Brain

Scientists have revealed molecular differences between how the African and Asian strains of Zika virus infect neural progenitor cells.

The results could provide insights into the Zika virus' recent emergence as a global health emergency, and also point to inhibitors of the protein p53 as potential leads for drugs that could protect brain cells from cell death.

PITTSBURGH--Parents who excel at math produce children who excel at math. This is according to a recently released University of Pittsburgh study, which shows a distinct transfer of math skills from parent to child. The study specifically explored intergenerational transmission--the concept of parental influence on an offspring's behavior or psychology--in mathematic capabilities.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Childhood bullying inflicts the same long-term psychological trauma on girls as severe physical or sexual abuse, suggests a new survey of college students.

Charles Darwin was right: Groups enjoy an advantage whose members are "ready to aid one another and to sacrifice themselves for the common good," according to a new study by researchers at Rice University, Texas A&M University and the University of East Anglia.

Using variations of the public goods game, the researchers showed that when no other mechanism is present to reinforce group cooperation, the threat of group extinction is sufficiently powerful to motivate and increase cooperation within a group.

ST. LOUIS - A multipronged approach that improved mental health among Saint Louis University students during their first year of medical school could serve as a model for reducing stress and depression later in their training, says the author of a commentary in the September issue of Academic Medicine.

"It's an antiquated idea that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Stuart Slavin, M.D., M.Ed., associate dean of curriculum for SLU School of Medicine, says. "For far too many in medical school it simply makes them burned out, anxious and depressed."

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Tall quarterbacks might have more going for them than a clear view over the offensive line.

New research shows that tall people are better than shorter people at correctly identifying the location of targets in their middle-distance vision - between three and 20 meters away. (In football, that would be about three to 22 yards away.)

And that visual superiority holds true even when tall people sit down and their shorter counterparts stand on a box or stool, found a first-of-its-kind study.

Although the causes of Alzheimer's disease are still unknown, it is clear that the disease commences with progressive amyloid deposition in the brains of affected persons between ten and fifteen years before the emergence of initial clinical symptoms such as memory loss. Researchers have now been able to show that Aducanumab, a human monoclonal antibody, selectively binds brain amyloid plaques, thus enabling microglial cells to remove the plaques.

PULLMAN, Wash.--Washington State University researchers have found that treatments of pure oxygen in a high-pressure chamber can relieve the symptoms of opiate withdrawal.

Ray Quock--a pharmacologist and Washington State University psychology professor--gave morphine-addicted mice pure pressurized oxygen before they began withdrawal from the drug. The mice had far less severe withdrawal symptoms than addicted mice that did not receive the treatment.

Outwardly, said Quock, the treated mice appeared "much calmer. You can tell the difference."

New UBC research has found that amplified electroencephalograms (EEGs) can produce diagnostic results of a brainwave associated with migraines and epilepsy that are comparable to the current, more invasive, standard--a discovery that could lead to better treatment and diagnosis of these conditions.

Researchers at the University of York have shown that small alterations toa person's appearance, such as wearing glasses, can significantly hinder positive facial identification.

The research has the potential to contribute to future policies concerning photo identification, such as drivers' licences or passports, where an individual has to be matched correctly to their image in order to inform important security decisions.

Imagine two candidates at a high stakes job interview. One of them handles the pressure with ease and sails through the interview. The other candidate, however, feels very nervous and under-performs.

Why do some people perform better than others under emotionally stressful conditions? The clue might lie in early childhood experiences, a recent study published in the open access online journal, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- If a disease affects motoneurons, cells that control voluntary muscle activity, researchers should focus their efforts on motoneurons to find potential treatments, right?

Not always.

In new research led by Michigan State University and published in the current issue of Human Molecular Genetics, scientists have found a new target, which could lead to future treatments for Kennedy's disease. The disease, also known as spinal bulbar muscular atrophy, affects only men later in life and robs them of the capacity to walk, run, chew and swallow.

Choice of smartphone provides valuable information about its owner.

This is one of the findings of a doctoral study conducted by Heather Shaw, from University of Lincoln's School of Psychology. She is presenting her work today, Thursday 1 September, to the British Psychological Society Social Psychology Section annual conference in Cardiff.

Miss Shaw and her fellow researchers conducted two studies of personality differences between iPhone and Android smartphone users. Lancaster University was also involved in the study.

New research provides insight into a long-observed, but little-understood connection between chronic pain and anxiety and offers a potential target for treatment. The study's findings, published as an Article in Press in Biological Psychiatry, show that increased expression of PACAP - a peptide neurotransmitter the body releases in response to stress - is also increased in response to neuropathic pain and contributes to these symptoms.

In a new research collaboration between the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Adelaide, previously held views on the evolutionary development of the human brain are being challenged. The findings of their studies, published today inthe Royal Society Open Science*, unseats previous theories thatthe progression of human intelligence is simply related to the increase in size of the brain.