Brain

Though considered a mark of boredom or fatigue, yawning might also be a trait of the hot-headed. Literally.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – People with diabetes appear to be at a significantly increased risk of developing dementia, according to a study published in the September 20, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

LAWRENCE — University of Kansas scientists have found new evidence that infant formulas fortified with long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) are good for developing brains and hearts.

In the randomized, double-blind study, 122 term infants were fed one of four formulas from birth to 12 months; three with varying levels of two LCPUFAs (DHA and ARA) and one formula with no LCPUFA, and tested at four, six and nine months of age.

New York, NY—DATE TK, 2011—Columbia Engineering researchers have developed a new technique to reach neurons through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and deliver drugs safely and noninvasively. Up until now, scientists have thought that long ultrasound pulses, which can inflict collateral damage, were required.

Twinkies look a lot better if the brain is hungry, concludes a study led by researchers at Yale University and the University of Southern California has found.

Brain imaging scans show that when glucose levels drop, an area of the brain known to regulate emotions and impulses loses the ability to dampen desire for high-calorie food, according to the study published online September 19 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Aging is a major risk factor for the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington disease (HD). Morris White and colleagues, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, have now determined that modulating levels of the signaling protein Irs2 changes disease progression in a mouse model of HD. Specifically, increasing Irs2 levels in the brain increased nerve cell damage and reduced lifespan. Conversely, decreasing Irs2 levels reduced nerve cell damage, attenuated symptoms of disease, and increased lifespan.

Neuroticism — the tendency to experience negative emotions —significantly affects brain processing during pain, as well as during the anticipation of pain, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. Neuroticism tends to be higher in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and is a risk factor for chronic, unexplained pain in IBS.

Bethesda, Md. (Sept. 19, 2011)—Researchers have long known that regular exercise increases the number of organelles called mitochondria in muscle cells. Since mitochondria are responsible for generating energy, this numerical boost is thought to underlie many of the positive physical effects of exercise, such as increased strength or endurance. Exercise also has a number of positive mental effects, such as relieving depression and improving memory. However, the mechanism behind these mental effects has been unclear.

Cornell University researchers say they have proven that the capacity for learning in birds is not linked to overall brain size, but to the relative size and proportion of their specific brain regions.

Songbirds with upper brain regions that are larger in relation to lower regions have a greater capacity for learning songs. Higher brain areas control the majority of cognitive and learning functions, while lower brain areas control more motor functions, according to the new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists at the University of Plymouth have shown, for the first time in an animal, that nanoparticles have a detrimental effect on the brain and other parts of the central nervous system.

Researchers whose findings on the detrimental impact of some common medicines on elderly people were widely reported earlier in the summer have found that taking a few of these medicines does not appear to cause further cognitive impairment in those already suffering from dementia.

Recently published studies by a researcher in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry demonstrate that ALS – known as Lou Gehrig's disease – damages neurons in parts of the brain responsible for cognition and behaviour.

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 16 – Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have discovered molecular-level changes in the brains of women with major depressive disorder that link two hypotheses of the biological mechanisms that lead to the illness. Their results also allowed them to recreate the changes in a mouse model that could enhance future research on depression.

MANHASSET, NY -- Scientists have identified a surprising new role for a new type of T cell in the immune system: some of them can be activated by nerves to make a neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) that blocks inflammation. The discovery of these T cells is novel and suggests that it may be possible to treat inflammation and autoimmune diseases by targeting the nerves and the T cells. The study was published this week in Science.

A new model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that mirrors both symptoms of the disease and the timing of its treatment in humans has been created by University of Chicago researchers, according to a new study.