Brain

Philadelphia, PA, April 26, 2012 – Huntington disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by a defect on chromosome four where, within the Huntingtin gene, a CAG repeat occurs too many times. Most individuals begin experiencing symptoms in their 40s or 50s, but studies have shown that significant brain atrophy occurs several years prior to an official HD diagnosis. As a result, the field has sought a preventive treatment that could be administered prior to the development of actual symptoms that might delay the onset of illness.

Blueberries and strawberries, which are high in flavonoids, appear to reduce cognitive decline in older adults according to a new study published today in Annals of Neurology, a journal of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society. The study results suggest that cognitive aging could be delayed by up to 2.5 years in elderly who consume greater amounts of the flavonoid-rich berries.

Boston, MA—Berries are good for you, that's no secret. But can strawberries and blueberries actually keep your brain sharp in old age? A new study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) finds that a high intake of flavonoid rich berries, such as strawberries and blueberries, over time, can delay memory decline in older women by 2.5 years. This study is published by Annals of Neurology, a journal of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society, on April 26, 2012.

Among vervet monkeys, social learning is strongly influenced by matrilineal family members, according to a study published Apr. 25 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.

Tape measures. Rulers. Graphs. The gas gauge in your car, and the icon on your favorite digital device showing battery power. The number line and its cousins – notations that map numbers onto space and often represent magnitude – are everywhere. Most adults in industrialized societies are so fluent at using the concept, we hardly think about it. We don't stop to wonder: Is it "natural"? Is it cultural?

Now, challenging a mainstream scholarly position that the number-line concept is innate, a study suggests it is learned.

SAN DIEGO—Mouthguards are used by almost everyone participating in sports. These devices, typically purchased over-the-counter and used on the upper teeth, are designed to protect against broken teeth and an injured tongue. Recently, researchers in South Carolina found that a customized device which rests on the lower jaw can decrease levels of serum cortisol following exercise. The reduction of this steroid hormone indicates less stress following strenuous activity and may provide a more rapid recovery after intense muscle exertion.

Choosing the right hospital may make the difference between life and death for very low birth weight infants, according to research led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and released today in JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association.

San Diego, Calif. (April 20, 2012) – Four scientific sessions (one symposium, one oral presentation and two poster sessions) revealing potential benefits of Hass avocado consumption on heart health, weight management, type 2 diabetes and healthy living will be presented at the Experimental Biology Conference (EB) April 21 – 25, 2012.

Key findings will be presented by some of the world's top nutrition researchers:

To test their hunch, the researchers examined effects of GRN-529 in a naturally occurring inbred strain of mice that normally display autism-relevant behaviors. Like children with ASDs, these BTBR mice interact and communicate relatively less with each other and engage in repetitive behaviors – most typically, spending an inordinate amount of time grooming themselves.

Crawley's team found that BTBR mice injected with GRN-529 showed reduced levels of repetitive self-grooming and spent more time around – and sniffing nose-to-nose with – a strange mouse.

Advertisers and public health officials may be able to access hidden wisdom in the brain to more effectively sell their products and promote health and safety, UCLA neuroscientists report in the first study to use brain data to predict how large populations will respond to advertisements.

A new monitoring method and blood test may provide early warnings when a child's brain isn't getting enough blood during heart surgery, according to new research presented during the American Heart Association's Emerging Science Series webinar.

Brain injury occurs in 30 percent to 70 percent of infants and children undergoing repair of congenital heart defects. A congenital heart defect is a heart abnormality present at birth. Out of 1,000 live births in the United States, about 8 babies will have some kind of heart defect.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers are learning details about asteroid impacts going back to the Earth's early history by using a new method for extracting precise information from tiny "spherules" embedded in layers of rock.

What happens at the level of individual neurons while we learn? This question intrigued the neuroscientist Daniel Huber, who recently arrived at the Department of Basic Neuroscience at the UNIGE. During his stay in the United States, he and his team tried to unravel the network mechanisms underlying learning and memory at the level of the cerebral cortex.

RUSTON, La. – Several graduate and Ph.D. students at Louisiana Tech University, and Dr. David Mills, professor of biological sciences and faculty in Tech's Center for Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Science, are participating in poster and platform presentations at the 2012 Experimental Biology meeting, this week in San Diego, California.

(April 25, 2012 – New York) An editorial published today in the prestigious journal Environmental Health Perspectives calls for increased research to identify possible environmental causes of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders in America's children and presents a list of ten target chemicals including which are considered highly likely to contribute to these conditions.