has been carried out based on the fossilized remains of its skull, which are about 70 million years old (Late Cretaceous).

Experts propose overhaul of ethics oversight of research

The longstanding ethical framework for protecting human volunteers in medical research needs to be replaced because it is outdated and can impede efforts to improve health care quality, assert leaders in bioethics, medicine, and health policy in two companion articles in a Hastings Center Report special report, "Ethical Oversight of Learning Health Care Systems." One of the auth

Migraine triggers may not be as strong as you think

MINNEAPOLIS – A new study suggests that triggers for migraine with aura may not be as strong as some people think. The research is published in the January 23, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Auras that occur with migraine include visual disturbances, with symptoms such as flashing lights or wavy lines.

Mental health approach to teenage alcohol prevention is successful, finds new study

Targeted psychological interventions aimed at teenagers at risk of emotional and behavioural problems significantly reduce their drinking behaviour, and that of their schoolmates, according to the results from a large randomised controlled trial published today in JAMA Psychiatry. The authors argue that the intervention could be administered in schools throughout the UK to help prevent teenage alcohol abuse.

Socially isolated rats are more vulnerable to addiction, report researchers

AUSTIN, Texas — Rats that are socially isolated during a critical period of adolescence are more vulnerable to addiction to amphetamine and alcohol, found researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. Amphetamine addiction is also harder to extinguish in the socially isolated rats.

These effects, which are described this week in the journal Neuron, persist even after the rats are reintroduced into the community of other rats.

Oxygen chamber can boost brain repair

Stroke, traumatic injury, and metabolic disorder are major causes of brain damage and permanent disabilities, including motor dysfunction, psychological disorders, memory loss, and more. Current therapy and rehab programs aim to help patients heal, but they often have limited success.

Learning and memory may play a central role in synesthesia

People with color-grapheme synesthesia experience color when viewing written letters or numerals, usually with a particular color evoked by each grapheme (i.e., the letter 'A' evokes the color red). In a new study, researchers Nathan Witthoft and Jonathan Winawer of Stanford University present data from 11 color grapheme synesthetes who had startlingly similar color-letter pairings that were traceable to childhood toys containing magnetic colored letters.

Their findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Better outlook for dwindling black macaque population in Indonesia

Since at least the 1970s, the population of critically endangered Sulawesi black macaques living in an Indonesian nature reserve has been dropping. But a new study by researchers at the University of Washington and in Indonesia shows that the population has stabilized over the past decade.

The findings, published in the January issue of the American Journal of Primatology, are from the longest ongoing survey of Macaca nigra and are among the first evidence that the monkeys may be in better shape.

New brain circuit sheds light on development of voluntary movements

DURHAM, N.C. – All parents know the infant milestones: turning over, learning to crawl, standing, and taking that first unassisted step. Achieving each accomplishment presumably requires the formation of new connections among subsets of the billions of nerve cells in the infant's brain. But how, when and where those connections form has been a mystery.

Whole-exome sequencing identifies inherited mutations in autism

Boston, Mass. - While autism clearly runs in some families, few inherited genetic causes have been found. A major reason is that these causes are so varied that it's hard to find enough people with a given mutation to establish a clear pattern. Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have pinpointed several inherited mutations—among the first to be identified—through an unusual approach: using whole-exome sequencing to study large Middle Eastern families with autism.

Santiago, Chile, will get drier and warmer

Santiago de Chile/Leipzig. Already nowadays ten per cent or more of the population in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago de Chile is affected by extreme heat or floods. These threats will tend to increase due to the continuous expansion of the Chilean capital, the consequent changes in land use and the influences of climate change.

Knobbly knees in competition with fingerprints

Forget digital fingerprints, iris recognition and voice identification, the next big thing in biometrics could be your knobbly knees. Just as a fingerprints and other body parts are unique to us as individuals and so can be used to prove who we are, so too are our kneecaps. Computer scientist Lior Shamir of Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan, has now demonstrated how a knee scan could be used to single us out.

Social Scientists call for more effective teaching in Higher Education

A new position paper, The Professionalisation of Academics as Teachers in Higher Education, has been published today by the European Science Foundation.

In Europe, where over 19 million students are in tertiary education, it is becoming crucial to look at, study and improve the teaching skills of scientists in order to teach more effectively the next generation of innovators. This is not only of interest to the Social Sciences but an issue of basic importance to all domains of science and to society as a whole.

Astrocytes identified as target for new depression therapy

BOSTON (January 23, 2013) — Neuroscience researchers from Tufts University have found that our star-shaped brain cells, called astrocytes, may be responsible for the rapid improvement in mood in depressed patients after acute sleep deprivation. This in vivo study, published in the current issue of Translational Psychiatry, identified how astrocytes regulate a neurotransmitter involved in sleep. The researchers report that the findings may help lead to the development of effective and fast-acting drugs to treat depression, particularly in psychiatric emergencies.

Are antidepressants overused?

Antidepressant prescriptions in the UK have increased by 9.6% in 2011, to 46 million prescriptions. Does this reflect overmedicalisation or appropriate treatment? Two experts debate the issue on bmj.com today.

Glasgow GP, Dr Des Spence, thinks that "we use antidepressants too easily, for too long, and that they are effective for few people (if at all)"