Brain

PHILADELPHIA – Inspired by earlier successes using gene therapy to correct an inherited type of blindness, investigators from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, are poised to extend their approach to other types of blinding disorders.

NEW YORK (June 22, 2011) -- Two studies featuring research from Weill Cornell Medical College have uncovered surprising details about the complex process that leads to the flow of neurotransmitters between brain neurons -- a dance of chemical messages so delicate that missteps often lead to neurological dysfunction.

Being born and raised in a major urban area is associated with greater lifetime risk for anxiety and mood disorders. Until now, the biology for these associations had not been described. A new international study, which involved Douglas Mental Health University Institute researcher Jens Pruessner, is the first to show that two distinct brain regions that regulate emotion and stress are affected by city living. These findings, published in Nature may lead to strategies that improve the quality of life for city dwellers.

In a novel imaging study of sleeping toddlers, scientists at the University of California, San Diego Autism Center of Excellence report that a diminished ability of a young brain's hemispheres to "sync" with one another could be a powerful, new biological marker of autism, one that might enable an autism diagnosis at a very young age.

The precise wiring of our visual system depends upon the pattern of spontaneous activity within the brain that occurs well before birth, a new study by Yale researchers shows.

"It isn't just the genes. What happens within the womb is crucial," said Michael Crair, the William Ziegler III Associate Professor of Vision Research at Yale School of Medicine and senior author of the study published in the June 23 issue of Neuron.

A new study provides valuable insight into the neuropathology of early autism development by imaging the brains of naturally sleeping toddlers. The research, published by Cell Press in the June 24 issue of the journal Neuron, identifies a brain abnormality observed at the very beginning stages of autism that may aid in early diagnosis of autism and shed light on its underlying biology.

Mental illness of a family member destroys the family's connection with the religious community, a new study by Baylor University psychologists has found, leading many affected families to leave the church and their faith behind.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- How do you teach math students to speak and write effectively about what they do? Crucially, how do you teach their teachers — themselves mathematicians — how to impart and evaluate these skills?

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) could lose brain function earlier than is noticeably detectable, affecting their ability to make decisions about their care. Physicians need a method to assess these sensitive changes in brain function, without the need for extensive neuropsychological tests.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Women's bias against male strangers increases when women are fertile, suggesting prejudice may be partly fueled by genetics, according to a study by Michigan State University psychology researchers.

The study, funded by the National Science Foundation, appears online in Psychological Science, a major research journal.

"Our findings suggest that women's prejudice, at least in part, may be a byproduct of their biology," said Melissa McDonald, a doctoral student and lead author on the paper.

The People's Republic of China should improve its system for ensuring the safety of its rapidly expanding nuclear power program, experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences say. Despite having 40% of the world's proposed nuclear power plants, the country lacks an independent regulatory agency and sufficient staff to keep pace with nuclear power development, they describe in a viewpoint article in ACS's journal Environmental Science & Technology.

The FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) is making use of new computer and communication technology developed by researchers at Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) during the Under 17 World Cup held in Mexico and the 2011 Women's World Cup held in Germany.

Despite a high level of global awareness of trafficking in persons, not enough is known about the scale and health implications of trafficking, according to a new editorial published in this week's PLoS Medicine. The editorial accompanies a six-part series on Migration and Health (http://www.ploscollections.org/article/browseIssue.action?issue=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fissue.pcol.v07.i14), published by PLoS Medicine in May and June 2011.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have made a discovery in the lab that could help drug manufacturers develop new antiepileptic drugs and explore novel strategies for treating seizures associated with epilepsy – a disease affecting about two million Americans.