Brain

New Rochelle, NY, February 7, 2012—People visit social networking sites such as Facebook for many reasons, including the positive emotional experience that people enjoy and want to repeat, according to an article in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.. The article is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/cyber

New Rochelle, NY, February 7, 2012—Innovative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that can measure changes in the microstructure of the white matter likely to affect brain function and the ability of different regions of the brain to communicate are presented in an article in the groundbreaking new neuroscience journal Brain Connectivity, a bimonthly peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc..

CINCINNATI—An editorial authored by University of Cincinnati (UC) diabetes researchers to be published in the Feb. 7, 2012, issue of the journal Cell Metabolism sheds light on the biological factors contributing to rising rates of obesity and discusses strategies to reduce body weight.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, about one-third of U.S. adults are obese, a number that continues to climb.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Parkinson's disease researchers at the University at Buffalo have discovered how mutations in the parkin gene cause the disease, which afflicts at least 500,000 Americans and for which there is no cure.

The results are published in the current issue of Nature Communications.

The UB findings reveal potential new drug targets for the disease as well as a screening platform for discovering new treatments that might mimic the protective functions of parkin. UB has applied for patent protection on the screening platform.

Cleveland -- The use of padded headgear and gloves reduces the impact that fighters absorb from hits to the head, according to newly published research from Cleveland Clinic.

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique that allows graphics processing units (GPUs) and central processing units (CPUs) on a single chip to collaborate – boosting processor performance by an average of more than 20 percent.

Comparing yourself to others with the same health problem can influence your physical and emotional health, according to researchers who conducted a qualitative synthesis of over 30 studies focusing on the relationship between social comparisons and health.

DURHAM, N.C. -- The abundance of false information available on the Internet, in movies and on TV has created a big challenge for educators.

Students sometimes arrive in classrooms filled with inaccurate knowledge they are confident is correct, indicating it is deeply entrenched in their memory.

According to Duke University researchers, educators might be able to help students overcome their misconceptions by correcting inaccurate information then having the students practice retrieving it from memory.

The fingers on the outside – i.e. the thumb and little finger - therefore react faster than the middle finger, which is exposed to the "cross fire" of two neighbours on each side. Through targeted learning, this speed handicap can be compensated. The working group led by PD Dr. Hubert Dinse (Neural Plasticity Lab at the Institute for Neuroral Computation) report in the current issue of PNAS.

Thumb and little finger are the quickest

Patients who have their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructed by surgeons who have performed less than 60 surgeries are roughly four to five times more likely to undergo a subsequent ACL reconstruction, according to a study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery. The study also showed that participating in a subspecialty orthopedic fellowship-training program did not improve the learning curve of young surgeons performing ACL reconstructions. The research was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, held Feb 7-11.

CHICAGO – First-time first-trimester induced abortion is not associated with an increased risk of readmission to psychiatric facilities among women with a history of a treated mental disorder, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

CHICAGO – Smoking in men appears to be associated with more rapid cognitive decline, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Smoking is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for dementia in the elderly and the number of dementia cases worldwide, estimated at 36 million in 2010, is on the rise and is projected to double every 20 years, the authors write in their study background.

CHICAGO – Many patients currently diagnosed with very mild or mild Alzheimer disease dementia could potentially be reclassified as having mild cognitive impairment (MCI) under revised criteria for that condition, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

In 2004, concerns about antidepressant drugs increasing suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young patients prompted the FDA to issue a rare "black box warning." Now, a new analysis of clinical trial data finds that treatment with the antidepressant fluoxetine did not increase — or decrease — suicidality in children compared to placebo treatment.