Brain

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the elderly, but little is known about the underlying biology of its development in older adults.

In a small study published in the November issue of the peer-reviewed journal Archives of General Psychiatry, UCLA researchers used a unique brain scan to assess the levels of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in older adults with a type of severe depression called major depressive disorder (MDD).

COLUMBIA, Mo. – A new study from the University of Missouri shows that children who are abused can return to school and do well academically if teachers can help them control their emotions, pay attention to detail and stay motivated.

Under the microscope lies a specimen of a liver. Deep in concentration, a student is analyzing the structure of the tissue when the university official asks her to finish up – the lab is about to close. This is a situation that may be familiar to many students. After all, the examination of specimens is an important course component; to practice and consolidate the theory presented in lectures. Customarily at the beginning of the semester, students are each given a case containing 50 to 100 specimens with which they can work independently.

When we gaze at a shape and then the shape disappears, a strange thing happens: We see an afterimage in the complementary color. Now a Japanese study has observed for the first time an equally strange illusion: The afterimage appears in a "complementary" shape -- circles as hexagons, and vice-versa.

If you work from home part of the week as a teleworker, does it help reduce work exhaustion caused by juggling work and family commitments? The answer may depend on the level of conflict you have between work and home and your ability to recharge your batteries adequately, according to Professor Timothy Golden, from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.

BOSTON – Many complications of diabetes, including kidney disease, foot problems and vision problems are generally well recognized. But the disease's impact on the brain is often overlooked.

For the past five years, a team led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) neurophysiologist Vera Novak, MD, PhD, has been studying the effects of diabetes on cognitive health in older individuals and has determined that memory loss, depression and other types of cognitive impairment are a serious consequence of this widespread disease.

MANHATTAN -- Whether you love the "Harry Potter" series or despise it, there may be a psychological explanation behind your opinion.

Russell Webster, Kansas State University doctoral student in psychology, Sherwood, Ill., recently discovered that people experience fantasy differently, which explains why some people enjoy it more than others.

According to Webster's research, people participate in fantasy at different levels of cognitive and emotional intensity, which helps determine how much they enjoy a fantasy book or movie.

DETROIT -- Brain stimulation, already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, has now been shown to offer significant relief to patients with intractable seizures for whom drugs and other treatments have not worked.

This is the major finding of a first-of-its-kind study of responsive electric brain stimulation in adults with "medically refractory," or hard to treat, epilepsy.

Philadelphia, PA -- Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other reports that childhood obesity has tripled over the past 30 years, we recognize the importance of reaching our children early to form good food habits. However, with teachers having to incorporate more and more learning standards into their already packed curriculums, where does that leave room for nutrition education in elementary schools? Perhaps by putting it into school subjects like geography and the study of other cultures, math, and science.

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- A new study found that spinal bleeding is found often in young children who are victims of abusive trauma. The findings support performing complete spine imaging for children undergoing brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for moderate or severe traumatic brain injury and suggest a pathway for distinguishing between abusive and accidental injury. The study is published online in the journal Radiology.

In the first worldwide study of its kind, scientists from Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) found evidence that heavy methamphetamine users might have a higher risk of developing schizophrenia. This finding was based on a large study comparing the risk among methamphetamine users not only to a group that did not use drugs, but also to heavy users of other drugs.

BELMONT, MA—Individuals addicted to prescription painkillers are more likely to succeed in treatment with the aid of the medication buprenorphine-naloxone (Suboxone), report McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School researchers in today's online edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Athens, Ga. – Hirano bodies are almost indescribably tiny objects found in nerve cells of people suffering from conditions such as Alzheimer's, mad cow and Lou Gehrig's diseases. Yet for decades, researchers weren't sure if these structures helped cause the conditions or appeared after onset of the disease and had some other role.

DURHAM, N.C. – A new analysis of teenage drug abuse finds widespread problems among whites, Native Americans, Hispanics and youngsters of multiple races, with less severe abuse among Asian and African-American teens.

Among kids who abuse drugs, marijuana is most heavily used, followed by stimulants and then alcohol. Prescription opioids such as oxycodone have surpassed inhalants as a source for getting high.

High blood pressure and other known risk factors for stroke also increase the risk of developing cognitive problems, even among people who have never had a stroke, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health has found.

"Our results emphasize the importance of early intervention to treat high blood pressure and preserve cognitive health prior to a stroke or other cerebral event," said first author Frederick Unverzagt, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. The study appears in the Nov. 8, 2011 issue of Neurology.